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This perfectly tender chocolate cake gets its deep flavor thanks to Irish stout. Finish this chocolate Guinness cake with a rich chocolate ganache or your favorite chocolate frosting for a perfect dessert for any chocolate lover.
I first made this chocolate guinness cake years and years ago for my younger brother, Jared.
Even though I’m not a big fan of alcohol, I often find myself buying various libations that pique my interest for use in recipes. One of those random purchases somewhere along the line included a couple bottles of stout beer that I just knew would lend itself quite well to a chocolatey cake.
And so, thanks to a bit of impulse shopping and my little brother, this chocolate Guinness cake was born.
What is Chocolate Guinness Cake?
Chocolate Guinness cake is exactly what it sounds like: a tender chocolate cake with a whole bottle of Guinness stout in it.
Now, if you’re not a big fan of beer, don’t freak out. The flavor of the isn’t very pronounced; instead, the stout helps give the chocolate a deeper flavor.
It’s not unlike how we use a little bit of coffee in the best chocolate cake for a richer chocolate flavor. (In fact, this recipe has coffee in it, too!)
The first time I made this cake, I used a chocolate stout, but I have also made it with Guinness and either beer works great in this recipe.
I like to finish this chocolate Guinness cake with a rich chocolate ganache frosting. Since the cake itself has a deep chocolate flavor but isn’t rich, it balances out the richness of the chocolate ganache.
This is definitely a cake for the chocolate lovers in your life!
How to Make Chocolate Guinness Cake
Like nearly all layer cake recipes, this chocolate Guinness cake is impressive to cut into. But you don’t need any special skills to make it, I promise!
Ingredients you’ll need
To make this decadent cake, you will need:
- 12 ounces Guinness beer (you can also use chocolate stout)
- ½ cup strong black coffee
- 2 cups unsalted butter, cut into pieces
- 1 1/2 cups Dutch-processed cocoa powder
- 4 cups all purpose flour
- 4 cups granulated sugar
- 1 tablespoon baking powder
- 1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt
- 4 large eggs
- 1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract
- 1 1/3 cups sour cream
Any good stout beer will work in this cake, but I personally prefer to use Guinness or a nice chocolate stout.
If you aren’t a regular coffee drinker and don’t want to brew a pot, you can replace the coffee with ½ teaspoon of instant espresso powder dissolved in ½ cup of hot water.
I recommend using dutch-processed cocoa powder in this cake. Dutch-process cocoa has been through an alkalizing process that gives it a higher pH and a darker, richer color than natural, unsweetened cocoa.
You can find dutch-process cocoa in the baking aisle of most grocery stores these days. It will sometimes be labeled as “dutched,” “alkalized,” or “European style.”
When measuring out your ingredients, make sure you know how to measure flour correctly. Use this same method for measuring the cocoa powder as well. This will help your chocolate Guinness cake to come out perfectly every time.
If you want to make the chocolate ganache frosting, you will need:
- 2 cups heavy whipping cream
- 1 pound chopped semisweet chocolate
This will make enough ganache to cover and fill all 3 layers of the cake.
Making this cake
This recipe makes a three-layer 8-inch cake, so you will need three 8-inch round cake pans. Lightly coat all of the pans with nonstick cooking spray or butter and line them with parchment on the bottoms. I also recommend spraying the parchment paper.
This recipe makes a LOT of batter, so you will definitely need to use your biggest mixing bowl. If you have a 5-quart KitchenAid mixer, it will fit but just barely!
To make the cake batter, start by bringing the Guinness, coffee, and butter to a simmer in a large, heavy saucepan over medium heat. Once simmering, add the cocoa powder and whisk until smooth. Let this cool.
Now whisk the flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt in a large bowl. In your biggest bowl or your stand mixer, beat the eggs, vanilla, and sour cream together until smooth.
Add the Guinness-chocolate mixture to the egg mixture, beating until just combined. Make sure the stout mixture is cool enough before adding it that it won’t scramble the eggs.
Slowly add the flour mixture, beating on low speed until just combined.
Divide the batter evenly between the prepared cake pans, then bake for 40-45 minutes at 350°F. You will want to rotate the pans halfway through baking to make sure all 3 layers bake evenly.
The cakes are done baking when a tester inserted into the center comes out clean. Let the cakes cool in the pans for 10 minutes before turning them out a wire rack to cool completely.
For the chocolate ganache frosting, bring the cream to a simmer over medium heat. Add the chopped semi-sweet chocolate to a bowl and pour the hot cream over it.
Let the mixture rest for a few minutes, then whisk until the ganache is melted and smooth.
Refrigerate until the mixture is spreadable, stirring every 20-30 minutes. This usually takes about 90 minutes for me.
To assemble the cakes, place 1 layer on a cake plate. If the cakes are very domed, you can use a large, serrated knife to level the tops.
Spread ⅔ cup of the frosting on top of the first layer. Top with the second layer and repeat. Finish with the third layer and spread the remaining frosting over the top and sides of the cake.
If desired, finish the chocolate Guinness cake with some chocolate curls.
Pin this now to find it later
Pin ItStorage Tips
Store chocolate Guinness cake covered in a cake carrier for 3-4 days at room temperature.
I don’t personally love refrigerating this cake – sometimes the texture changes a bit after it has been refrigerated. But you certainly can refrigerate it or freeze it for longer storage; follow my directions for how to freeze cake when doing so.
Recipe FAQs
I love using Guinness in this recipe because it’s the most iconic Irish stout (and so easy to find, especially around St. Patrick’s Day). But any dry stout in a similar style to Guinness should work just fine.
I have also used chocolate stout in this recipe and that was also delicious!
