Guinness Chocolate Cake with Irish Cream Frosting
Chocolate and Guinness come together for the ultimate Guinness Chocolate Cake. With a tender crumb, chocolate-packed flavor in every bite, and a Baileys-spiked buttercream, one slice will just not be enough! Make this chocolate stout cake for the perfect St. Patrick’s Day dessert.
This is by far one of the best chocolate cakes I have ever made. The chocolate flavor is deep and rich, the cake is moist, and the frosting is a perfect complement.
So What is A Guinness Chocolate Cake?
Technically classified as a butter cake, this chocolate stout cake is typically made around St. Patrick’s Day – mostly because of the use of an Irish beer. The Guinness adds a depth of flavor with notes of cocoa and coffee to the chocolate cake making it absolutely irresistible. Guinness Chocolate Cake started making a splash in the early 2000’s and has been a St. Patrick’s Day tradition ever since.
If you are unsure about adding beer into your baking, I have been there. I was every kind of skeptical about throwing beer into my chocolate baked goods, and this is coming from someone who will choose a beer over a mixed drink any day of the week. My skepticism was obliterated when I made my Irish Car Bomb Cupcakes and Guinness-Milk Chocolate Ice Cream, both of which use beer. Have faith!
How to Make Guinness Chocolate Cake
Let’s break this recipe down into two parts: the cake baking and the frosting making. I suggest tackling the cake first so it will have plenty of time to cool before you frost it.
Ingredients You Will Need
- Guinness Stout – If you can’t find Guinness you can try a different dry Irish Stout such as O’Hara’s or Murphy’s.
- Butter – Unsalted at room-temperature.
- Cocoa Powder – I use a Dutch-process cocoa powder, if you do not have this in your pantry yet, take a minute to order it (also, Costco carries the Rodelle brand of Dutch-process cocoa powder). It produces such an intense, rich chocolate flavor and a deeper, darker color than unsweetened cocoa powder.
- Dry Ingredients – Flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt – the basics.
- Eggs – Binds all of the ingredients together in a perfectly spongy cake.
- Sour Cream – Adds just a little tang and keeps the cake ultra-moist!
The Chocolate Stout Cake
This cake? Top 3, all-time. No question. To make this moist, Guinness chocolate cake you will need to:
- Preheat the oven to 350°F.
- Prepare the Cake Pans: Grease and flour two 9-inch cake pans, and line them with parchment circles.
- Heat the stout and butter in a large, heavy saucepan, until the butter melts. Remove the pan from the heat, and add cocoa powder. Whisk until smooth. Set aside to cool to room temperature.
- Whisk flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt in a large bowl; set aside.
- Beat together eggs and sour cream in a large mixing bowl. Add the stout-cocoa mixture, mixing to combine.
- Add the flour mixture and mix together at a slow speed. Scrape the sides and the bottom of the bowl, and mix again for 1 minute.
- Divide the batter equally between the prepared pans.
- Bake for 35 minutes, until a cake tester inserted into the center comes out clean.
- Remove from the oven and cool on a rack for 10 minutes before turning the cake out of their pans and returning to the rack to finish cooling completely before frosting.
Bailey’s Irish Cream Frosting
My favorite frosting for this chocolate stout cake is without a doubt this Bailey’s-spiked frosting. The ingredients you will need are:
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- Unsalted Butter – At room temperature for easy whipping.
- Powdered Sugar – Sifted so you have a smooth and sweet frosting.
- Baileys Irish Cream – Spikes the frosting and adds an extra milky, chocolaty flavor. If you don’t have Baileys on hand you can also make your own Baileys with this Homemade Irish Cream recipe.
- Salt – Just a pinch to help balance out the sweetness in the frosting.
Now that you have your ingredients, let’s get to making the frosting!
- Beat butter on medium-high in a mixing bowl until super light and fluffy, 3 to 5 minutes. Scrape the sides and bottom of the bowl as needed.
- Reduce the speed to medium-low and gradually add the powdered sugar, then Baileys Irish Cream and salt until combined.
- Increase the speed to medium and beat for an additional 3 minutes, until light and fluffy.
- Note about consistency: If the frosting feels too stiff to spread, beat in 1 tablespoon of cream at a time. If it feels too soft, beat in extra powdered sugar, 1 tablespoon at a time.
How to Decorate and Serve Guinness Chocolate Cake
I love to serve this chocolate stout cake with the included Bailey’s Irish Cream Frosting but if you are looking for something not spiked you can try one of these delicious frostings below!
