By far the richest cake I’ve ever made, this is layer upon layer of chocolate, cream, and Irish booze. Serve this dessert up on large plates in honor of St Patrick’s Day or make a meal of it any time by topping it with a scoop of coffee ice cream.
Do as I say not as I do.
This cake was such a project for me! I made this over 2 days with my toaster oven, hand held mixer, and hip held 5 month old. The day I was assembling the cake, I was distracted and the chocolate get too hot (pushing the chocolate more to a fudge texture than a chocolate sauce). I thought I could save it and use it but things went ugly real fast. To fix my mistake I made more ganache. Yes, that is how you should fix every mistake, more chocolate. Instead of my planned glossy-sexy-ganache-runneth-over, I ended up with a cake topped with bumpy lumpy whisky truffle and then covered in drippy whisky ganache. Tasty but not pretty.
I would also assemble the cake a bit differently. I would spread both frosting and jelly between each layer. The beer jelly brings all the beer flavor to each bite and creates a thin layer of fudgy cake.
Chocolate Stout Cake filled with beer jelly, whisky & frosted with Irish cream aka:
Mile High Drunken Chocolate Cake
Ingredients
Cake:
- 1.5c dark chocolate
- 1c (2 sticks) butter
- 12 oz Guinness
- 3.25c sugar
- 4 eggs + 2 yolks
- 1/4c oil
- 2/3c sour cream
- 3c flour
- 1tbs baking powder
- 3/4c coco powder
- 1 tsp salt
Frosting:
- 4 sticks (1 pound) unsalted butter, softened
- 5 cups confectioners’ sugar
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ cup Irish cream liqueur
Ganache:
- 2c bittersweet chocolate chips
- 1 1/3c heavy cream
- 1/3c butter
- 2T whisky
Cake directions:
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Line 4 – 8 inch cake pans with parchment paper. Lightly grease and flour the parchment and up the sides.
In the top of a double boiler (or a bowl over simmering water), add the chocolate and butter, stirring frequently until just melted. Slowly stir in the beer. Turn off heat.
In a large mixing bowl beat the eggs & sugar until well combined, about 3 minutes or until light and fluffy.
Add the oil and sour cream to the eggs and beat until well combined. Slowly add the chocolate. Beat until all ingredients are incorporated.
In a separate bowl sift together the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, and salt.
Working in 3 parts, add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients by sprinkling over the surface and mixing until just combined.
Pour batter evenly between the 4 pans.
Bake at 350 for 20-25 minutes or until a tooth pick comes clean the top springs back when lightly touched. Cool 5 minutes. Run a sharp knife around the edge and invert the cake pan on a parchment lined plate.
Yield: 4 8-inch cake pans (or 3 9-inch cake pans).
For best results, be sure the cake has fully cooled before assembling.
Frosting directions: Beat the butter until light and fluffy. Turn the mixer to low and add half the sugar. Mix until incorporated. Add the salt, Irish cream, and remaining sugar. Mix to combine and then beat on high until light and fluffy.
Ganache: Heat cream until almost boiling. Foam will begin to cling to the edge of the pan. Pour cream over chocolate and stir until well combined. Add whisky and butter, stir until smooth and glossy.
Cake assembly: This is a very rich almost brownie like cake. To assemble the cake be sure the layers are completely cooled and the buttercream is firm.
Divide the buttercream in thirds. Use one third for layering, one third for a crumb coat, one third for a final coat. Stack the cake by layering frosting and jam between every layer.
Before frosting, cover the cake with plastic wrap and then store in the fridge for 1 hour. Using a serrated knife, trim the edges of the cake to make them even and apply 1/3 of the frosting to create a crumb coat (a thin layer of frosting to trap the crumbs). Return to the fridge for 10 minutes to firm up the buttercream. Use the remaining frosting for a second coat.
To finish, pour the whisky ganache over top of the cake.
Original cake recipe from TheBeeroness.
Nancy Warner 