Chocolate Guinness Cake

Last night was a very special night because my family and I were celebrating both my Dad and Mom's birthdays and my little sister's college graduation.  I was given the task of bringing the birthday cake (I always volunteer for anything baking related) and had set off in search of that perfect cake!

I had a few different options in mind, mostly ones that I had pinned onto my 'baking/desert' board on Pinterest.  When I logged onto to check what I had saved, my eye immediately went to the absolute perfectly suiting cake for our celebration...yes, I'm talking about a Chocolate Guinness Cake!

This cake is so suiting for us for many different reasons.  First, I love to try baking anything new and different.  Also, my husband and dad are both Guinness freaks so I knew it would be a hit with them.  And, furthermore, my family is partaking on a trip to Ireland this summer so I thought it would be a great way to tie that in as well (my sisters graduation gift were some Euros)!

I got the recipe from Design Sponge. which by the way, has so gorgeous pictures of this cake.  It is simple to make and doesn't require any crazy ingredients or baking tools!  Perfect.

Chocolate Guinness Cake

Ingredients:■250 g (1 c. and 2 tbsp) unsalted butter
■250 ml (1 c.) Guinness

■75 g Dutch process cocoa ( 3/4 c.), sifted

■275 g (2 + 1/4 c.) all purpose flour, sifted

■2 tsp. baking soda

■400 g (2 c.) sugar

■2 medium eggs

■150 ml (2/3 c.) sour cream

■1 tbsp. good quality vanilla extract

Frosting:■300 g (1 + 1/3 cup) cream cheese

■150 g (1+1/2 c.) powdered sugar, sifted

■150 ml (2/3 c.) cream, whipped

Baking Instructions:

Preheat oven to 180C/350F.

1. Add butter, cocoa and Guinness to a saucepan. Warm over a medium heat and stir until melted. Set aside for 5 to 10 minutes to cool slightly.

2. Add flour, baking soda and sugar to a large mixing bowl and mix together well. Pour in the Guinness/cocoa/butter mixture, lightly combine, add the vanilla, eggs and sour cream and beat everything together until well combined. The batter should be thick and dark chocolate in color.

3. Pour into a greased and lined 10″ angel food pan (or another straight-sided tube pan) and cook in the oven for 1 hour to 1 hour 15 minutes, or until a skewer comes out clean from the centre of the cake.*Note: This cake is very moist inside, so use your judgment regarding the skewer test. Do not leave in the oven until the cake has totally dried out — cook long enough so there is no uncooked cake on the skewer but there may be a few moist crumbs sticking to it after an hour of cooking. [Please note: This recipe is designed for using an 8.5" x 3.5" pan. If you make this in a regular angel food cake pan, you should start checking for doneness at least 15 minutes early.]

4. Leave to cool for 10 to 15 minutes before removing from the cake tin and placing on a wire wrack to cool completely.

Frosting Instructions:

1. Place the cream cheese into the bowl of a mixer and beat on a low-medium speed using a whisk attachment (I find a paddle attachment tends to over-beat the cheese). Whisk until the cheese is smooth and there are no big lumps remaining.

2. Gradually, using a large spoon, add in the sifted powdered sugar and beat gently to combine. After 2 to 3 minutes, stop the machine, scrape any excess frosting from the sides of the bowl and beat on medium speed until lump free.

3. Remove bowl from mixer and gently fold in the whipped cream, mixing to fully combine.

4. Place cooled cake on a cake stand and add the frosting, spreading out just to the edge without going over the side (never go over the sides of the cake) until the cake resembles a pint of the creamy black stuff! The idea is to capture the essence and simplicity of a pint of Guinness.

This cake is so yummy (when it's baking the smell is absolutely divine!) and a great conversation piece.  I love how the dark chocolate part of the cake, topped off with the frothy looking white frosting, resembles an actual pint of Guinness!  It is soooo very moist and the frosting is a show stopper!  Do yourself a favor and try out this great recipe!  Cheers!

And finally...I have one more thing to cover - the results of my contest!!

So, I just want to send out a HUGE thank you to everyone that took the time to enter my contest, pin the posting on pinterest, and/or post it on Facebook or Twitter.  You all rock and I appreciate it so very much.

Now, by random number generator, the winner is...

Kristi from Schnitzel and Boo!!!!!

Thank you so much Kristi!!!!  I will be in contact with you to get your mailing address so that I can send you out this awesome recipe book!! :)