If you know a chocolate fiend, or you are one yourself, this dessert is for you! The cake itself is rich, moist and fudgy, while the frosting is creamy and sweet with the surprise hint of Irish Cream. Best of all, it is simple to toss together and does not require fancy decoration or display.
When you first read the recipe, it will seem a bit unusual - you don't normally cook a cake on the stove. It felt totally wrong and foreign to me the first time I made it, but after tasting the end result I will never question this method again. In step 3 you will see that I tempered the egg mixture into the melted chocolate - this is to ensure you get a smooth batter and avoid any bits of scrambled egg (If you want to test this out, add a raw egg to hot milk and see how quickly it starts to cook. Now start over and slowly introducing the milk to the raw egg, warming it gently - no scramble!)
The most popular versions of this recipe result in one big cake rather than two stacked, thinner layers. You could certainly follow this method - making sure to increase your baking time to allow for the thicker cake - but I prefer the two layers as you can load up on the delicious frosting. I garnished with a bit of shaved chocolate and served with a whiskey on the rocks, yum!
If you are looking for another chocolate & Irish cream dessert, check out my Bailey's Cream Cheese Brownies!
Guinness Chocolate Cake with Irish Cream Frosting
Ingredients
- CAKE
- 1 c. Guinness
- 1/2 c. butter
- 3/4 c. coca powder
- 2 c. sugar
- 3/4 c. full fat yogurt (or full fat sour cream)
- 2 eggs + 1 egg yolk
- 1 tbl vanilla
- 1 1/2 c. plain flour
- 1/2 c. almond flour
- 2 1/2 tsp. baking soda
- 1/2 tsp salt
- ---
- FROSTING
- 8 oz cream cheese, softened
- 8 tbl. butter, softened
- 1 tsp. vanilla
- 3 tbl. Irish cream liqueur (ie. Baileys)
- 3 c. confectioners sugar
Directions
- Step 1 Preheat oven to 350F and line/grease two 9" cake pans.
- Step 2 Place your Guinness and butter in a saucepan on medium heat and whisk together until the butter has melted. Add in the coca powder and sugar and whisk together until combined. Cook, stirring continuously, for 2-3 minutes or until the sugar has mostly dissolved.
- Step 3 Combine your yogurt, eggs and vanilla in a large bowl and temper into the chocolate. You do this by adding a small amount of the warm chocolate base into your egg mixture and combining. Repeat this step two more times, or until the temperature of the egg mix is room temperature or warmer. You can then pour the rest of the chocolate mix into the egg mixture and combine. (This step is necessary so the eggs do not scramble by being thrown into a hot mixture too quickly)
- Step 4 Add in your flour, baking soda and salt and whisk until incorporated.
- Step 5 Pour half of your batter in each greased pan and place in the oven for 18-20min, or until a toothpick comes out clean. Remove and leave to cool in the tin for at least 30 minutes. This is a heavy cake, if you try to remove earlier (even to transfer to a baking rack) it may fall apart.
- Step 6 While the cake is cooling, make your icing. Beat together your cream cheese and butter until smooth. Add in vanilla and Irish cream and beat for another minute. Slowly add in your confectioners sugar, beating on medium speed until your frosting is light and fluffy.
- Step 7 Once your cakes have cooled, remove them from the pan, cover with frosting and serve!
