Chocolate Guinness Cake Recipe

As promised, I am showering you with cake recipes this week - my all time top five no less. Today it's the turn of the wonderful Chocolate Guinness Cake recipe. The addition of the Guinness gives the chocolate cake a rich fudgy taste which is set of perfectly with the White Chocolate Cream Cheese Icing. It only uses a wee bit of Guinness so teetotaler's, expectant mother's and children are free to indulge should it take their fancy. I made and took this cake to my niece's engagement party earlier this year only to leave the party with the job of producing the wedding cake. So beware of the repercussions baking this cake could bring you. It really is that good.

Chocolate Guinness Cake

Serves 10-12

250g softened unsalted butter, plus extra for greasing

200g soft dark brown sugar

100g good-quality dark chocolate, melted

2 large free-range eggs

200ml Guinness

275g self-raising flour

30g cocoa powder

1 tsp baking powder

1tsp bicarbonate of soda

For the icing:

200g cream cheese

75g icing sugar

1 tsp vanilla extract

4 tbsp soured cream

125g white chocolate, melted

1. Preheat the oven to 180C/ fan160C/gas 4. Grease and line a 23cm loose-bottomed cake tin.

2. Beat the butter with the sugar until pale and fluffy - this may take around 5 minutes or so. Gradually beat in the melted chocolate until smooth, then beat in the eggs one at a time.

3. Gradually whisk in the Guinness. You will have a smooth batter at this point. Sift together the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder and bicarbonate of soda, then fold carefully into the chocolate mixture.

4. Pour into the tin and bake for 35-40 minutes until a skewer comes out clean. Leave to cool in the tin, then turn out onto a cake plate.

5. For the icing, beat the cream cheese, icing sugar and vanilla extract together until smooth, then mix in the soured cream and melted chocolate. Spread evenly over the cake and serve. If you want the icing a little firmer before spreading, pop it into the fridge for 10 minutes or so.

The dark sponge against the pale icing is quite stunning, but I do have a weakness of decorating my cakes with a little floral sprig or two. So finish the cake as you see fit and enjoy.