Once you have your frosting there are plenty of ways to frost the Guinness chocolate cake:
- For a simple design: Place one of the cake layers on a serving platter or cake stand and spread 1½ cups of the frosting over the top in an even layer. Place the second cake layer on top of the frosting upside-down, then frost the top and sides of the cake and decorate as desired.
- Pipe a Shell Rim: Using a Star French Tip, pipe a shell border around the top edge of the cake and the bottom of the cake. Here is a great tutorial on How to Pipe a Shell.
- Spiral: Do a "spiral" design on the top of the cake, as shown below.
- Garnish Tops or Sides: Press festive sprinkles around the sides of the cake or sprinkle on top.
Storing, Freezing, and Make-Ahead Tips
- Storing: Keep this deeply chocolate-y cake stored in an airtight container at cool room temperature or in the refrigerator for 4 days.
- Freezing Directions: The cake layers can be baked, cooled, wrapped in plastic wrap, and placed into a freezer zip-top resealable bag, and frozen for up to 3 months before thawing in the refrigerator overnight and proceeding with the frosting. You can wrap the entire cake in plastic wrap, then in aluminum foil, and freeze for up to 1 month. Thaw in the refrigerator before serving.
- Make-Ahead: For the best taste, you can make the cake up to 2 days in advance and keep it in an airtight container in a cool place. Or freeze the layers and thaw overnight in the refrigerator. Frost before serving.
Notes About Baking with Beer
Guinness and other stout beers act as a leavening agent in cakes. It also inhibits the formation of gluten giving the cake a tender, delicate crumb.
Guinness does contain alcohol and contrary to popular belief, the baking process does not entirely evaporate the alcohol.
If you do not consume alcohol or do not want to use beer in this recipe, swap the beer for coffee; you will still get the rich chocolate taste. If you do not want to use coffee either, substitute water.
Other Irish Recipes to Try
- Irish Car Bomb Cupcakes
- Traditional Irish Soda Bread
- Irish Soda Bread Scones
- Irish Whiskey Soda Bread with Irish Whiskey Butter
Guinness Chocolate Cake
Chocolate paired with Guinness and frosting paired with Baileys Irish Cream, what more could you want?!?! This Guinness Chocolate Cake is tender, moist, and a chocolate-lovers dream come true.
If you make this utterly delicious Guinness Chocolate Cake and love it, remember to stop back and give it a 5-star rating - it helps others find the recipe! ❤️️
Guinness Chocolate Cake with Irish Cream Frosting
Ingredients
For the Cake:
- 1½ cups (345 ml) Guinness stout
- 1½ cups (340.5 g) unsalted butter
- 1 cup (86 g) Dutch-process cocoa powder
- 3 cups (375 g) all-purpose flour
- 3 cups (600 g) granulated sugar
- 2¼ teaspoons (2.25 teaspoons) baking powder
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 3 eggs
- ⅔ cup (153.33 ml) sour cream
For the Frosting:
- 2 cups (453.59 g) unsalted butter, at room temperature
- 6 cups (720 g) powdered sugar, sifted
- ¼ cup (113.5 g) +2 tablespoons Baileys Irish cream
- Pinch (7 tablespoons) salt
Instructions
- Make the Cake: Preheat the oven to 350°F. Grease and flour two 9-inch cake pans, and line them with parchment paper circles.
- Place the stout and butter in a large, heavy saucepan, and heat until the butter melts. Remove the pan from the heat, and add the cocoa powder. Whisk until the mixture is smooth. Set aside to cool to room temperature.
- Whisk together the flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt in a large bowl; set aside.
- In a large mixing bowl, beat together the eggs and sour cream. Add the stout-cocoa mixture, mixing to combine. Add the flour mixture and mix together at slow speed. Scrape the sides and bottom of the bowl, and mix again for 1 minute.
- Divide the batter equally among the prepared pans. Bake the layers for 35 minutes, until a cake tester inserted into the center comes out clean. Remove the cakes from the oven and cool on a rack for 10 minutes before turning the cakes out of their pans and returning to the rack to finish cooling completely before frosting.
- Make the Frosting: In a mixing bowl, beat the butter on medium-high speed until super light and fluffy, 3 to 5 minutes, scraping the sides and bottom of the bowl as needed. Reduce the speed to medium-low and gradually add the powdered sugar, then the Baileys Irish cream and salt until combined. Increase the speed to medium and beat for an additional 3 minutes, until light and fluffy. If the frosting feels too stiff to spread, beat in 1 tablespoon of cream at a time; if it feels too soft, beat in extra powdered sugar, 1 tablespoon at a time.
