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Hi Bold Bakers!
WHAT YOU GET: A simple, yet incredible, chocolate cake recipe made with Guinness for an Irish twist. It’s as easy as mixing your dry ingredients with your wet and incorporating that lovely dark beer from my home.
I love this chocolate Guinness cake recipe because of how bold it is! The cake is incredibly moist and dense, and it has a deep chocolate flavor. But the (not so secret, it is in the title, after all) secret ingredient enhances the cake’s flavor. The Guinness’s bitterness perfectly balances out the sweetness of the sugar!
To be honest, I’m not even a fan of Guinness beer. (Is that against the law for an Irish woman to say?) But you can’t taste the stout at all in the cake, but you can tell there is something different about the flavor of this chocolate cake.
I like to compliment this dense pound cake-like texture and dark, bittersweet chocolate flavor with a chocolate glaze that is silky and sweet. Traditionally, this cake is topped with my Best-Ever Chocolate Fudge Frosting, and that is just as delicious!
What Is Chocolate Guinness Cake?
Chocolate Guinness Cake is different from your typical chocolate cake because it includes Guinness beer. The famous Irish stout gets its flavors from malted and unmalted barley—if you’ve ever had a Guinness, you know it’s a pretty unique tasting beer with its certain “tang” of flavor. You’ll only need a cup of Guinness for this recipe. If you’re of legal age, taste what’s leftover and see if you can pick up on that flavor I’m talking about!
That malty goodness and slight tang do something magical when paired with chocolate!
What You Need To Make Chocolate Guinness Cake
- Measuring Cups and Spoons
- 9-inch (23cm) springform pan
- Parchment paper
- Stand mixer or hand mixer
- Mixing bowls
- Microwave-safe bowl or small saucepan.
How Do You Make Chocolate Guinness Cake?
If you’re looking for a dense, intensely chocolatey cake, then you have to try this one! Here is how you make chocolate Guinness Cake (and don’t forget to get the full recipe with measurements, on the page down below.):
- Preheat your oven to 350°F (180°C). Butter and line a 9-inch (23cm) springform pan with parchment paper and set aside.
- Using either a stand mixer or a hand mixer, beat the Guinness, melted butter, cocoa powder, granulated sugar, and brown sugar.
- Beat in the sour cream, then the eggs and vanilla extract until all the ingredients are thoroughly combined.
- In a separate bowl, combine the flour, baking soda, and salt. Whisk the flour mixture into the Guinness mixer until it is evenly mixed.
- Pour the batter into your prepared pan and bake for 45-60 minutes. Test for doneness by inserting a skewer in the middle of the cake. It is ready when the skewer comes out clean. Once baked, let the cake cool completely in the pan.
- As the cake cools, make the chocolate glaze: combine the butter, chocolate, and honey in a microwave-safe bowl or a small saucepan and heat it gently until the butter and chocolate melt. Stir together and let it cool until it has thickened, but it is still pourable.
- Once the cake is cooled, transfer it to a serving plate and pour the glaze on the cake.
Gemma’s Pro Chef Tips For Making Chocolat Guinness Cake
- A lot of recipes ask you to pack your brown sugar. I don’t do this in my recipes. Use loosely measured brown sugar or a kitchen scale to get the correct measurement.
- While I prefer a chocolate glaze, this cake is traditionally topped with cream cheese frosting. Check out how to make cream cheese frosting here!
- This is a large cake, so you want to make sure your springform pan is at least 9-inches (23cm). A 10-inch (25.5cm) pan also works.
- This cake is simple, sturdy, and incredibly delicious—making it perfect and easily transportable for a picnic!
- This cake is tall! You can split it in half and make it a layer cake. Frost with my best ever chocolate fudge frosting!
- If you don’t have sour cream, you can use the same amount of plain yogurt.
- If you’re not a fan of drinking Guinness, it makes a lovely addition to beef stew.
How Do I Store Chocolate Guinness Cake?
You can store any leftover chocolate Guinness cake in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days. If you’d like to keep it for longer, freeze it in an airtight container for up to 2 months.
Make More Cake!
