RC: Chocolate and Guinness Cake

This is an adaptation of a recipe from the Green and Black Cookbook, topped with a Jamie Oliver icing. Makes a fantastic, light textured, very dark and not too sweet chocolate cake. Usually really dark chocolate cakes tend to be very heavy in texture - this one isn't !


Guinness Chocolate Cake

250g unsalted butter (softened) (that's one cup or two sticks to my US friends)

1¾ cups soft dark brown sugar

4 large eggs, beaten

1 & 2/3 cups plain (all purpose) flour

½ tsp baking powder

2 tsp bicarb of soda (baking soda)

1¾ cups Guinness (I use a full 440ml can) - let head settle before using

1 cup cocoa powder, sifted

150g (5 oz) dark chocolate, grated (I stick it in the food processor and whiz) - about 1.5 cups (I use Callebaut 811 callets, but I think the 70% Lindt blocks would work as well)

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Preheat oven to 175 deg C (350 F).

Grease and line 9 inch springform cake pan with parchment paper (Glad Bake).

In a large bowl, cream together butter and sugar and gradually add the beaten eggs.

In another bowl, sift together flour, baking powder, baking soda and cocoa. Stir in grated chocolate.

Add some of flour mix to cake batter and mix, then add in some Guinness and mix. Continue alternating flour and stout until all used up and batter is thoroughly mixed (I like to finish with flour as the last addition). Mixture will be quite soft.

Spoon into pan and bake for one to one and a quarter hours or until skewer inserted into centre of cake comes out clean. You may need to cover the cake with foil after about an hour to prevent the top from browning.

Remove from oven and let stand for 10 minutes before turning out onto a wire rack to cool.

(Note : I usually bake this in a decorative cast aluminium Nordic Ware pan. dropping the oven temp. to 150 deg. C, and spraying the pan with canola oil first)


Chocolate Topping

100g/3 ¾ oz butter
100g/3 ¾ oz best cooking chocolate (I like the 70% Lindt)
100g /3 ¾ oz icing sugar (sifted)
3 tablespoons milk

Melt the chocolate topping ingredients in a bowl over some lightly simmering water. Stir until blended well and allow to cool slightly. Pour over cake and allow to set.

Variation - have just made this recipe in lined muffin pans - worked a treat. Reduce baking time in this case to about 20 - 25mins.

Celia, can you taste the beer?
We just had a slab of Coca Cola cake at a local "seafood and barbecue" restaurant here in NC. You couldn't taste the Coke, per se, but it also wasn't as chocolatey as we'd have liked.

Carrie,

Just a little - it gives the cake a hint of bitterness...

Celia

Thanks -- I'm going to try it out this week. My husband has three golf buddies coming down for a few days and I'll bet they would like it.
When you say decorative Nordic Ware pan, is that like what we call a bundt pan? Round with a hole in the middle? I was thinking that's what I would use...

Like one of these, Carrie...

http://www.nordicware.com/store/categor ... 02B3267AD7

Cheers, Celia

Many people enhance the taste of chocolate in a cake with the addition of coffee. I find that Guinness does the same; you don't taste it as much as enhance the chocolate flavor.

Guinness is on the lighter side of stouts. Though I have never tried it I think something stronger and heavier, like an oatmeal stout (Samuel Smith, Ram's) would be good.

rwj

Celia, I made this last night for "the guys." It's DELICIOUS. Rich and dark and decadent. Love the icing too. It was a huge hit. Thanks for posting the recipe!

Carrie,

I'm SO glad you liked it !! Thanks for letting me know.. :)

I think I'm going to start experimenting with different stouts - apparently there are even more chocolatey ones on the market..

Celia

Wanted to let you know that I made this and brought to work for a pot luck we did. I was huge hit. It turned out great considering I bake maybe once a year.

Cool !! Thanks for letting me know, Brian ! :)

Try adding a spoonful of chipotle chile powder to the recipe. Mix it with the dry ingredients.

Good idea, Bernard, but I'd never get it past the masses. :)

Have you tried it ?

Thanks, Celia

I've had chipotle flavored chocolate - very common in southwest, like Santa Fe. No reason it wouldn't work for your cake. You can tone down the chipotle powder so as not to kill your guests.

Yep, we get a lot of chilli chocolate here too. Thanks for the suggestion ! I actually make a fantastic recipe for mini chilli chocolate bites from the Chocolate and Zucchini site - if you're interested, the recipe is here

I make these with a spoonful of almond meal in place of the plain flour for a friend with celiac's disease. Works a treat !