Chocolate Guinness Cake

Source: Nigella Lawson, New York Times

Ingredients

Cake

• 1 cup Guinness stout
• 10 tbsp (1 stick plus 2 tbsp) unsalted butter
• ¾ cup unsweetened cocoa
• 2 cups superfine sugar
• ¾ cup sour cream
• 2 large eggs
• 1 tbsp vanilla extract
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 2½ tsp baking soda

Topping

• 1¼ cups confectioners’ sugar
• 8 oz cream cheese, at room temperature
• ½ cup heavy cream

Method

1. For the cake: heat the oven to 350°F. Butter a 9-inch springform pan and line with parchment paper. In a large saucepan, combine the Guinness and butter. Place over medium-low heat until the butter melts, then remove from heat. Add the cocoa and superfine sugar, and whisk to blend.

2. In a small bowl, combine the sour cream, eggs, and vanilla; mix well. Add to the Guinness mixture. Add the flour and baking soda, and whisk again until smooth. Pour into the buttered pan, and bake until risen and firm, 45 minutes to one hour. Place the pan on a wire rack and cool completely in the pan.

3. For the topping: using a food processor or by hand, mix the confectioners’ sugar to break up lumps. Add the cream cheese and blend until smooth. Add the heavy cream, and mix until smooth and spreadable.

4. Remove the cake from the pan and place on a platter or cake stand. Ice the top of the cake only, so that it resembles a frothy pint of Guinness.

Notes

Although the cake was good as is, we thought it might be good to add a bit of salt, say ½ to ¾ tsp. Also, I used regular, not superfine, sugar — no problem.