- Assemble the Cake: Place one of the cake layers on a serving platter or cake stand and spread 1½ cups of the frosting over the top in an even layer. Place the second cake layer on top of the frosting upside-down, then frost the top and sides of the cake and decorate as desired.
Notes
- Equipment: Two 9-inch round cake pans
- Guinness: To eliminate the alcohol, replace the Guinness with coffee. If you can't use coffee either, then use water.
- Dutch-Process Cocoa Powder: If you do not have any, it can be purchased on Amazon or at your local Costco (they sell Rodelle's brand).
- Sour Cream: You can substitute plain Greek yogurt or buttermilk for the sour cream.
- Baileys Irish Cream: To eliminate alcohol in the frosting, you can substitute heavy cream. You can also use any of these frostings instead: Cream Cheese Frosting / Vanilla Buttercream Frosting / The Best Chocolate Frosting
- Storing: Keep this cake stored in an airtight container at cool room temperature or in the refrigerator for 4 days.
- Freezing Instructions: The cake layers can be baked, cooled, wrapped in plastic wrap, and placed into a freezer zip-top resealable bag, and frozen for up to 3 months before thawing in the refrigerator overnight and proceeding with the frosting. You can wrap the entire cake in plastic wrap, then in aluminum foil, and freeze for up to 1 month. Thaw in the refrigerator before serving.
- Make-Ahead: For the best taste, you can make the cake up to 2 days in advance and keep it in an airtight container in a cool place. Or freeze the layers and thaw overnight in the refrigerator. Frost before serving.
- Cake recipe adapted from King Arthur Flour,
Did you make this recipe?
Leave a review below, then snap a picture and tag @thebrowneyedbaker on Instagram so I can see it!
made this yesterday… and I was very worried about it being really stouty. But, it was perfect. It was moist and delicious. My husband who usually hates frosting was eating it by the spoonful. A fun new St Patty’s tradition.
I’m in complete agreeance with the best frosting ever comments… and the cake is quite delicious as well…
this cake recipe is quite delicious. i made it into cupcakes for easier sharing…as a whole cake, i would most likely not share. i did not use the bailey’s as i was too lazy to look for it and to make it more kid friendly. everyone loved them…even my facebook friends who only got to see them :)
I halved the recipe for cupcakes and the result was 18 delicious treats.
Love your site, but in order to keep reading it – I will have to exercise A LOT more. :)
Like cupcakes I made but in cake form. Deliciousness. I already know how my cupcakes tasted so I’m sure this must have been just as good, if not better!
Best. Frosting. Ever. I can not stop sneaking tastes of it!
baking this right now so we can enjoy it tomorrow! looks so yummy!
Ok, baked the cake today in honor of my Irish heritage…and wow…. it is an amazingly rich and sinful cake. Put soooo proud of it, thank you for sharing!
This excites me as I’ve been looking for an excuse to get myself some baileys. Apparently social alcoholism isn’t enough.
This sounds except, I really don’t like cake. How about a brownie version?
Hi Barbara, I actually have Guinness brownies on my list! Stay tuned!
Can this be done in cupcakes?
Hi Jackie, I have not tried it, but you could give it a go! This recipe would probably yield 18-24 cupcakes.
Michelle, I used almost exactly the same wording as you did when I posted my almost identical recipe (your ingredients are 50% more except for the sour cream) with regard to this cake being in the top 3 of the best chocolate cakes I’ve ever made. I used a chocolate ganache to top mine–I’m saving the Bailey’s icing for your Irish Car Bomb Cupcakes! :-) http://www.fransfavs.com/2012/03/chocolate-stout-cake/
Any chance you think this would be good with a sub of decaf espresso instead of baileys? Pregnancy won’t let me have the alcohol! :-)
Hi Amanda, I think that would work. Also, someone on the BEB Facebook page mentioned that they make a non-alcoholic Baileys-flavored coffee creamer that could be a good substitute!
Top 3! Wow. Sounds great
I will be baking this on st patricks, no doubt!
I think I just found what I am making for Saturday! The cake sounds wonderful.
I want a big fat slice of this cake:)
This cake looks wonderful, it really does and I can only imagine how delicious it was. Thanks for sharing your recipe. I may just make some cupcakes with it :)
I bet this is as amazing as it looks!
I am all about these flavors this week! I made stout mini cakes with Irish cream frosting earlier in the week and I also think it was one of the best desserts I’ve ever made! Yum!
