Chocolate Stout Beer Cake

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It’s going to be over 100 degrees here in Northern California and I’m baking today.  Luckily, I got this cake in the oven early while it was 85 degrees, but my kitchen heated up fast.  I don’t mind since it’s for my little friend James who will be turning five years old.  Yes, he specifically asked for “Beer Cake” for his birthday, it’s his favorite.

Chocolate Stout Beer Cake

So everyone asks does this cake taste like beer? No, but there is a bit of a tang to it with a malty flavor! Will little James get drunk if he eats this cake? No, the alcohol is cooked off! So why put beer in a cake? Because it adds a depth of flavor that you can’t get with spices.    I usually bake this cake with Guinness but my friend found a Chocolate Stout Beer from Bison Brewing Co. made in Ukiah, California.  The label says “Stout Brewed with Peruvian Cocoa.”  Beer and chocolate didn’t know they went together so beautifully.  I hope you give this recipe a try; it’s easy and delicious.

Chocolate Stout Beer

Here’s my cake tip:

When preparing the pan, instead of coating it with flour, mix sugar and cocoa powder together then coat the pan with this mixture.  When you remove the cake it will have a nice chocolate coating without any evidence of flour ruining the top of the cake.

This is how nice it came out of the pan.  It’s ready to eat at this point, or if you want to dress this up a bit you could sprinkle it with powdered sugar or do like I did and make a ganache to drizzle over it.  Since my cake was for James, remember he’s five years old, I added some chocolate sprinkles for a more festive touch.

How to Make a Chocolate Stout Beer Cake

Preheat oven to 350 degrees Prepare a large bundt style pan.  Mix sugar and cocoa powder together and sprinkle into a bundt pan coated with cooking spray.  Make sure to cover all nooks and crannies plus the center cone, this will help the cake come out cleanly. To prepare the cake: 1 1/4 cup stout Guinness beer 1/3 cup dark molasses 1 2/3 cup AP flour 3/4 cups unsweetened cocoa powder 1 1/2 tsp. baking powder 1/2 tsp. baking soda 1/2 tsp. salt 1 1/4 cup softened, unsalted butter 1 1/2 cup brown sugar 3 large eggs at room temperature 6 oz. semi sweet chocolate chopped fine Chocolate Ganache Glaze: 3/4 cup heavy cream 6 oz. semisweet chocolate 1.  In a small saucepan add the beer and molasses;  heat to a simmer.  Remove from heat and let cool. 2.  In a large bowl cream the butter on medium speed until smooth. 3.  Add the brown sugar to the butter and beat on medium speed until light and fluffy. 4.  Add the eggs one at a time until fully incorporated. 5.  Sift the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda and salt together. 6.  Alternately, add the flour mixture and cooled beer/molasses mixture to the bowl, end with the flour. 7. Stop and scrape the bowl and beat until the batter is smooth. 8.  Stir in the chopped chocolate. 9.  Pour the batter into the prepared pan. 10.  Bake 45 to 50 minutes, until a skewer comes out with a few moist crumbs. 11.  Let cool in the pan then remove to a cooling rack. Prepare the Ganache: 1.  Bring the cream to a boil in a saucepan. 2.  Remove the pan from heat and add the chocolate. 3.  Let stand for one minute then whisk until the chocolate is melted and smooth. 4.  Let ganache cool then drizzle over cooled cake. Slice and enjoy! I hope you give this cake a try, it has a wonderful deep chocolate flavor and it is simply delicious.