INGREDIENTS

• 1 cup Guinness stout

• 10 tablespoons (1 stick plus 2 tablespoons) unsalted butter

• 3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa

• 2 cups powdered sugar

• 1 cup sour cream

• 2 large eggs

• 1 tablespoon vanilla extract

• 2 cups all-purpose flour

• 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt

• 2-1/2 teaspoons baking soda

FOR THE FROSTING:

• 1 (8 ounce) brick cream cheese, softened

• 2-1/2 cups sifted powdered sugar (or less, depending on how sweet you like your frosting)

• 2 tablespoons of whole milk or heavy cream

PREPARATION

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

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

3. For the frosting: using a Kitchen-Aid or hand mixer, mix powdered sugar to break up lumps. Add cream cheese and blend until smooth. Add milk or cream, and mix until smooth and spreadable.

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

RECIPE NOTES

Guinness and Chocolate Cake - it doesn’t get much better than this for St. Patrick’s Day. This recipe comes courtesy of Nigella Lawson and was featured in the New York Times a few years ago. I’m in complete agreement with the over 2,000 mostly 5 Star reviews. Beer in your cake may sound strange but it accentuates the chocolate in the same way espresso powder or coffee does. You can’t really taste the beer but it does impart a faint malty, hoppy flavor in the best way possible. I would recommend using 50/50 blend of dark cocoa powder like Hershey’s Special Dark and regular cocoa powder to give it a deeper color. The midnight black cake is a stark contrast against the fluffy white frosting and looks very much like a proper pint of Guinness. If you don’t have a springform pan, use two 9 inch or 8 inch pans and spread a little frosting in the middle or you can make 24 cupcakes. Adjust the cooking times accordingly. You can also replace the cream or milk in the cream cheese frosting with 2 tablespoons of Baileys for an extra Irish touch.