Rich, flavorful, and very chocolatey, this easy Guinness cake will immediately win everyone over.

The already rich, creamy, malty, and mildly bitter chocolate flavor of Guinness makes for a perfect cake ingredient. It is also an incredibly easy bake that stays moist and soft for days.

Guinness has been brewed at St. James’ Gate Dublin since 1759 when Arthur Guinness signed a 9,000-year lease. If he can have that much faith in his brewing, you can trust that this cake will turn out wonderfully.

This is my dad’s favorite cake in the whole world. If he could eat it every day, he would. You can use any type of Guinness, but I think the regular one in the can (140z) is the best because it has the nitro surge ball in it, which gives it such a smooth and silky texture. I included a recipe for the frosting, but you can use any frosting recipe that exists. I made a cottage cheese whipped cream frosting because it has a tang that matches the maltiness of the cake really well, but a vanilla (or chocolate!) buttercream would also be good. Note this cake is not made with cake flour. The second time I made this cake, I tried cake flour instead, and the texture was not satisfying. This cake is supposed to be dense and moist, which is achieved by using all-purpose flour. I have made this cake for every event under the sun, Christmas, birthdays, Valentine’s Day (in the shape of a heart with pink frosting), and picnics, and it is a hit every time.

List of Ingredients

• 12 ounces Guinness
• 1/2 cup butter
• 1/2 cup cocoa
• 1/2 sour cream
• 2 eggs
• 2 cups of sugar
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 2-3 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp baking powder

Step 1

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

1. Spray or butter a 9-inch cake pan. Cover the bottom with parchment.

2. Heat Guinness in a saucepan with the butter until the butter is melted.

3. Pour into a medium-sized bowl.

4. Whisk in sugar, cocoa, sour cream, vanilla, and eggs. (it will look lumpy, but that’s okay.)

5. Mix in flour, baking powder and baking soda. Combine well.

6. Pour into cake pan. Cook for 50 minutes to an hour.

Step 2

After your cake has cooled, it’s time to frost it. I use two frostings, depending on what I have on hand. A simple chocolate buttercream works and tastes great, but I also like whipped cream and cream cheese frosting. I think this because the white frosting mimics the head of a Guinness.

You can make this by whipping 1 1/2 cups of whipping cream until stiff peaks form. In another bowl, add 8 ounces (one package) of cream cheese, 2 tsp of vanilla, and 1 cup of sugar, and mix. Then add the mixture to the whipping cream and mix with a spatula.

Enjoy!

Serve cake for afternoon tea, dessert, or at any time of the day.