Skip to main content

chocolate guinness cake with cream cheese frosting


We loved this dense chocolate-y not too sweet cake made with my favorite unsalted Irish butter, unsweetened cocoa powder and Guinness extra stout.  This simple dark chocolate cake is then iced with a luscious cream cheese frosting that transforms the cake into a lookalike frothy pint.  I'm thinking this will be my go to chocolate cake for a gathering, serves 12 generously.  Wonderful for a Saint Patrick celebration with family and friends.

This recipe comes from Nigella Lawson (NYT food section) I have made a few adjustments to the following recipe for my taste. 

For the Cake

1 cup Guinness extra stout
10 tablespoons unsalted Kerrygold Irish ☘️  butter, cut into pieces
3/4 Cup unsweetened European style cocoa powder
2 cups extra fine sugar
3/4 cup sour cream
2 large eggs
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 & 1/2 teaspoons baking soda

For the Frosting

8 ounces cream cheese, at room temperature 
1 & 1/2 cups confectioners sugar
1/3 cup heavy cream
 
Heat the oven to 350F

Butter or spray (with baking spray) a 9" springform pan

On the stovetop in a large heavy saucepan over medium-low heat combine the Guinness and the butter.  Heat, stirring occasionally until butter melts, remove from the heat.  Stir in the cocoa and superfine sugar, whisking to combine.

In a small bowl, combine the sour cream, eggs and vanilla-mixing well.  Stir into the Guinness mixture.
Whisk the flour and baking soda together in a small bowl and add to the mixture.  Whisk until smooth.
Pour into the buttered pan and bake in the center of oven for 45-55 minutes (check at 45 minutes), or until cake has risen to top of pan, is firm to the touch, a cake tester comes away clean with no crumbs.  Internal temperature should be between 205-210F, using an instant read thermometer.  Place the cake on a wire rack and cool completely before frosting.  A note: Remove the sides of the springform pan when it's cool enough to handle, later when the cake is cooler remove the bottom, using a large flat spatula to gently loosen the cake bottom from the pan-continue to cool on rack.

For the frosting: place the cream cheese into the bowl of a stand mixer with the paddle attachment and mix on medium speed for 2 minutes, scraping down sides as needed.  Add the confectioners sugar and mix for 2 minutes, until mixture looks smooth and creamy.  Add the heavy cream and mix for another 1-2 minutes until mixtures looks like the frosting you want to spread on top of your chocolate cake, a creamy and thick spreadable texture.

Place the cooled cake on a platter or cake stand and pile the icing on top of the cake.  Spread the icing (using an offset spatula) on top of the cake only, giving a few gentle swirls.  The frosting will firm up more as it rests.  








Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

springtime chamomile tea cake with strawberry icing

 Good grief, Easter is in the rear view mirror and we are deep into this new year.  And once again it's tea time at my house.  This chamomile tea cake is a beautiful sweet addition to any tea ritual, especially my favorite, chamomile tea, which I rediscovered in my hotel room in Carmel earlier this fast moving year.  I highly recommend a slice of chamomile tea cake with strawberry 🍓 icing with a cup of chamomile tea to just take a moment and slow this year down.  Baking with tea is both creative and fun.  Earlier this year I made Earl Gray sugar cookies which are made using the same method of infusing the butter with loose tea.  For my tea cake I also rubbed the lemon zest into the sugar -another way to lend a pop of citrus to your baking. The strawberry icing is made using freeze dried strawberries, I pulverize them in my spice mill and then they are pressed through a fine sieve into the confectioner's sugar.  In addition to using lemon zest rubbed into the sugar for the cake
Post a Comment
Read more

pear jam with saffron infused honey and cardamom

  Pear Jam with Saffron Infused Honey and Cardamom The summer after high school I worked sorting Bartlett pears at the Scotts Valley Fruit Exchange in Lake County California.  I thought I would never touch or eat another pear again in my life. But, here I am years years later making pear jam in my kitchen with pears, honey and saffron grown in Lake County.  A few weeks ago My husband and I went to visit friends in Kelseyville at their finca, they generously supplied me with the pears from their orchard-Finca Castelero- for my jam.  I will never forget getting up early in the morning and riding my bike across the valley from my cousin's house to work a long hot day sorting pears.  I remember thinking whoever came up with the idea of creating a cooperative to sort, pack and send pears from family farms, including my cousin's family farm on what is now called Hendricks road, to markets all over the country really had a good idea!  I never looked at pears in the grocery store the s
Post a Comment
Read more

braised romano beans with heirloom tomatoes and purple leaf sweet basil

  Romano beans braised in heirloom tomato sauce, shallots and garlic make an easy summer side dish -excellent served with grilled fish and potato purée.  I know because that's what we had for dinner last Saturday night.  I happily used purple basil from my own herb pots that are now watered with leftover shower water.  We have many more months of drought ahead of us in California and apparently mask wearing when in public, no not in the car. I appreciate our farmers markets more than ever, thank you farmers for romano beans and heirloom tomatoes and also myself for the fresh purple basil. Such a treat to find fresh romano green beans at the farmers market; they hold up to a fairly long, about 20 minute braise and become tender in the tomato broth from the heirloom tomatoes.  🍅 This is one of those simple good veg recipes. Ingredients and Recipe for Romano Beans with Heirloom Tomatoes and Purple Leaf Sweet Basil Serves 2-4 1 pound fresh romano beans, washed and trimmed 2 tablespoon
Post a Comment
Read more