Guinness Chocolate Cake with Kerrygold Buttercream

Difficulty: Intermediate

Nothing says St. Patrick’s Day like chocolate. What the wha?! Ok, maybe you don’t associate chocolate with St. Patrick’s Day, but what about Guinness?

It’s the Irish beer that everyone knows, so of course I had to come up with a recipe to incorporate this beer. Yes you could just crack open a cold one when you’re eating your corned beef and cabbage. In fact I encourage it, but what if I told you that you could bake with it.

I’m not talking about beer bread people. I’m talking about chocolate cake. Not just any chocolate cake, but a rich, decadent, intense chocolate cake heightened by the addition of concentrated Guinness. Is your mouth watering yet?

Why would you want to add Guinness or any beer for that matter to something like cake? Because it pairs beautifully. Guinness is a stout, so it has notes of chocolate and coffee. It stands to reason that if something tastes like chocolate it would go well with chocolate. Don’t just take my word for it try this recipe.

It doesn’t end with the Guinness. Wait for it…wait for it. Kerrygold butter and lots of it. Some of it in the cake and some in the frosting. Oh that frosting, a moment of silence please as I dream longingly of that glorious brown butter buttercream.  This buttercream is so amazing I would eat a piece of cardboard if it had that buttercream on it.

Of course you could make this cake and buttercream without Kerrygold, but why would you want to. The Irish butter is a huge part of why this cake is so good. If you have never tried Kerrygold butter or any European butter do yourself a favor and buy some. The flavor and quality doesn’t compare to the usual stick of store brand butter.

Have I convinced you yet? I’ve gone on for paragraph after paragraph singing the praises of Guinness, chocolate and Kerrygold butter. If you aren’t drooling over your keyboard your salivary glands must be broken.

Here it is. The chocolate cake to end all chocolate cakes.

Guinness Chocolate Cake with Brown Butter Buttercream

Cake

1 Package Kerrygold (or 2 sticks unsalted butter, room temperature)

1 ½ Cups Granulated Sugar

½ Cup Brown Sugar

1 Bottle Guinness (or another stout, oatmeal, milk etc.)

2 ½ Cups All purpose Flour

1 Cup Dark Cocoa Powder (Dutch Process or Natural)

2 tsp Baking Powder

1tsp Vanilla Extract

3 Eggs (room temperature)

1 ½ Cups Buttermilk (room temperature)

1 Bag Semi-Sweet Chocolate Chips (melted)

1 Box Instant Chocolate Pudding Mix

Preheat oven to 350°F. Into a large bowl sift the dry ingredients together and set aside. In a small sauce pan bring the Guinness to a boil and cook until reduced to ½ cup. Check after 10 minutes and continue checking until it is ½ cup, then remove from heat. Meanwhile cream butter and sugar, then add the eggs one at a time mixing after each egg until fully incorporated. Add vanilla and Guinness, then the melted chocolate chips, mixing until fully incorporated. Then add ¼ the dry ingredients and mix until combined. Then add 1/3 of the buttermilk and mix until combined. Continue alternating between dry ingredients and buttermilk until all ingredients have been added making sure to finish with the final addition of the dry ingredients. Grease and line with parchment paper two 9” round cake pans. Divide the batter evenly between the two pans and spread evenly. Take each pan one at a time and drop onto the counter from about a foot above the countertop twice. This will help remove any air bubbles and help level the batter. Bake in the middle rack of the preheated oven for 45-50 minutes. The edges will be crispy and the middle moist, similar to a brownie. Place pans to cool on wire racks for 20 minutes then turn cakes out of the pans and continue to cool on wire racks until room temperature.

Buttercream

1 Package Kerrygold Butter (or 2 stick unsalted butter)

1 lb. Powdered Sugar

1 tsp Vanilla Extract

½ Cup Half and Half

In a medium sauce pan or frying pan melt butter over medium heat. Continue cooking until butter solids turn a brown color and give off a nutty smell. About 10 minutes. Immediately pour into a glass bowl and place in the refrigerator to cool and solidify. Remove the butter once it is cooled and solidified, but soft to the touch. Add butter to a mixing bowl or stand mixer and beat until smooth. Add vanilla extract, sifted powdered sugar and half and half. Beat until combined.

To frost cakes place half of the buttercream on top of one cake and spread out to the edges in a smooth layer. Top with the second cake and spread the remaining buttercream out to the edges in a smooth layer. If you wish to frost the sides of this cake as well double the buttercream recipe. Serves 12

Instructions with Pictures

In a small sauce pan bring the Guinness to a boil and cook until reduced to ½ cup. Check after 10 minutes and continue checking until it is ½ cup, then remove from heat.

Meanwhile cream butter and sugar, then add the eggs one at a time mixing after each egg until fully incorporated.

Add vanilla and pudding mix

Then the melted chocolate chips

Then add the Guinness. Add the Guinness while the mixer is on to avoid splashing.

Then add ¼ the dry ingredients and mix until combined. Then add 1/3 of the buttermilk and mix until combined. Continue alternating between dry ingredients and buttermilk until all ingredients have been added making sure to finish with the final addition of the dry ingredients.

Place pans to cool on wire racks for 20 minutes then turn cakes out of the pans and continue to cool on wire racks until room temperature.

In a medium sauce pan or frying pan melt butter over medium heat.

Continue cooking until butter solids turn a brown color and give off a nutty smell.

 Once the butter is cooled and solidified, but soft to the touch add it to a mixing bowl or stand mixer and beat until smooth.

Add vanilla extract, sifted powdered sugar and half and half. Beat until combined.