Chocolate Stout Cake
Stout and other dark beers are often described as having chocolatey overtones, so this combination might not be as far-fetched as one might initially think. The flavor of this cake is multi-dimensional: the presence of the stout gives it a much more interesting finish; the hops from the beer act as a counterpoint to the sugar in the cake. It's an incredibly moist cake, too, and its rich, dark color comes mostly from the beer. This recipe makes two tall, imposing layers; be sure your 9-inch cake pans are at least 2 inches tall, or use 10-inch pans if you have them. For a smaller dessert, you could halve the recipe and split one tall 9-inch layer before frosting. You can see this recipe in greater detail at our blog, Bakers' Banter.
Cake
- 2 cups stout or dark beer, such as Guinness
- 2 cups (4 sticks) unsalted butter
- 1 1/2 cups Dutch-process cocoa
- 4 cups King Arthur Unbleached All-Purpose Flour
- 4 cups sugar
- 1 tablespoon baking powder
- 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
- 4 large eggs
- 3/4 cup sour cream
Frosting
- 1 pound bittersweet or semisweet chocolate, chopped
- 2 cups heavy cream
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Directions
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Recipe summary
- Hands-on time:
- 25 mins. to 35 mins.
- Baking time:
- 45 mins. to 50 mins.
- Total time:
- 1 hrs 10 mins. to 1 hrs 25 mins.
- Yield:
- 1 large cake, 16 servings
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- Recipe comments (31) »
Tips from our bakers
- If you're using salted butter, decrease the salt in the recipe to 1 teaspoon.
- If you're buying Guinness in cans (they list 14.9 ounces on the label), use 1 can and make up the difference in volume with water.
- If you're making 2 layers, be sure your 9" cake pans are at least 2" deep. If they aren't that tall, use three 8" layers instead
- The batter for this cake weighs 5 pounds, 15 ounces or 95 ounces. If you have a scale, a two layer cake should have 2 pounds, 15 1/2 ounces of batter in each pan. For a 3 layer cake, each layer should weigh 1 pound, 15 1/2 ounces.
- If you have access to chocolate disks or chips that are pure chocolate, they'll melt more quickly when making the frosting. We used a bit of leftover tempered chocolate in the photos for this recipe.
| Nutrition Facts | |
|---|---|
|
Serving Size one 2-layer slice, 2
Servings Per Batch 16 |
|
| Amount Per Serving | |
| Calories 824 | Calories from Fat 450 |
| Daily Value* | |
| Total Fat | 53g |
| Saturated Fat | 30g |
| Trans Fat | 1g |
| Cholesterol | 160mg |
| Sodium | 498mg |
| Total Carbohydrate | 89g |
| Dietary Fiber | 3g |
| Sugars | 62g |
| Protein | 9g |
| * The nutrition information provided for each recipe is determined by the ESHA Genesis R&D software program. Substituting any ingredients may change the posted nutrition information. | |
Reviews
08/13/2009
I have been a baker for years...love desserts...this is the best of the best chocolate cake.. I used a mocha butter cream icing. I baked this cake and took it to a fourth of July party...it was a hit, all raved about how wonderfu it wasl...Thank you King Arthur Flour for this gem. I first heard of your flour in 1976...a friends mother would have friends visiting in Canada bring home several bags for her...that and Rogers Syrup...Thank you again...There are not to many recipe sites I trust...you and Cooks Illustrated...thats it, do not want to experience any more flops, I do noy have the time for any, at my age!!! Marion Reed ,Mendocino, California
07/29/2009
I made this cake in a 12-cup bundt pan. Got good reviews: very dense and rich with an excellent crumb, although a little dry by my standards - but then, I did reduce the sugar by 20%. (This was because my husband did not want to part with his Guinness, and instead offered a fizzy malt drink he'd bought instead.) The cake took about 75 mins to bake in my convection oven (since it's convection, I reduced the temperature by 25 F). I glazed the cake with a simple ganache while the ganache was warm, using 200ml heavy cream (less than a cup) and 200g semisweet chocolate. That was more than enough ganache to glaze a bundt cake.
