CHOCOLATE STOUT CAKE
Work these days has been crazy. The change happened pretty abruptly, and all of a sudden I’m clocking in some 12-hour days and/or working parts of the weekend. Time is usually filled with back-to-back meetings, and any gaps are filled with playing catch up on emails, driving tactical work or having instant call meetings to clarify action items/strategy (one of the WFH vs. in-person office downsides, imo). I’m not in finance and I’m past the initial entry level, so these hours are pretty abnormal and the current situation doesn’t indicate an end anytime soon to this high pressure period. But the one moment that has been giving me joy and getting me through my days of keeping up with to-dos has been my afternoon snack of this chocolate stout cake with a cup of freshly brewed coffee at around 2 PM each day. It gives me the sugar and caffeine kick I need, while also acting as an indulgent reward and reminder to take a break and just enjoy simply being. It’s also small and unobtrusive enough where I can eat it during conference calls when I’m not speaking.
I started looking into chocolate stout cakes because of the many bottles of Guinness that are hanging out in the fridge. As of late, I haven’t been participating in virtual happy hours with an actual drink so the beer has been sitting and taking up space for a while. This recipe from Smitten Kitchen and one by Nigella Lawson sat as open tabs on my browser for a while as I between the two, but ultimately I decided on the SK one due to the chocolate ganache. I mean, how gorgeous is that silky, reflective layer?? It also keeps the cake more chocolate forward, versus the tang of cream cheese from Nigella’s version, and feels a little lighter (but who am I kidding, this is one incredibly indulgent dessert regardless). I loved how moist this cake was, and eating leftovers warmed up for 20 seconds in the microwave is pretty much just as good as right out of the oven.
Chocolate Stout Cake
Adapted from Smitten Kitchen
Makes 1 tall 8” cake round (use springform pan) or 2-layer 8” cake (for normal pans)
1 cup stout beer (like Guinness)
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter
3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
2 cups all purpose flour
1 cups granulated sugar
1 1/2 tsp baking soda
3/4 tsp salt
2 large eggs
2/3 cup sour cream
6 ounces good semisweet chocolate chips
6 tbsp heavy cream
3/4 tsp instant coffee granules
To make cake: Preheat oven to 350°F. Butter cake pan and line with parchment paper. Bring 1 cup stout and 1 cup butter to simmer in a large saucepan over medium heat then add cocoa powder and whisk together until smooth. Take off heat and let cool slightly (will thicken). Whisk flour, sugar, baking soda, and 3/4 teaspoon salt in large bowl to blend. In another large bowl, use electric mixer to beat eggs and sour cream until smooth. Add stout-chocolate mixture to egg mixture and beat just to combine. Add flour mixture and beat briefly on slow speed. Fold the batter using a rubber spatula until completely combined. Pour batter into prepared cake pan. Bake cake until toothpick insert into center comes out clean, about 35-45 minutes. Transfer cake to rack and cool completely in the pan before turning out onto rack for ganache drizzle.
To make ganache: For the ganache, melt the chocolate, heavy cream, and coffee in the top of a double boiler over simmering water until smooth and warm, stirring occasionally. Drizzle over the top of cooled cake.
Notes: Honestly, I didn’t have any unsweetened cocoa. I used a normal hot cocoa mix and reduced the amount of sugar, and I still think only 1 cup of sugar even with unsweetened cocoa would be totally fine. I like how it didn’t come out overwhelmingly sweet despite how rich and chocolate-y this dessert is. My cake also took the longer time, 45 minutes, to complete baking and for the toothpick to come out clean. My tip for ganache — don’t go over it too many times! I kept spreading it and eventually hit the cake itself instead of having an even, glistening layer. Tastes delicious regardless! I also made this in a loaf pan after halving the recipe, which took about 45 minutes of bake time. Makes a respectable loaf!