This chocolate stout cake is made with a local stout, filled with a chocolate ganache. Top it with a coffee buttercream or just eat the cake alone. Either way, it's delicious!
Remember that Flying Fish Chocolate Stout I got a hold of? Here's what we did with it.
I decided to make a decadent chocolate stout cake with coffee buttercream, ganache filling and topped with chocolate shavings. Now what I'm about to tell you may seem like a strange thing to write but I really want you to know how I think this cake turned out.
The original purpose of making a chocolate stout cake was to make the chocolate flavor stand out against the sweet taste of cake. I have to admit here that although the cake was delicious and chocolaty, the sweetness of the coffee buttercream did take away from the chocolate flavor.
If you don't mind this, by all means follow the recipe. If I were to make this again though, I'd skip the coffee buttercream and go chocolate ganache all the way!
Chocolate Stout Cake
This chocolate stout cake is made with a local stout, filled with a chocolate ganache. Top it with a coffee buttercream or just eat the cake alone. Either way, it's delicious!
Ingredients
For the Cake:
- 2 cups sugar
- 3 cups cake flour
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 ½ teaspoon baking soda
- 1 cup butter
- 1 cup cocoa powder
- 4 oz bittersweet chocolate
- 12 oz chocolate stout
- 2 eggs
- 2 yolks
- 1 ⅓ cup buttermilk
For the coffee frosting:
- 1 ½ cups unsalted butter
- 2 cups confectioners sugar
- 4 teaspoon espresso powder
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
For the ganache filling
- 6 oz heavy cream
- 8 oz bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped
Instructions
For the Cake:
- Butter two 8 inch pans and cover the bottoms with parchment paper. Sift the sugar, flour, salt, and baking soda together.
- Warm the butter, cocoa powder, chocolate and stout in a double boiler until the chocolate is melted.
- Mix together the eggs, yolks, and buttermilk. In an electric mixer, add the the chocolate mixture to the dry ingredients and mix until combined. Then add the egg mixture and mix until combined.
- Pour the batter to fill the pans halfway and bake at 350°F for 30-35 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean when poked in the center. Cool completely.
For the coffee frosting:
- Cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy.
- Dissolve the espresso powder in a tablespoon or two of water and add it to mixture along with the vanilla extract. Mix until combined.
For the ganache filling
- Heat the cream in a saucepan and pour half of it over the chopped chocolate.
- Wait a minute to allow the cream to melt the chocolate some. Pour the remaining cream and slowly stir to make the ganache come together. Use immediately.
For the cake assembly:
- Level both your cakes (save those scraps!). Top the first layer with ganache by first making a border of buttercream so the ganache does not fall off the sides.
- Top with some buttercream if you like. Place the second layer over the first and frost your cake with the remaining buttercream.
Notes
I've modified this recipe from my cupcake recipe so it was difficult to gauge how much batter I was going to get. I thought it was the right amount to make a double 8 inch round cake. I ended up having enough extra to either make a third layer or make about 8-10 cupcakes. (I made the cupcakes.)
Nutrition Information:
Yield: 20 Serving Size: 1 sliceAmount Per Serving: Calories: 1125Total Fat: 70gSaturated Fat: 43gTrans Fat: 1gUnsaturated Fat: 22gCholesterol: 188mgSodium: 480mgCarbohydrates: 110gFiber: 8gSugar: 68gProtein: 14g
This nutrition information is only an approximate provided for convenience and as a courtesy only. Information comes from Nutritionix, an automated nutrition calculator.
Sheetal Ghelani says
I'm attempting to make this tonight...question, is the butter to be melted and added to the liquid ingredients??
Sheetal Ghelani says
Awesome recipe! I just made it for dinner tonight and it was a major hit. I made it with just the ganache and skipped the buttercream. The bitterness of the chocolate combined with the stout made it absolutely perfect! I can't wait until tomorrow when we get to have more...
Dessarts says
Sheetal, I'm so glad it worked out for you! Ganache all the way is a good call. And thanks for the butter question. You made me realize that I did not specify where it goes into the recipe. It's been corrected now.
Laura says
All I can really say is, WOW!
This cake turned out incredibly moist and is perfectly rich, without being overly so. Instead of chocolate ganache and coffee icing, I made a chocolate Irish cream frosting, which accompanied it perfectly. This is definitely the best chocolate cake I have ever made! Thanks for the recipe!
Urvashee says
Laura, Thanks so much for your comments. I'm so glad you loved it! Chocolate Irish Cream frosting sounds perfect!
Tyler says
If making this for cupcakes instead, what should the bake time be?
Urvashee says
I have not made them as cupcakes but I would guess 15-25 minutes. I'm giving a big window because oven temps can vary. Keep an eye on it after 15 minutes and if the top looks baked, I would insert a toothpick into the center of one to check. It should come out clean or crumbly, not wet.