About two weeks ago my younger brother, Jared sent me a text me stating he had pink eye. I’m quite the germophobe, so I was immediately curious how he contracted it; he had no clue. Once I found out about his funky eye, I decided that I would make him a big, decadent, chocolate, layer cake…with chocolate stout. Jared often complains that he doesn’t get enough “play” on My Baking Addiction, so this Chocolate Stout Cake post is devoted to him and his unfortunate encounter with pink eye. His cake also kicks off an entire week of recipes featuring Stout beer as the star ingredient.
Although I have expressed my dislike for alcohol in general, I am always compelled to purchase alcoholic libations that pique my interest for use in recipes. One of those random purchases included a couple of bottles of chocolate stout beer that I knew would lend itself quite well to a chocolatey cake, and thus this Chocolate Stout Cake was born.
After posting the photo of this Chocolate Stout Cake on the My Baking Addiction Facebook page, it affectionately became known as the Pink Eye Cake, which is all kinds of hilarious and repulsive at the same time.
If you take one look at Jared, there is truly no doubt we are related, but if you get to know him for longer than five minutes, our personalities become even more similar than our physical characteristics. For starters, we are both kind of social introverts and definitely prefer a small circle of friends as opposed to being the life of the social scenes. Neither of us particularly enjoys alcohol, but we both have a serious issue with candy and sleeping in. We both use excessive sarcasm and choice words to get our points across and we are amazingly calm until you push the wrong button. Of course our parallel personalities make for some undoubtedly hilarious conversations and I truly couldn’t ask for better brother or friend.
Chocolate Stout Cake
Yield: about 12 servings
Ingredients:
For the Cake
1 ½ cups Chocolate Stout (you can also use regular stout, like Guinness)
½ cup strong black coffee
2 cups (4 sticks) unsalted butter
1 1/2 cups unsweetened cocoa powder (preferably *Dutch-process)
4 cups all purpose flour
4 cups sugar
1 tablespoon baking soda
1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt
4 large eggs
1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract
1 1/3 cups sour cream
For the Icing
2 cups heavy whipping cream
1 pound semisweet chocolate, chopped
Directions:
For the Cake
1. Preheat oven to 350°F. Butter three 8-inch round cake pans with 2-inch-high sides and line with parchment paper. Butter paper.
2. In heavy large saucepan over medium heat, bring stout, coffee and butter to a simmer. Add cocoa powder and whisk until mixture is smooth. Cool slightly.
3. Whisk flour, sugar, baking soda, and salt in large bowl to blend. In large bowl, use an electric mixer to beat eggs, vanilla and sour cream in another large bowl to blend.
4. Add stout-chocolate mixture to the egg mixture and beat until just combined, taking care the stout mixture is cool enough that it will not cook the eggs. Add flour mixture and beat on low speed until just combined. Divide batter equally among prepared pans. Bake cakes until tester inserted into center of cakes comes out clean, about 35 minutes. Transfer cakes to rack; cool 10 minutes. Turn cakes out onto rack and cool completely.
For the icing
1. Bring cream to simmer in heavy medium saucepan. Remove from heat. Add chopped chocolate and whisk until melted and smooth. Refrigerate until icing is spreadable, stirring frequently, about 2 hours.
2. Place 1 cake layer on plate. Spread 2/3 cup icing over. Top with second cake layer. Spread 2/3 cup icing over. Top with third cake layer. Spread remaining icing over top and sides of cake. Top with chocolate curls.
Notes:
- Cake is best served the day it is made, but will keep refrigerated in a sealed container for up to two days. Bring cake to room temperature for about an hour before you plan to serve.
- If you cannot find Dutch-process cocoa powder, I recommend using Hershey's Special Dark Cocoa Powder
- The cakes was topped using homemade chocolate curls, you can find the recipe and tutorial here.
- Adapted from Epicurious.com
All images and text © for My Baking Addiction
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FAQs
One substitute for the stout that is common in dark chocolate cakes is coffee. If you do use coffee, I'd skip the espresso in the recipe.
