Chocolate Guinness Cake with Buttercream Frosting

I was asked to bring the dessert to our home group's weekly meeting yesterday, for we were having a potluck dinner, and it was to be St. Patrick's traditional fare. And I was stumped. I know that corned beef and cabbage are the usual dinner items, but what on earth could I make that would seem Irish and desserty? Don't they just drink beer for dessert over there (grin)?

Then I had a vague inner-brain nudge... isn't there such a thing as a chocolate cake which uses Guinness as an ingredient? After some searching online, I found a vast number of recipes, all claiming to be the best, and all looking like they probably WERE the best. But I needed quick and easy... I had waited until the afternoon, and if I made a cake from scratch and it flopped, what would I do?

So, I turned to my trusty friend Anne Byrn, and the Cake Mix Doctor cookbook that I have used and abused for the last several years. Taking cues from a few of her recipes, this is what I came up with...


Easy Chocolate Guinness Cake with Buttercream Frosting

1 German Chocolate Cake Mix (I used Duncan Hines)
3 Tablespoons Cocoa Powder (I used Hershey's)
1 Cup Guinness Draught Beer (Brewed in Dublin!)
1 Cup Sour Cream (I used the full-fat variety)
1 Teaspoon Vanilla (use the real thing if you can)
3 Large Eggs
1/4 Cup Vegetable Oil

Preheat oven to 350. Butter 2 eight inch round cake pans.

Put all ingredients into the bowl of your mixer. Mix well, scraping the sides of your bowl to make sure all items are incorporated. Turn up the speed to high and blend until the batter increases in volume and is more fluffy than runny.

Pour into prepared pans. Bake for 40 minutes or until a cake tester when inserted into the center of the cake, pulls out clean.

Remove from oven. Allow to cool in the pans for 10 minutes before turning the cakes out onto cooling racks.


Buttercream Frosting

1 1/2 Cups (3 cubes) Butter at room temperature
1/4 to 1/2 Cup Water
1/2 Teaspoon Vanilla
2 Pound Bag of Powdered Sugar

Put all ingredients into the bowl of your mixer. Mix well, scraping the sides of your bowl to make sure all items are incorporated. Turn up the speed to high and blend until the frosting is light and fluffy.