[dropcap type =”circle”]E[/dropcap]very year on March 17, the Irish and the Irish-at-heart across the globe observe St. Patrick’s Day. What began as a religious feast day for the patron saint of Ireland has become an international festival celebrating Irish culture with parades, dancing, special foods and a whole lot of green.
Traditionally corned beef and cabbage would be eaten – but I want to tempt you with something far more delicious than that. If you are a fan of decadent treats, this Chocolate Guinness Cake is the dessert for you! The dense and fudgy sponge has an intense malty flavour which comes from the addition of the stout and is topped with a creamy, white chocolate cream cheese frosting which some say helps the finished cake resemble a pint of Guinness!
For the sponge: Use a 9”/23cm cake tin greased and lined
300g butter plus extra for greasing
150ml Guinness
250g plain flour
2 tsp baking soda
100g cocoa powder
375g caster sugar
3 large free-range eggs
1 tbsp vanilla extract
150ml sour cream
For the frosting:
200g good-quality white chocolate
125g butter, at room temperature
225g cream cheese
225g icing sugar, sift
Preheat the oven to 180°C/350°F/ Gas Mark 4, grease a 23cm/ 9 inch cake tin with a removable base and line with a disc of parchment paper. Melt the butter in a saucepan and then whisk in the cocoa powder and Guinness. Remove from the heat and set aside.
In a large mixing bowl combine the flour, baking soda and sugar. Make a well with the back of a spoon and pour in the melted butter mixture along with the eggs, sour cream and vanilla extract. Pour into the prepared cake tin and place in the oven for 1 hour or until a skewer inserted comes out completely clean. When the cake is baking, make the cream cheese frosting.
To make the frosting, melt the chocolate in a bowl placed on top of a saucepan filled with a little water boiling over a low heat. Remove from the heat to cool for about 10 minutes. Place the butter and cream cheese in a bowl and beat until fluffy and combined. Mix through the melted white chocolate and then gradually sift and beat in the icing sugar until you have a smooth, spreadable mixture. To assemble the cake, place it on a cake stand and spread with frosting.