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Guinness Chocolate Cake

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Rich and moist Guinness Chocolate Cake

 

A dark chocolate Guinness Cake on a cake stand

Guinness Chocolate Cake is great for St. Patrick’s Day or for the chocolate lover in your life!

St. Patrick’s Day is coming up soon and we’re ready with this FANTASTIC Guinness Chocolate Cake. No worries if you’re not a fan of the “black stuff”, you probably won’t notice the subtle beer flavor.

You may however, notice the moist tender crumb, the rich chocolate flavor, and the wonderful light spicy notes in this deliciously not-too-sweet black cake.

Topped with a simple cream cheese icing adding richness without an over-the-top sugar rush, this is truly one of our all time favorite cakes. I’ve made this cake many times over the years, in fact, I’ve probably made this chocolate cake more than any other.

We’ve even served this Guinness cake without the icing. Everybody agrees this cake is delicious both ways.

 

 

Ingredients set out on a cutting board for a Guinness Chocolate Cake

Ingredients for Guinness Chocolate Cake:

For the Guinness cake:

  • Guinness Stout Foreign Extra Beer
  • unsalted butter
  • unsweetened cocoa powder
  • granulated sugar
  • sour cream
  • eggs
  • vanilla extract
  • all-purpose flour
  • baking soda
  • salt

For the icing:

  • cream cheese, room temperature
  • powdered sugar
  • vanilla extract
  • whipping cream

 

Guinness Chocolate Cake is easy to make with a few simple steps:

  • Melt the butter in a large mixing bowl in the microwave.
  • Add the beer, sugar and cocoa. Whisk until blended.
  • In a large measuring cup, combine the eggs, vanilla and sour cream.
  • While whisking the beer and sugar mixture, slowly drizzle the sour cream mixture into the bowl.
  • Add the flour, baking soda and salt and whisk until smooth.
  • Pour into the prepared tube pan and bake for 45-50 minutes.
  • Cool and top with cream cheese icing.

That’s it! Serve and enjoy.

 

Guinness beer being poured into a glass with a foamy head

The cake is designed to mimic a pint of beer with a creamy white, frothy head.

I bet you agree; this cake looks like a Guinness beer! The cake is dark, just like Guinness and the icing looks like the creamy head!

 

 

A slice of Guinness Chocolate Cake on a plate

The cake has interesting flecks of red from the dark stout Guinness.

I adapted this cake from a recipe by Nigella Lawson. Her recipe recommends baking in a 9-inch springform pan. Many years ago, when I first tried this cake, I baked it in a springform pan but the center fell and didn’t bake well all the way through. I thought the cake might be too thick.

Next, I tried baking the cake in a tube pan that would distribute the heat better – like it does for Angel Food or Pound Cake. That Guinness chocolate cake came out perfectly baked with no dried out edges and underdone middle. Now, this is the only way I bake this cake!

 

A sliced dark chocolate Guinness cake topped with cream cheese icing

Can you freeze Guinness Chocolate Cake?

This Guinness chocolate cake ages beautifully (maybe better the second day?) making it dangerous to keep in my refrigerator. The cake freezes perfectly, but is best frozen without the icing.

If you’re a chocoholic like me – save some carbs for this wonderful treat!

 

 

A slice of Guinness Chocolate Cake on a platter

Can you use any kind of beer in a Guinness Chocolate Cake?

One of the things that makes this such a great cake, is the unique and bold flavor of the Guinness Foreign Extra. The flavor is more like the Guinness you’ll get in the pubs of Ireland. I don’t recommend using a milder beer as the flavor won’t be as rich.

The extra stout beer makes all the difference in the success of this cake. Guinness Foreign Extra is available in a small 4-pack at many well stocked grocery stores in case you don’t want to buy a lot of beer.

 

 

An overhead view of a sliced chocolate Guinness cake with cream cheese icing

Does this Guinness Chocolate Cake taste like beer?

It’s a fun and delicious dessert – not at all weird or beery. Guinness chocolate cake is lightly sweet and moist, but not at all wet. It’s a flavorful cake with interesting spicy notes from the stout Guinness Foreign Extra Beer.

A slice of this cake even goes well with a cold Guinness on the side, making this a great “party” dessert for your St. Patrick’s Day get-together.

 

Thanks for PINNING!

A sliced chocolate cake with white frosting on a cake stand

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A dark chocolate Guinness cake topped with fluffy white icing
5 from 4 votes

Guinness Chocolate Cake

Prep Time: 15 mins
Cook Time: 45 mins
Total Time: 1 hr
Yield: 8 servings
Course: Cake, Dessert
Author: Tricia
PRINT RECIPE
A lightly sweet and moist chocolate cake, with wonderfully interesting spicy notes from the stout Guinness Foreign Extra Beer. Perfect for St. Patrick's Day or for the chocolate lover in your home! 