- Pound Cake With Sprinkles
- Citrus Olive Oil Cake
- Best-Ever Chocolate Cake with Whipped Dark Chocolate Ganache
- Best-Ever Carrot Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting
Get more Irish Recipes:
- Simple White Irish Soda Bread
- Traditional Irish Bread and Butter Pudding
- Traditional Irish Soda Bread (Brown Bread)
- Classic Irish Apple Tart
- 5-Minute Authentic Irish Brown Bread
- Authentic Irish Apple Amber Pie
- Authentic Irish Potato Farls
- My Mum’s Authentic Irish Apple Crumble
And don’t forget to buy my Bigger Bolder Baking Cookbook!
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That’s right, inside or out of the Academy! So subscribe now!
Full (and printable) recipe below!
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Watch The Recipe Video!
Chocolate Guinness Cake Recipe
Ingredients
For the Cake
- 10 tablespoons (5oz/142g) butter, melted
- ¾ cup (3oz/85g) cocoa powder
- 1 cup (8oz/225g) granulated sugar
- 1 ⅓ cups (8oz/225g) dark brown sugar
- 1 cup (8floz/240ml) Guinness stout
- ¾ cup (6oz/170g) sour cream
- 2 large eggs (at room temperature)
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
- 2 cups (10oz/284g) all-purpose flour
- 1 ½ teaspoons baking soda
- 1 teaspoon salt
Chocolate Butter Glaze
- ½ cup (4oz/115g) butter
- ⅔ cup (4oz/115g) bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped
- 1 tablespoon honey or golden syrup
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F (180°C). Butter and line with parchment a 9-inch (23cm) springform pan. Set aside.
- In a large bowl whisk together the melted butter, cocoa powder, granulated sugar, brown sugar and the Guinness.
- Whisk in the sour cream, and then the eggs and vanilla extract until fully combined.
- In a separate bowl, combine the flour, baking soda, and salt. Whisk the flour mixture into the chocolate mixture until evenly mixed.
- Pour the batter into the prepared pan and bake for 45-60 minutes, until a skewer inserted in the middle comes out clean. Let the cake cool completely in the pan.
- While the cake is cooling, prepare the butter glaze: combine the butter, chocolate, and honey in a microwave-safe bowl or in a small saucepan and heat gently until the butter and chocolate melt. Stir together and let cool until thickened but still pourable.
- Once the cake has cooled, transfer the cake to a serving plate and pour the glaze on the cake. Let the glaze set for an hour or two before serving if you wish.
- Store any leftover cake in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days. For longer storage, freeze in an airtight container for up to 2 months.
Hi Gemma!
May I make this cake in bundt pan and if so, how should I adjust time and temp? Kindly answer promptly as I’m eager to try it!
Thank you and HAPPY ☘️
Omg omg omg yes! I have been waiting for this one. (Did the dance of joy too) 🤫 Thank you Gemma I will be making this tomorrow, already checked my pantry and I have all the ingredients.
I made this cake today Smells INCREDIBLE Question though when I took i out of the over there was quite a large crack on the top and one on the side What did I do wrong ?
Hi Gemma, Made this cake to test it out for St. Paddy’s to have as dessert after our Irish Stew of course. This was a wonderful rich cake, I doubled the recipe and just threw in the whole can of Guinness Beer. Two cakes gone in two days, so rich and delicious. The Beer sure adds a unique flavour. Thank you for this recipe.
Made this today for my partners birthday cake, he loved it!!! Used your fudge frosting, turned out great!!! The cake has such a nice flavor.
Well, I took this out of the oven at 45 min. Skewer came out clean but it seemed rather jiggly so I put it back in for 3 more min. Left it in the pan and put it on a cooling rack to cool. When it came out of the oven, it looked good. After about 15-20 min cooling, it had a rather large depression in the center. After about 90 min on the cooling rack, I took a shot at putting it on a plate to glaze. It turned out that while the skewer came out looking clean, the… Read more »
I have sometimes over baked cakes. Can I use a thermometer to test when it’s done? If so, what temperature should I aim for? Thank you!
Gemma, I don’t like honey, can I use dark corn syrup in place of it in the glaze?
Gemma I want to make this recipe for a large group (40 people) for St. Patrick’s Day and was wondering if I could do it in a sheet pan instead of a springform pan. I know the cake would be not as tall which is not an issue. Also if I can use a full sheet pan how should I scale the recipe?
Do I line the whole springform pan or just the bottom?