05/18/2009
People, settle down about the calories! It's basically a double-recipe cake with a crazy-fabulolus ganache frosting. I made half of it, in 2 8" pans, and it was lovely. I did my standard chocolate sour cream icing on top rather than springing for the ganache this time. Strangely enough, I think its complex chocolatey beer-influenced flavor is better the second day, so it's a great cake for a make-ahead. I do not like beer, which may explain why I liked it better day 2 as the flavors blended better with an overnight rest. I'm ready to make it again now!
04/06/2009
Here's a warning: Don't use a milk chocolate bar to make the frosting. I made this cake at someone's request, and I was out of the bittersweet chocolate bar, and didn't want to use chocolate chips, so I used a milk chocolate bar, and after 4 hours, it was still a soupy consistency, as it was 24 hours later. I had a deadline on this cake, so when I realized I couldn't use this frosting, I made a whipped cream filling and a sour cream chocolate frosting. Haven't received any report back yet on it, but in any case, I'm still wondering why my frosting never would thicken up when using the milk chocolate. I have a question for KAF bakers: Is there any way to make this frosting with milk chocolate? Thanks.
Beth - I am happy you love this cake, but am very sorry your ganache did not set up! The ratio of chocolate to cream was thrown off by the introduction of milk chocolate. It did not firm up because milk chocolate has milk present. Bittersweet and semi-sweet has only varying amounts of chocolate liquor, sugar and cocoa butter. For a milk chocolate version, you would need to either increase the chocolate or reduce the cream. Also, you could try chilling the ganache to help thicken. Call our Bakers' Hotline, 1-802-649-3717 for more assistance. Elisabeth @ KAF
04/03/2009
I just made this cake for the third time a few days ago, but halved the recipe, because the amount of batter is perfect for a 2-layer 8-inch cake. I had to use bittersweet chocolate chips (Ghirardelli) instead of a bittersweet chocolate bar (the kind King Arthur sells in 2-pound blocks), and to me there was a definite difference in the quality of the frosting. I had a much easier time frosting the cake when I used the chocolar BAR rather than chocolate CHIPS. The cake was still excellent, but after using both chips and bars, I would definitely try to use the latter.
03/30/2009
I made this cake and was so excited about it, I could not bear to share it with my friends, but I will give the the recipe. The texture is so unique and the flavor is heaven, I thought with all the chocolate it would be overpowering, but was not.
Super desert, This is our favorite. How would it be without the chocolate???
That would definately fall into the experiment catagory. You will need to rebalance the wet and the dry ingredient amounts. Have fun. Frank @ KAF.
03/24/2009
This is a wonderful rich cake! I used a vanilla Italian merangue buttercream as filling and a thin layer of frosting, then topped with the chocolate ganache. Mmmmm! My co-workers loved it! I wouldn't worry quite so much about the calories. The cake is so rich, most people can only eat a small piece.
03/24/2009
OMG! This was the best chocolate cake ever! I used a bundt pan and had enough batter left for an 8" layer also. It was so rich and had a deep chocolate flavor. I can see why it is over 800 calories. Thank you so much for this "keeper"
03/21/2009
Absolutely fantastic! As others have stated, this is a rich, rich cake but it makes a LOT of servings. Perfect for a special occasion. As an aside, I wish there was a way for KA to the delete ratings from people who haven't made it, but feel the need to comment (whether it's people who say "I haven't made it, but I'll bet it's good" or the calorie fanatics who have yet to learn the joys of a balanced diet and portion control). By all means, leave the comments, but please remove the ratings. It makes it hard for those of us who rely on the stars to quickly get information from bakers who have actually MADE the items.
03/20/2009
I made this cake again last night, but halved all the ingredients, and then made it in two 8-inch round cake pans. The two layers took just a little over 30 minutes to be done (using a toothpick to test them). In an earlier review, I mentioned to make up the frosting before starting the cake, but I'm revising that statement. Probably it was because I only used 8 ounces of chocolate and 8 ounces of heavy cream, but the ganache frosting was done in less than two hours, and my cake layers had not finished cooling, so the next time I make this cake (and there definitely will be a next time), I think I'll make the frosting while the cake is baking. Seems to me that it's better to have the cake layers cooled before the frosting gets too hard to spread properly. My husband is still raving about this amazing cake.
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