What is a substitute for stout beer in baking? ›
Chicken broth is a surprisingly good alternative for beer in cooking. It works nearly as well as beer, and in most cases, is superior to the alcoholic substitutes for beer in cooking. Chicken broth is an easily available ingredient in most kitchens, so the substitution is usually convenient.
What is stout in baking? ›
Stout and other dark beers are often described as having chocolatey overtones, so this combination might not be as far-fetched as one might initially think. The presence of the stout gives the cake a complex finish and the slightly bitter hops from the beer act as a counterpoint to the sugar in the cake.
Can kids eat stout cake? ›
When it comes to kids, it's generally advisable to keep their slices alcohol-free. If you're keen on not leaving anyone out of the celebration, consider making a separate, alcohol-free version. You can substitute the stout with a non-alcoholic option or a similar dark, non-alcoholic brew for the cake.
What is the flavor of chocolate stout? ›
A chocolate stout is a beer with a noticeable dark chocolate flavor. This flavor is created from the use of darker, more aromatic malt that has been roasted or kilned until it acquires a chocolate color. Harpoon Chocolate Stout is brewed with an abundance of chocolate malt and a touch of chocolate.
What is the best stout for baking? ›
Baking with Beer
- STOUT: Rich and dark with soft carbonation, stouts can range from sweet to dry with big roasty-toasty notes. ...
- We like: Guinness Draught, The Duck Rabbit Craft Brewery Milk Stout, Modern Times Black House Stout.
Both porters and stouts are dark beers that are brewed with barley. The biggest difference between them is that porters are made with malted barley and stouts are made with un-malted roasted barley.
What is a good substitute for stout in Christmas pudding? ›
Use gluten-free white flour and breadcrumbs made from gluten-free bread, and replace the stout and barley wine with the same amount of sherry.
What does beer do in baking? ›
Baking with beer starts with flavor and moves into science. Because of its carbonation, it assists with leavening baked goods. When used as the liquid in a recipe, it gives extra lift and tender texture to breads and cakes. If you're new to baking with beer, porters and stouts are the best place to begin.
What spices are in stout? ›
From the usual suspects—cinnamon, cloves, and nutmeg—to the unexpected additions—spearmint and kaffir lime leaves—any spice can work in a stout as long as it's not overpowering.
bulky in figure; heavily built; corpulent; thickset; fat: She is getting too stout for her dresses. Synonyms: fleshy, portly, stocky, rotund, big.
Does stout cake have alcohol? ›
This 4 oz. individually wrapped cake slice has a sinfully bold chocolate flavor and is made with roasted barley and the genuine taste of Guinness. This product contains less than 0.5% alcohol by volume.
What is a dessert stout? ›
Pastry stout is a modern craft beer phenomenon that takes specialty beers to the extreme. Packing massive sweetness and the flavors often found in desserts and pastries into a strong dark stout, the beers are often sought-after commercial creations popular in the modern era of social media.
Can 2 year old eat chocolate cake? ›
When Can Babies Have Chocolate? The AAP does not recommend that children under the age of 2 have foods containing caffeine or added sugar—both of which are found in chocolate. 4 So while food allergies are not a reason to delay giving your young child chocolate, the added sugar and caffeine are.
What is a substitute for Guinness in a cake? ›
What is a good substitute for Guinness beer? Ginger Ale, grape juice, or coca cola would be a good non-alcoholic option. The Coca cola version would taste similar to my Coca Cola Cake (co*ke Cake). You can also use other stout beers.
What drink is similar to stout? ›
- In England, and perhaps Wales, Old Ale. ...
- In Ireland and Scotland? ...
- In the Netherlands, bokbier (sometimes 'bockbier'). ...
- Some people might find a Trappist or abbey dunkel an acceptable substitute, but I think that is stretching it more than a bit.
- NB: all stouts are porters, so 'porter' is not the an.
For the most part though, porters have less alcohol than stouts and have a slightly lighter colour. They're known for aromas and tasting notes of chocolate, caramel and coffee. Stouts are typically very dark in colour, with bitter and roasted flavours and a creamy texture.
