Guinness Cake Irish Chocolate Cake
First of all, I can’t resist, I have to tell you right away: this is one of the best chocolate cakes I have ever eaten, it has a unique, delicious, and full-bodied flavor…try it to believe it!!! The ideal cake for chocolate addicts.
The Guinness Cake is a moist and soft Irish chocolate cake based on Irish dark beer, the Guinness. Guinness, like all stouts, is a beer with roasted aromas, especially cocoa, which perfectly combines with the rustic and full-bodied flavor of barley malt, enhancing the chocolate flavor in an amazing way. Not to mention the deliciousness and creaminess of the white frosting with Philadelphia and cream that covers the cake like beer foam.
The Irish usually prepare the Guinness Cake every March 17 to celebrate the occasion of St. Patrick’s Day (see Notes below), BUT I make it all year round, especially on holidays and important occasions like Easter, Valentine’s Day, Father’s Day, Christmas, it’s always a success.
You can find Guinness beer in well-stocked supermarkets or on Amazon, by clicking here. #adv
Sour cream can be found in well-stocked supermarkets or at Natura Si, or you can easily make it yourself at home, the day before preparing the Guinness cake (see my recipe below, in the Notes).
The recipe itself is a guarantee of success because I was inspired by the recipe of the great Nigella Lawson (for example, she uses simple granulated sugar, while I use muscovado sugar, which gives the cake a unique spicy flavor that I love).
If you are looking for tried and true recipes, click on the Special: “My TOP Recipes“.
If you love chocolate, I recommend clicking on my Special: “Chocolate Desserts (or with Nutella)“.
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- Difficulty: Easy
- Cost: Economical
- Rest time: 15 Minutes
- Preparation time: 20 Minutes
- Portions: 10 people
- Cooking methods: Oven
- Cuisine: Irish
- Seasonality: All seasons, St. Joseph's Day
Ingredients for the Guinness Cake Irish Chocolate Cake
- 2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour (I use Caputo 00)
- 1 cup cups Guinness beer
- 1 cup + 2 tbsps cups butter (unsalted, I use Berna)
- 3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder (quality, I use Van Houten)
- 2 cups muscovado sugar
- 2 eggs (whole)
- 1 tbsp baking soda
- 1/4 tsp fine salt
- 1 tbsp vanilla extract
- 2/3 cup sour cream (crème fraîche)
- 10 1/2 oz cream cheese (I use Philadelphia)
- 1 1/4 cups powdered sugar
- 1/2 cup heavy whipping cream (preferably with a high-fat percentage)
- 1 1/2 tbsps cornstarch (cornflour)
- 1 pinch fine salt
Tools
- Pot
- Hand whisk
- Stand mixer Kenwood with 1400W power, illuminated bowl
- Bowl
- Mixer electric
- Spatula
- Mold
Steps for the Guinness Cake Irish Chocolate Cake
Pour the Guinness beer into a wide saucepan, add the butter in pieces and heat over low heat until the butter melts (BUT IT SHOULD NOT BOIL).
When the butter is melted, remove the pot from the heat and immediately add (while the mixture is still hot, otherwise the sugar won’t dissolve) the sugar and cocoa and mix well with a hand whisk, then set the container aside and let the mixture cool well.
Meanwhile, pour the two whole eggs, sour cream, salt, and vanilla extract into the bowl of the stand mixer (you can also use electric whisks) and work for 5 minutes with the wire whisk until they become frothy.
Add the cooled beer mixture to the egg mixture, give a stir with the hand whisk, and finally add the sifted flour and baking soda, mixing well.
Pour the cake batter into a 9-inch diameter mold, buttered (I use release spray) and floured, and bake in a preheated oven at 340°F for about 50-60 minutes (depends on your oven).
Leave the cake to cool completely in the mold on a rack, as it is quite a moist cake.
Pour the cold heavy cream into a cold bowl (electric whisks should also be cold) and whip it well. Take another container and pour in the cream cheese (Philadelphia) and make it smooth with the electric whisks, then add the powdered sugar, salt, and cornstarch (sifted) and work for about 3 minutes, finally add, by hand, gently, little by little, from the bottom up, the previously whipped cream. You will get a wonderful white, creamy, and fluffy frosting.
