Chocolate Guinness Cake: the delicious, rich dessert to make this St. Patrick’s Day

Chocolate Guinness cake is an easy, delicious dessert recipe hard to resist. It has a decadent chocolate, sweet malty flavor, and tender, moist crumb.

This tasty Guinness cake looks like a pint of stout thanks to the dark brown of the cake and the thick, white cream cheese icing you can also make on your own. While it's the perfect delicious treat to make for St. Patrick's Day, this moist chocolate Guinness cake is great for any occasion.

If you're worried about giving your kids Guinness cake, don't fret. There's only one cup of beer in the cake batter, and most of the alcohol will evaporate when the cake is baking. So this chocolate Guinness cake is a completely kid-friendly dessert perfect also for non-drinkers.

Chocolate Guinness Cake Ingredients 

Guinness stout and cocoa powder are the major ingredients for giving this rich, moist cake its signature flavor.

Use high-quality cocoa powder for making your cake.

To add sweetness, you'll need superfine sugar and brown sugar.

Sour cream adds a hint of tanginess to the cake, while butter and eggs give Guinness cake its rich, dense texture.

Don't forget the baking soda! Baking soda is essential for leavening the cake.

Finally, use your favorite cream cheese frosting recipe or pick some up from your supermarket.

How to Make Chocolate Guinness Cake

It's incredibly easy to make this delicious chocolate Guinness cake. To get started, spray a springform cake pan with cooking spray, then line it with parchment paper. Heat your oven to 350F. Warm the butter and Guinness over medium-high. Once the butter has melted, mix in the cocoa powder, brown sugar, and superfine sugar. Remove the pot from heat and leave the mixture to cool completely.

Whisk the sour cream, eggs, and vanilla in a medium-sized bowl until completely combined. Mix in the stout mixture. Grab a second bowl, and combine the flour, baking soda, and salt. Pour the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients and mix until just combined. Don't overmix your batter! Pour the batter into the cake pan and bake for 50 to 60 minutes. Once baked, set the cake on a wire rack to cool completely. Decorate the cake with frosting, cut, and serve.

What Does Chocolate Guinness Cake Taste Like?

Guinness cake has it all. It has a rich chocolate flavor combined with the wonderful malty taste of stout. There's also a subtle tanginess thanks to the sour cream that goes into the cake batter. The sweet cream cheese frosting offers the perfect foil to the slight bitterness from the chocolate and the stout. It's a match made in heaven!

Tips for Moist Chocolate Guinness Cake

For a fun twist, use Bailey's frosting instead of regular cream cheese frosting.

You can also make a chocolate ganache and use that to decorate your Guinness cake.

You can make a Guinness cake without the chocolate. Just substitute it for molasses and you'll get the same characteristic flavor. Don't forget to add your favorite baking spices to add more flavor.

To make vegan chocolate Guinness cake, use oil instead of butter, plant-based sour cream, and aquafaba or silken tofu instead of eggs.

While Guinness is the go-to type of beer for this recipe, you can substitute it for a different type of stout beer if you prefer.

If your cake is sinking, it's probably not been baked all the way through. Make sure you wait until the cake is fully baked before removing it from the oven. Your Guinness cake is done baking when a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

Use room temperature ingredients to make your Guinness cake.

Don't overmix the batter.

Use store-bought or homemade cream cheese frosting to decorate your cake.

You can make Guinness cake up to 3 days in advance.

If you really want to impress this St. Patrick's Day, make a two-layer Guinness cake. Simply double up the recipe and make two cakes instead of one. Once the cakes are cool, spread cream cheese frosting over the top of one cake, then stack the second cake on top of it. Decorate it with frosting, slice, and serve.

How to Store Chocolate Guinness Cake

Keep your Guinness cake in an airtight container and store it at room temperature for up to 5 days.

Can You Freeze Chocolate Guinness Cake?

Absolutely! For best results, freeze your cake without the cream cheese frosting – cream cheese doesn't freeze well. Put the cake in an airtight container and freeze it for up to 3 months.

Instructions

Preheat your oven to 350°F. Grease your cake pan with cooking spray. Line the pan with parchment paper.

Place butter and Guinness in a pot. Heat over medium-high to melt the butter.

Stir in cocoa powder, brown sugar, and superfine sugar. Remove from heat and leave to cool.

In a bowl, whisk sour cream, eggs, and vanilla until completely combined. Whisk in the stout mixture.

In a second bowl, sift flour, baking soda, and salt. Whisk to combine.

Pour the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients and mix until just combined.

Transfer the batter to the cake pan. Tap the pan on the countertop to remove air pockets. Bake for 50 to 60 minutes.

Take the pan out of the oven and place it on a wire rack to cool completely.

Once cooled, loosen the cake by running a knife around the edge, then release the springform ring.

Decorate the cake with frosting, cut, and serve.

Notes

Use a 9-inch springform pan to make your Guinness cake.