Chocolate Guinness Cake

I asked Boyfriend if I should make a dessert for our 2-person Thanksgiving dinner. He said, "Yeah! Chocolate Guinness Cake!" I said, "Or do you want me to make something more Thanksgiving-y. Like Pumpkin Cheesecake!" He said, "No! Chocolate Guinness Cake!" I agreed, and he said, "And can you make that icing too?!" Chocolate Guinness Cake it is, with the almost pure sugar icing. This cake is great at room temperature or after coming out of the fridge, but Boyfriend and I like to heat it up for a bit in the microwave and let the icing get warm and gooey!

This recipe first came to my attention when I was a grocery store in undergrad and saw a copy of Imbibe magazine on display. It advertised a recipe for Chocolate Guinness Cupcakes. I bought the magazine and gave them a try- they were delicious!

I find cupcakes a big pain to make, so the next time I made this recipe I made it as a cake. My torts professor had a Torts and Tortes party for my 1L section (the group of students I had all of my classes with during my first year of law school). He encouraged us to bring desserts, and we had a bake off among 5 of us who had brought desserts. My Chocolate Guinness Cake won, and I received a copy of "Freakonomics" as a prize. I still haven't read it, but I keep it on my bookshelf as a subtle trophy.

This recipe is altered very little from its original form. The ingredients are the same, only the directions are different. To make this cake as cupcakes, pour the batter into 24 muffin tins and bake for 25 minutes.

Chocolate Guinness Cake
Makes 1 cake

• One 12-ounce bottle Guinness stout
• 1 1/2 sticks unsalted butter, melted
• 1 tbsp pure vanilla extract
• 3 large eggs
• 3/4 cup sour cream
• 3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa, plus more for garnish
• 2 1/2 cups sugar
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 1/2 tsp baking soda
• One 8-ounce package cream cheese, softened
• 1 cup heavy cream
• 1 1/2 pounds Confectioners' sugar

1. Preheat oven to 350°.

2. In a large mixing bowl, combine the Guinness, melted butter and vanilla. Beat in the eggs, one at a time. Mix in the sour cream.


3. In another large bowl, whisk together the cocoa, sugar, flour, and baking soda. Gradually mix the dry ingredients into the wet Guinness mixture.

4. Pour the batter in a nonstick 9 x 13 baking pan and bake for 35 minutes.


5. To make the frosting, beat the cream cheese in a bowl until light and fluffy. Gradually beat in the heavy cream. Slowly mix in the confectioners' sugar. Once the cake has cooled, top it with the icing and and dust with cocoa.