Take the cooled cake and spread a generous amount of frosting on top, spreading it to create the effect of beer foam.
Place the Guinness cake in the fridge for at least 1 hour before serving it.
The chocolate cake can easily be prepared the day before, but it should be frosted just before serving.
Notes and Tips
Recipe for homemade sour cream: in a bowl, whisk 1 cup of fresh liquid cream with 1/3 cup of plain whole yogurt (I use Total fage 5%) (a few drops of lemon can be added if desired) and let the mixture rest at room temperature for 24 hours, covered with a cloth. After this time, you can take the required amount for the Guinness Cake (2/3 cup). Sour cream can be stored in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.
For the frosting: if you don’t like cream cheese, you can frost the cake simply with whipped cream, but I strongly recommend its original frosting with Philadelphia and cream.
The already frosted cake can be stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator for 1-2 days. The cake without frosting, instead, can be stored in an airtight container in a cool place for up to 5 days. The unfrosted cake can also be frozen, wrapped in a double layer of plastic wrap for up to 3 months, thawed at room temperature for about 4 hours, and frosted with the frosting at the time of serving.
The already frosted cake can be stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator for 1-2 days. The cake without frosting, instead, can be stored in an airtight container in a cool place for up to 5 days. The unfrosted cake can also be frozen, wrapped in a double layer of plastic wrap for up to 3 months, thawed at room temperature for about 4 hours, and frosted with the frosting at the time of serving.
The already frosted cake can be stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator for 1-2 days. The cake without frosting, instead, can be stored in an airtight container in a cool place for up to 5 days. The unfrosted cake can also be frozen, wrapped in a double layer of plastic wrap for up to 3 months, thawed at room temperature for about 4 hours, and frosted with the frosting at the time of serving.
Shopping Tips!!!
To weigh the ingredients for my preparations, I use this handy Digital kitchen scale, with a large removable bowl, tare function, and built-in timer, you can find it on Amazon at a great price.
To knead to perfection, I use my Kenwood stand mixer with illuminated bowl, 7L, integrated scale, and blender, with a power of 1400W, a loyal ally in the kitchen for: kneading, weighing, whipping, cooking, grinding, and pasteurizing eggs.
If you’re looking for a more economical and smaller stand mixer model, you can easily choose to purchase the excellent Kenwood,1200W power, double bowl of 5L and 3.5L with integrated scale.
The Guinness beer can be found in well-stocked supermarkets or on Amazon.
To bake the cake perfectly, I used this excellent Agnelli cake pan with a diameter of 22 cm, 8 cm high, it cooks evenly and homogenously, and can be found here on Amazon.
To avoid greasing my hands when buttering pans, I use this practical non-stick food spray, tasteless and odorless, available on Amazon.
To avoid greasing my hands when buttering pans, I use this practical non-stick food spray, tasteless and odorless, available on Amazon.
FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions)
Origins of the Guinness Cake?
The Guinness, or dark beer, is one of the symbols of Ireland, making this nation famous worldwide. The Irish drink it on all occasions and do not hesitate to use it in traditional recipes, both savory and sweet. On St. Patrick’s Day, March 17, every Irish person prepares their own Guinness cake with the famous stout beer (dark and robust), produced in Ireland since 1759 by Arthur Guinness Son & Co., at its Dublin brewery.
The Story of St. Patrick?
The St. Patrick’s Day is celebrated in Ireland on March 17 because it is said that the saint died on that day in the year 461, in Ireland. During this occasion, parades are organized in the streets of many cities, like Dublin, but not only in Ireland, but all over the world. People dress in green, which is the symbol color of Ireland, bringing shamrocks, dancing Celtic traditional dances to the sound of bagpipes, and, of course, drinking plenty of Guinness beer.
Who was St. Patrick? St. Patrick was not Irish at all as one might think, but was born in Cumbria, a region of Great Britain. He has a truly adventurous story and, at 16, was kidnapped, became a slave, and was brought to present-day Northern Ireland.
He learned the Celts’ language and religion, but converted to Catholicism and was commissioned by Pope Celestine I to evangelize the land that had enslaved him. Legend has it that Patrick used a shamrock to explain the Holy Trinity (Father, Son, and Holy Spirit) to the Irish.