This particular chocolate Guinness cake really does rely on the stout in the cake batter, so there isn’t a good replacement for it if you don’t like beer.
If you are still looking for a great chocolate cake without the stout, try black magic cake, eggless chocolate cake, or even this vegan chocolate cake.
I personally think this recipe works best with dutched cocoa, but you can make it with natural unsweetened cocoa. Just keep in mind that the color of the final cake may not be quite as dark and the texture may be slightly different due to pH differences in the two cocoas.
Absolutely. If you don’t have sour cream on hand, plain yogurt will work. I prefer to use Greek yogurt when baking and find it is the closest in texture to sour cream.
Yes! My homemade chocolate frosting is a great option. Even cream cheese frosting would be delicious with the deep chocolate flavor of this chocolate Guinness cake.
Chocolate Guinness Cake
Ingredients
- 12 ounces Guinness beer you can also use chocolate stout
- ½ cup strong black coffee
- 2 cups unsalted butter cut into pieces
- 1 ½ cups Dutch-processed cocoa powder
- 4 cups all purpose flour
- 4 cups granulated sugar
- 1 tablespoon baking powder
- 1 ½ teaspoons kosher salt
- 4 large eggs
- 1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract
- 1 ⅓ cups sour cream
For the frosting
- 2 cups heavy whipping cream
- 1 pound semisweet chocolate chopped
Instructions
For the Cake
- Preheat oven to 350°F. Lightly coat three 8-inch round cake pans with 2-inch-high sides with nonstick spray or butter and line with parchment paper rounds, then spray paper. Set aside.
- In heavy large saucepan over medium heat, bring Guinness, coffee and butter to a simmer. Add cocoa powder and whisk until mixture is smooth. Cool slightly.
- Whisk flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt in a large bowl to blend. In another large bowl, use an electric mixer to beat eggs, vanilla and sour cream until smooth.
- Add Guinness-chocolate mixture to the egg mixture and beat until just combined, taking care the stout mixture is cool enough that it will not cook the eggs. Gradually add flour mixture, beating on low speed until just combined. Divide batter equally among prepared pans.
- Bake cakes 40-45 minutes, rotating pans between racks halfway through baking. Cakes are done when a tester inserted into center of cakes comes out clean. Transfer cakes to rack; cool 10 minutes in the pans. Turn cakes out onto rack and cool completely.
For the frosting
- Bring cream just to a simmer in a saucepan over medium heat. Remove from heat. Add chopped chocolate to a bowl and pour over hot cream. Let stand for a few minutes, then whisk until melted and smooth. Refrigerate until icing is spreadable, stirring every 20-30 minutes, about 1 ½ hours.
- Place 1 cake layer on plate. Spread 2/3 cup icing over. Top with second cake layer. Spread 2/3 cup icing over. Top with third cake layer. Spread remaining icing over top and sides of cake. Top with chocolate curls.
Video
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
This was a delicious cake and everyone at the gym loved it. I felt that the cake came out a bit dry. My oven’s temperature is off by a little over 50 degrees. I set the convection oven to 300 degrees, but my thermometer was still showing a little above that.
Oven temps can be tricky! If you know yours runs a bit high, you can always start checking for doneness a few minutes before the time listed in the recipe. Thanks for sharing your feedback!
If I wanted to use your Doctored cake mix recipe (which I LOVE), would I just do 1 cup of stout instead of the 1 cup water with espresso.
Hello! I haven’t attempted that particular recipe with this substitution, so I am not sure of the result. If you happen to give it a try, I’d love to know how it turned out. Thanks so much for stopping by.
-Jamie
Just made this cake for the 5th time this year. Officially everyones favorite. We’ve made it in 8″, 9″ and 10″ pans and all sizes come out tall and perfect.
(In our experience, it stays delicious for way more than 2 days! )
Thanks so much for stopping by and leaving your feedback, Gina!
This cake was so nice, I made it twice! Literally. I made it last Saturday for my BFF’s hubby 50th birthday. Huge hit! I was told he tried very hard not to share the leftovers. My hubs love it so much, he requested I make another the very next day. I did. He pretty much ate the WHOLE cake!!!!! Seriously, this cake is fantastic.
So happy to hear you enjoyed it, Gina! Thanks so much for stopping by!
-Jamie
Can this be made in 9″ pans?
Can I use baking margarine instead of butter?
Hi, Mary! Yes, I believe you can. Let me know how you like it!
This is the second time I am making this cake. The cake itself is AMAZING, but there is an abundance of batter to fit into (3) 8″ rounds. I learned my lesson the first time after they spilt out all over my oven. I had the exact same problem that Anna from above had. It took well over the estimated 35 minutes to bake these cakes. Are you sure you did not use (3) 9″ cake rounds to make yours?
Hi, Cynthia! I used 8 inch pans, but you could definitely use 9 inch if you like. I’m so glad you like the cake…it’s one of my favorites as well!
My daughter and I made this cake yesterday. Wow!! It really is fabulous. I have a question about the beer: what exactly is it’s purpose? I am not a beer fan, but I found that I barely tasted it. I know that coffee enhances chocolate, but what does the beer do? Would the cake be very different without it? Again, fabulous!!!
I’m so glad you and your daughter enjoyed it, Paula! I have to say that stout and chocolate are an amazing pairing. Stout adds more depth to the chocolate, as well as moisture to the overall cake. Stout also cuts back on the sweetness, making the cake rich. I hope this answers your question!
What should we use to replace eggs??
Hi, Manjinder! You can use one mashed banana or 1/4 cup unsweetened applesauce for every egg. Enjoy!