Thursday, August 26, 2010

Chocolate+Guinness Cake


Oh my good gracious.
I love having an excuse to bake a cake, and my birthday yesterday was certainly an excellent one.  After scanning through a number of websites, my beloved Smitten Kitchen pointed me in the direction of one chocolate cake.  With Guinness.  And a coffee ganache.
What kind of girl would I be if I said no?
This cake is absolutely superb: moist, rich, and enough to serve about 12-15 people.  Don't worry, John Paul and I did share, albeit a bit grumpily.  The ganache could not be easier to make, and the cake is easy to pull together.  If you're looking for a great cake that is sure to please the chocoholic inside of you, give this one a shot.  And if you're in need of an excuse, I hear that Thursdays only come around once a week and are worth celebrating.


Chocolate+Guinness Cake (from Smitten Kitchen)
1 c. stout (such as Guinness)
1 c. (2 sticks) unsalted butter
3/4 c. unsweetened cocoa powder
2 c. all purpose flour
2 c. sugar
1 1/2 tsp. baking soda
3/4 tsp. salt
2 large eggs
2/3 c. sour cream
6 oz. good semisweet chocolate chips
6 Tbsp. heavy cream
3/4 tsp. instant coffee granules

1. Preheat oven to 350. Grease the heck out of a bundt pan.
2. Bring stout and butter to a simmer in a large, heavy saucepan over medium. Add cocoa powder and whisk until mixture is smooth. Cool slightly.
3. Whisk flour, sugar, baking soda, and salt in a medium bowl. Using electric mixer, beat eggs and sour cream in another large bowl to blend.
4. Add stout mixture to egg mixture and beat to combine. Slowly, add flour mixture and beat briefly on slow speed. Using rubber spatula, fold batter until totally combined.
5. Pour batter into prepared pan and back about 45 minutes, until cake tester inserted into the center comes out clean. Transfer to rack and let cool completely in pan; invert and drizzle ganache over.
6. Melt chocolate chips, cream and coffee in top of a double boiler over simmering water until smooth and warm, stirring occasionally. Drizzle over top of the cooled cake.


 
 


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