I am not much of a beer drinker but I have long appreciated what it can do to elevate foods when used in cooking them. I recently was invited to a beer tasting at a local Irish pub and I’ve gained a new appreciation for Guinness in the glass and used it recently when preparing some shepherd’s pie too so know how it elevates the flavor profile of foods without making them taste like beer. I’ll bet this is divine! My favorite Irish dessert is a cake made with Irish Whiskey and coffee but you might have convinced me to try something new!
oh my god! that looks incredibly delicious! I need this cake in me right now!
Oh, geez! This is positively killing me – it looks over the top delicious!
Sounds amazing! Stout and chocolate are always an awesome pair.
I just bought a new bottle of Bailey’s yesterday … this recipe makes me happy!
I love st. patty’s day! thanks so much for posting all these wonderful holiday treats! trying the irish soda bread recipe tonight for work tomorrow, then a few others for a get together on st. pattys day night! thanks again!
This cake sounds amazing! With such rave reviews, I will certainly have to give it a try!
I am quite convinced you could not have done a better job on this cake! Wow, it looks so dang good. Well done, as always!
xo
http://allykayler.blogspot.com/
Hi Michelle
A couple of things:
1- I submitted your blog as my #1 favorite on Saveur Magazines “Vote for your favorite food blog” competition they have going on.
2- I have a wonderful chocolate mousse recipe that turns out each time I make it, and I usually have to make twice as much simply because I eat most of it as I’m making it. Let me know if you would like it, and I’ll share it with you.
Thanks for always making desserts and entree’s that I actually WANT to try and that actually turn out when made. :)
Hi Kacey,
Thank you so much for submitting my site as a favorite over at Saveur! I am flattered! I would love the chocolate mousse recipe – I never turn down a new recipe! :) Thank you!
Michelle, I will look through my baking portfolio after work tomorrow and get that posted for you. I will say this- stock up on some of your favorite dark chocolate pieces/chips/discs/peves, etc. This mousse changes each time you use a different brand of chocolate. My favorites so far are the semi sweet and bittersweet chocolate wafers by E. Guittard. :) I also use gelatin in my mousse. I prefer it this way, it makes it hold its shape better, and I can use it in layered chocolate desserts. :)
As promised, here is my chocolate mousse recipe. I hope you like it. I usually end up sticking the opening of the piping bag right into my mouth and needing a bit of privacy. :)
I use ounces and grams when I bake, so I hope that you have a scale.
Chocolate Mousse- by KaceyCooks
Ingredients:
125 grams Whole milk
125 grams heavy cream
20 grams granulated sugar
______________
80 grams egg yolks
23 grams granulated sugar
______________
6 grams gelatin (approx 3 sheets) (I have used sheets of gelatin, or about 3/4 of a single packet of powdered gelatin. I don’t have a preference)
______________
120 grams quality chocolate (I like Guittard bittersweet or semi sweet)
______________
300 grams heavy cream
Directions:
1- Soften gelatin in cold water
2- Whip the LAST AMOUNT (300g) of heavy cream to a medium peak and reserve in the fridge
3- In a sauce pan, bring the milk, the 1st amount of cream and the 1st amount of sugar to a scald
4- When the milk mixture is hot, whisk together the yolks and the 2nd amount of sugar
5- Temper the yolk mixture with the scalded milk
6- Return to the sauce pan and using a spoon, slowly cook to 185 degrees F, or until it coats the back of a spoon. Careful not to go over 185 degrees or you’ll end up with scrambled eggs, which I’m sure you know. ;)
7- Remove from the stove and add chocolate
8- Add the softened gelatin and stir
9- Using a whisk, mix until all the chocolate and gelatin are incorporated
10- Cool in an ice back until the chocolate Creme Anglaise base starts to thicken
11- Fold the reserved whipped cream into the cooled chocolate Creme Anglaise base and try not to eat it all. :)
This mousse works great as layers in between rich chocolate cake with a ganache “frosting”, or just as a simple dessert garnished with chocolate shavings and raspberries, or as a fruit dip for strawberries, or like I mentioned above…for those moments when dignity doesn’t matter and you just want to be alone with pastry bag…or skip that and just grab a spoon. :)
Thanks so much! I can’t wait to try it!
You are welcome- there is also a chocolate butter sponge cake recipe that can go with this mouse to make a 5 layer chocolate mousse cake covered in ganache. I could share that recipe too. :) Just let me know.
What a gorgeous cake Michelle! And so perfect for St Patty’s Day :) I have been slacking on the St Patty’s day-appropriate food this year, but you’ve definitely inspired me to get going!