Ingredients

For the cake:

  • 9 ounces unsalted butter melted (18 tablespoons or 255g)
  • 1 cup Guinness Stout Foreign Extra beer (250g)
  • ¾ cup all-natural unsweetened cocoa powder measured before sifting (70g)
  • 1 ¾ cup granulated sugar (386g)
  • ⅔ cup sour cream (142g)
  • 2 large eggs
  • 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
  • 2 cups plus 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour (285g)
  • 2 ½ teaspoons baking soda
  • ¼ teaspoon salt

For the icing:

  • 12 ounces cream cheese, room temperature
  • 1 ½ cups powdered sugar (170g)
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • ½ cup whipping cream (100g)

Instructions

To prepare the cake:

  • Preheat oven to 350°F.
  • Grease the bottom of a straight sided tube pan (9.5 inches) and line with parchment paper cut into a circle to fit. Grease the sides, center tube, and parchment paper or spray with a non-stick cooking spray. Set aside.
  • Melt the butter and add to a large mixing bowl. Add the beer, sifted cocoa powder, and granulated sugar. Whisk until blended.
  • In a small mixing bowl combine the sour cream, eggs, and vanilla. Whisk until smooth.
  • While gently whisking the beer mixture, slowly pour the egg and sour cream mixture into the large mixing bowl.
  • Combine the flour, baking soda and salt. Fold the flour into the egg and beer mixture and whisk until blended.
  • Pour the batter into the greased and lined tube pan. Bake 45-50 minutes or until a wooden toothpick comes out with no raw dough - moist crumbs are okay.
  • Cool completely before removing from the pan and icing.

To prepare the icing:

  • In a small cold bowl, beat the whipping cream until soft peaks form. Set aside.
  • In a medium mixing bowl, beat the cream cheese, powdered sugar and vanilla together until smooth. Add the whipped cream to the cream cheese mixture and beat on low until combined. Top the cake with dollops of icing to resemble the frothy head of a pint of Guinness.

Recipe Notes

Adapted from a recipe by Nigella Lawson.

 

Guinness

Here’s a photo taken from the Guinness Storehouse in Dublin Ireland. Everybody (of a certain age) gets a free Guinness at the end of the tour. Each time we’ve visited the Storehouse, it was early in the day. Beer for breakfast – such a great way to start a day of site seeing in Dublin

 

Here are a few more wonderfully fun Irish-inspired desserts you might like:

Check out SRFD’s Irish archives for more delicious recipes:

Finally, don’t forget to check out our Ireland Travel Posts for tips and tons of photos!

Originally posted March 2015, updated February 2020

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56 Comments

  7. Jennifer @ Seasons and Suppers says

    5 stars
    Yes please! I have made a Guinness chocolate cake before and was amazed at the moistness and flavour of the cake. And that cream cheese frosting is just the perfect topping for this cake. I will be stealing a can of Guinness from my husband for this one 🙂

    reply to this comment >

  8. Betty says

    I’ve never been a fan of Guinness to drink, but it does make a lovely cake! This looks so chocolatey and delicious. I made a gingerbread stout bundt cake ages ago and the Guinness gave it such a lovely dark flavor that’s really hard to describe. Except for Good. I think my co-workers would love this next week, don’t you? 🙂

    reply to this comment >

    • Tricia Buice says

      Guinness is so much better in Ireland and we were told it had to do with the way it is made and how well it travels. The version used in this recipe is very close to the taste we loved in the pubs. I know your coworkers are going to love it! Thanks Betty

      reply to this comment >

  10. Linda Paganetti says

    Tricia, this cake was DELICIOUS! I love when Ed brings your baked goods to work. I brought home a piece to my boyfriend, and when I said Guinness cake he gave me a funny look. I turned around for a minute and when I looked back, it was almost gone. I said didn’t like it all, did you? We both love this cake!

    reply to this comment >

    • Tricia Buice says

      Thanks for being such a great taste-tester Linda and so happy you liked it. I have not heard one “less than enthusiastic” comment about this cake. We loved it and had to get it out of the house – haha – have a great weekend and thanks for the comment!

      reply to this comment >

    • Tricia Buice says

      Thanks so much John. I always use natural light. In this photo I set up in front of my dining room window with afternoon sun. I put a white plastic shower curtain over the window to act as a defuser. I most always use a tripod for these shots where I have more time. Sometimes I use reflectors to bring light to the back or sides but in this shot I wanted the dark and interesting look. Thanks so much!

      reply to this comment >

  14. tanna says

    Tricia, these photos could be in a very luxuriously papered magazine! They are stunning! I’m in love with this cake and the Guinness and I haven’t even tasted it! Ha! Best St. Patty’s Day dessert I’ve ever seen… and with your “favorite” recommendation, it has to be a winner! Thank you! blessings ~ tanna

    reply to this comment >

  15. Dom says

    I have yet to make this classic cake and I have seen many but I have to say that yours, with your beautiful, dark photography really looks the business! I must try this so I know how amazing it tastes. A gorgeous cake!

    reply to this comment >

  17. michael says

    That’s a beautiful cake, it looks so moist and super decadent …. and DELICIOUS!!! By the way I made your muffins on Sunday and they were great! Just showed Debbie your cake, I will be making this one too! For the grand kids what do I use as a substitute for the Guinness? I use butter instead of the whip cream for my cream cheese icing!
    Great photography too!! You should post this one on Instagram with the hashtags I emailed you! Your package will arrive tomorrow!!

    reply to this comment >

  20. Monique says

    Great to know a tube/bundt could work;)
    it looks rich and delicious..
    I think we have a small quandry..I follow you to see everything you share..but it doesn’t seem to work..could be a matter of time..
    I am so patient.

    reply to this comment >

  23. Monica says

    Looks insanely delicious…love how dark it is and you know I’m over the moon for anything with chocolate! I can see from the crumb how moist it is and how well it would keep…I love it when the cake is enough to satisfy me because I’m all about the cake (though that cream cheese frosting looks amazing on top)! It’s great you worked it out and tested it for us (love the tube pan tip). Great tribute to St. Patrick’s day and Ireland, Tricia!

    reply to this comment >