Guinness Cake

Mille®'s Note:

Beer - it's not just for drinking any more!

• Total Time: 1 hrs 25 mins
• Prep Time: 35 mins
• Cook Time: 50 mins

Ingredients:

Serves: 9

Yield: 1.0 cake

• 4 ounces unsalted butter
• 10 ounces dark brown sugar
• 2 medium eggs, beaten
• 6 ounces plain flour
• 1/4 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 7 fluid ounces Guinness stout (or other Irish stout)
• 2 ounces cocoa powder

Icing ingredients

• 4 ounces chocolate
• 2 tablespoons Guinness stout
• 2 ounces butter
• 4 ounces icing sugar, sifted
• 1 ounce walnuts, finely chopped

Directions:

1. To make the cake-----------.
2. Grease and line two 8-inch cake pans, and preheat the oven to 350F degrees.
3. Cream butter and sugar together.
4. Gradually beat in the eggs.
5. Sift the flour, baking powder and baking soda into a separate bowl.
6. Stir Guinness into cocoa.
7. Carefully fold in alternate quantities of flour and cocoa to butter/sugar mixture.
8. Spread mixture into pans and bake for 30-35 minutes.
9. Leave to cool in pans for 5 minutes before turning out.
10. To make the icing---------.
11. Melt chocolate with Guinness, and then beat in butter and leave to cool a little before beating in icing sugar.
12. Remove ¼ of icing and stir in chopped walnuts.
13. When icing has cooled to a spreadable consistency, sandwich cake with walnut icing and use rest for top and sides.
14. Decorate with walnut halves and grated chocolate.

Reviews

[Amber Dawn]

I had some trouble with the icing as well. Took Sharlene's advice and used some cream to get the right consistency. Overall, the cake turned out nicely. I had some mixed reviews... my guy friends loved it and my girlfriends thought it was too bitter.

[Sharlene~W]

My husband is a fan of dark chocolate and absolutely raved about this cake. I had to get out the scale to make it and I am used to measuring in cups not ounces, but it went together nicely. I never could get the chocolate to reach the right consistency. It seemed to seize up and never melt with the Guinness, so I added a few teaspoons of cream to thin it and it was fine. Overall an excellent cake with a rich taste--what you would expect from an expensive bakery.

[Kirstin in the Couv]

easy to make - tasted great!!!! my boyfriend (who loves guinness) was way surprised by the taste - he loved it!!! one note - make sure you use 8-inch pans - not 9 inch like i did!! had to make it twice to get the timing right