A few days ago it was my husband’s 55th birthday. As every year, I try to make him an original cake, but I admit that after 28 years together, ideas start to run out. Until 3 days before his birthday, I had no idea what to make. Then for a man, it’s always so difficult to find a suitable theme, especially for a birthday cake. When by chance I came across this beer and chocolate cake recipe on a German site (backina.de). Maybe because it was Oktoberfest time, maybe because someone wanted to send me a sign, the fact is that I had found it, the beer and chocolate cake is perfect and very easy, but also very scenic. Imagine that the guests took several minutes to realize it was a cake inside the crate. But now let’s move on to the details and preparation of your beer and chocolate cake.
- Difficulty: Easy
- Cost: Very cheap
- Rest time: 20 Minutes
- Preparation time: 10 Minutes
- Portions: 30
- Cooking methods: Electric oven
- Cuisine: Italian
- Seasonality: All seasons, Father's Day
Ingredients
The cake you will get is very similar in texture and taste to a brownie. It’s soft, but at the same time compact and especially very chocolaty. Don’t be intimidated when you read the ingredients; with this batch, you will get a cake 12 x 16 inches and almost 3 inches high. If you cut it into cubes, you will get up to 30 pieces, and I assure you that each piece will be enough for one person, because the cake is “substantial”, so please follow my advice and make small pieces.
- 4 eggs
- 8.5 oz white sugar
- 4 cups all-purpose flour
- 3.5 cups butter (melted)
- 1.5 cups brown sugar
- 1 cup plain yogurt
- 1 packet baking powder
- 2 cups dark beer
- 2 cups unsweetened cocoa powder
- 1.7 cups liquid cream (for the coating)
- 14 oz dark chocolate (for the coating)
- 20 mini Negrettini (mini schaumkuesse or dickmanns)
Tools
For the preparation of this cake, in addition to a planetary mixer, you will need a beer crate of 0.33 cl bottles that I recommend you wash well, 20 new beer caps, or if you prefer, perhaps use those used, for example of the same brand as the crate, I recommend washing them very well. Then you will need a cake platter or a tray 12 x 16 inches. If you don’t have a cake platter of these dimensions, you can make one as I did with a sturdy DinA4 cardboard covered with aluminum foil and over it, plastic wrap.
Steps
Start preparing your beer and chocolate cake by mixing flour, unsweetened cocoa, baking powder, and a pinch of salt. In another bowl, start whipping the eggs and combine the brown sugar, white sugar, and melted butter, alternating it with the flour-cocoa mix. Finally, add the yogurt and beer and whip everything for a few minutes until the mixture becomes completely homogeneous.
Now pour the batter into a 12 x 16 inches pan previously greased and bake in a preheated oven at 356°F for about 40 minutes. After 20 minutes, cover with aluminum foil until fully cooked.
ATTENTION given the quantity of batter, the cake needs to be well cooked, so do the toothpick test after about 35 minutes and if necessary extend the cooking time. Once the cake is cooked, let it cool well in the pan and then turn it upside down on the 12 x 16 inches cake platter.
Now prepare the chocolate ganache, cut the 14 oz of chocolate into pieces. Separately, heat the cream, remove it from the stove, pour the just cut chocolate and mix vigorously until you get a nice dense and homogeneous cream. At this point, your ganache is ready, carefully pour it over the chocolate cake with a ladle and evenly spread it, then let it cool very well.
At this point, put the cake platter inside the beer crate, place the 20 chicchirichì chocolates, as if they were the 20 beer bottles, and on each chicchirichì place a beer cap.
IN THE PHOTOS obviously you see that I placed the moor heads BEFORE putting them inside the crate, but I did it only to make you understand the procedure and how the chocolates should be positioned. I assure you it’s easier to make the final decoration inside the crate.
At this point, your beer and chocolate cake is ready. It is simply delicious, it doesn’t need cream inside because it’s already so good. In the photo below, you see the slice-piece of the size I recommend cutting, about 2 x 2.5 inches. With these dimensions, you will get up to 30 pieces.
I recommend buying 30 moor head chocolates so that each piece has one as a decoration.
If you love CHOCOLATE CAKES, take a look HERE.
Saby advises…
Many have written to me that these chocolates are not easily found in Italy, if you want you can order them on the German site with the big A, you will find them under the name “Mini Schaumkuesse or Dickmanns mini”
