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Tuesday, March 15, 2011

Let's Have Cake for St. Patty's Day



This is a Yummy Cake.  I'm not particularly fond of beer, and the batter was not the kind I'd wanted to lick up with a spoon.  However, in the end it was undeniably yummy - wonderfully moist, rich and St.Patty's-Day-Good.  The recipe came from www.allrecipes.com, but I feel I can almost claim part ownership as I changed the recipe and instead of one cup of Guinness I put in the whole bottle.  Yes, I did.  I read the recipe wrong somehow.  But the cake still turned out great and perhaps was even more dense and moist as a result! So quick - invite some friendly people over for Thursday and have yourself some St. Patrick's Day sweet, good times.

Ingredients

  • 1 cup Irish stout beer (such as Guinness®) - or just pour the whole bottle in!
  • 1 cup butter, cut into pieces
  • 3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
  • 2 eggs
  • 2/3 cup sour cream
  • 2 cups all-purpose flour
  • 2 cups white sugar
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
  • 3/4 teaspoon salt
  •  
  • 3 cups confectioners' sugar, or as needed
  • 1/2 cup butter at room temperature
  • 3 tablespoons Irish cream liqueur (such as Baileys®), or as needed
  •  
  • 8 ounces bittersweet chocolate, coarsely chopped
  • 2/3 cup heavy cream
  • 2 tablespoons butter at room temperature

Directions

  1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Line 2 9-inch cake pans with parchment paper, and spray with cooking spray.
  2. Pour the beer into a saucepan, add the butter, and bring to a simmer over medium-low heat. Remove the pan from the heat, and whisk in the cocoa powder until the mixture is smooth. Allow the mixture to cool. In a bowl, beat the eggs and sour cream together until smooth with an electric mixer, and stir in the stout mixture to make a smooth, thick liquid.
  3. In a large bowl, mix together the flour, sugar, baking soda, and salt. Pour the stout mixture into the flour mixture, and gently combine with a spatula. Pour the batter into the prepared pans.
  4. Bake in the preheated oven until the cakes are set and a toothpick inserted into the center of a cake comes out clean, about 30 minutes. Remove and let cool in pans for 5 minutes before inverting the cakes onto wire racks to finish cooling.
  5. Mix together the confectioners' sugar, butter, and Irish cream liqueur until the mixture forms a smooth and spreadable frosting (add more sugar or liqueur as needed to create the desired consistency). Spread half the frosting on top of each cake.
  6. Place the chopped chocolate into a heatproof bowl. Bring cream to almost boiling in a small saucepan, and pour over the chocolate. Stir in the butter, and stir the mixture until the chocolate melts and the mixture is very smooth. Allow to cool until the mixture is pourable but not thin or overly runny, 10 to 15 minutes. Stack a cake gently on top of the other, frosting sides uppermost, and carefully drizzle the chocolate mixture over the cake, allowing decorative drips to run down the sides. Enjoy!

2 comments:

  1. Cailan, this looks like a delicious cake! what a funny mistake too :) Some day we shall have to enjoy a slice together!
    love you all!
    ~Jennifer

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  2. This cake looks lovely, thanks for sharing. I missed St Patty's Day, but I will feel free to make it for no good reason at all other than to enjoy it!

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