Who doesn’t love a dessert whose two main ingredients are chocolate and alcohol? The original recipe from Love Swah called for a Bailey’s Irish Cream frosting, which I made for St. Patrick’s Day, but the second time I made the cake I took a different route with chocolate ganache and vanilla buttercream.
Don’t be intimidated by this photo, this was my first time making ganache and buttercream roses. Can you even tell that the cake broke in half (true story) and deflated in the center? The buttercream made for the perfect “band aid”, and the ganache did a really nice job at covering any imperfections. So, novice bakers, this recipe is dedicated to you!
Ingredients (cake):
1 cup Guinness
1 cup + 1 tbs butter
1 3/4 cup superfine sugar (this is NOT granulated or powdered sugar)
2/3 cups cocoa powder
2/3 cups sour cream
2 eggs
1 tbs vanilla
2 cups flour
2 1/2 tsp baking soda
Ingredients (ganache):
16 oz chocolate (recommend semi-sweet, but I used 56% dark), finely chopped
16 oz (2 cups) heavy cream
Ingredients (buttercream):
1 cup butter, room temperature
3 cups powdered sugar
1 tbs milk
1 tsp vanilla
Directions (cake):
Pre-heat oven to 350 and line a 9” round pan with parchment paper and butter (note: the cake will rise to about 2.5-3 inches). In a medium sauce pan on low heat, melt butter into Guinness. Once melted, take off heat and add sugar and cocoa powder. In a separate bowl, beat egg, sour cream, and vanilla until combined. Add Guinness mixture and whisk together. Finally, add flour and baking soda, mix until combined. Pour into pan and bake for 1 hour. Note: once the cake is done, the center may still be a little wet. Let the cake cool in the pan completely before flipping it onto a cooling rack to decorate. The center may deflate just a little.
Directions (ganache):
Finely chop the chocolate so you have equal sized pieces (the size of chocolate chips works), and place in a food processor. In a microwave-safe bowl, heat the heavy cream in the microwave for 3-4 minutes (I found 3.5 to be perfect, otherwise the cream will boil over). Pour the heavy cream over the chocolate and let sit for 2 minutes. Cover and pulse 3-4 times until the chocolate is melted and has fully combined with the heavy cream. Use immediately if you want a smooth glaze over your cake, or let it sit for 2-3 hours to get a fluffy, buttercream-like texture (use a hand mixer to fluff it up). I recommend you put the cake in the fridge for 2-3 hours to let the ganache harden before decorating. Recipe courtesy of Food Network.
Directions (buttercream):
In a large bowl, cream together butter and powdered sugar. Add in milk and vanilla and beat for 3-4 minutes until light and airy. Scoop into piping bag and decorate your cake as desired. Note: you will want the ganache to be completely cooled before decorating. Recipe courtesy of Food.com.