You might be surprised to learn that the winter wonderland that adorns this Chocolate Stout Cake is not fussy or difficult to achieve. There are no food dyes or pastry bags involved. In fact the mound of cream cheese frosting is simply plopped on top with a big spoon and spread about until it resembles snow drifts on an alpine peak. The little pine trees are plastic and are standard in most cake decorating shops. I got mine on Etsy. Meaning the decorations on this cake are so unfussy that I didn’t even have to leave the house.
The only hard part was deciding what kind of cake I wanted to make into a snow-covered pine forest. I’d seen a photo on the internet by Agnieszka Wormus that inspired the look I was going for. I also knew I wanted a dark base to form the mountain beneath my snowy peak. However, a standard chocolate cake just didn’t feel festive enough to me. Besides, I planned to take this cake to a holiday party and I knew there would already be plenty of chocolate choices on the dessert table.
Stout Cake
So I turned to the internet and came across a deep dark Chocolate Guinness Cake from Nigella Lawson. The photo convinced me that she and I were on the same page when it came to billowing piles of cream cheese frosting. Still, I needed to cross reference the recipe to be assured that the stout cake would be all that I hoped it would be. More clicking led me to Smitten Kitchen. She has a stout cake with the same ingredients and proportions as Nigella’s, so I was beginning to feel confident about the cake. Smitten Kitchen indicates that her recipe source is a 3 layer stout cake from Epicurious. Naturally I clicked over to Epicurious where I found out that their recipe was adapted via Bon Appétit from the Barrington Brewery. I’m sure you can guess where I went next. Once there I discovered that their Stout Cake was exactly the same as Nigella’s and Smitten Kitchen’s and Epicurious’.
Hence my stout cake is exactly the same as Nigella’s and Smitten Kitchen’s and Epicurious’ stout cake. Except of course mine has a very unfussy, alpine studded snow bank sitting proudly on top. GREG
Ingredients
- 1 cup stout (such as Guinness)
- 1 cup unsalted butter
- 3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder (preferably Dutch-process)
- 2 cup all-purpose flour
- 2 cup granulated sugar
- 1 ½ teaspoon baking soda
- 3/4 teaspoon kosher salt
- 2 large eggs (at room temperture)
- 2/3 cup sour cream (at room temperture)
- 12 ounce cream cheese (at room temperture)
- 3 cup confectioners’ sugar (plus more for dusting
- 2/3 cup heavy cream
Directions
Set the oven rack to the center position and preheat oven to 350°F.
Butter the sides and bottom of a 9‑inch spring form pan. Line with a parchment round; butter parchment.
In heavy large saucepan set over medium heat bring stout and butter to simmer. Add cocoa powder and whisk until mixture is smooth. Cool slightly.
In a large bowl whisk flour, granulated sugar, baking soda, and salt in large bowl to blend.; set aside.
In a separate large bowl use an electric mixer on medium speed to beat eggs and sour cream. Add the cooled stout-chocolate mixture to egg mixture and continue to beat until just combined. Lower the speed on the mixer and add flour mixture in three additions beating briefly between each addition. Do not overmix, use a rubber spatula towards the end to fold batter until completely combined.
Pour the cake batter into the prepared pan. Bake in the heated oven for 50 to 60 minutes, or until a tester inserted into center comes out clean. Let the cake completely cool on a rack, about 1 hour.
Meanwhile make the frosting.
Using a clean bowl and clean beaters on the hand mixer slightly whip the cream cheese until smooth. Sift in the confectioners’ sugar and continue to beat until well incorporated and very smooth. With the mixer still running, drizzle in the cream until it makes a spreadable consistency, you might not use all the cream.
Remove the cake from the pan and set it, domed side up, on a cake platter. Use a large spoon to thickly dollop the frosting on top in an attractive manner. Be very generous with the frosting, but don’t feel you have to use it all.
Dust the cake with more confectioners’ sugar just before serving.
I made Nigella’s (/smitten kitch/epicurious/) Stout Cake for my husbands birthday a few years back, but topped it with some cheeky whisky-spiked whipped cream…! I adore your trees, fabulously kitsch! xx
Chocolate stout cake has been floating around in my mind for weeks.
I even got a single bottle of Guinness tucked away somewhere in the kitchen especially for it.
But, I don’t have the heart to use such a fine stout on a gamble.
How that I have your recipe, I’m going for it!
Wishing you a very happy 2016, G. xo
Somewhere, a child’s train set is missing its toy trees. Hmmm I guess kids don’t play much with toy trains anymore, do they? Unless it’s some type of train on an App for their iPad. Anyhoo, fantastic looking cake but then again it has to be because it’s similar to one that my hottie Nigella makes.….and I guess similar to every stout cake that’s ever been made. Great post, Greg!
This is a wonderful delishious cake! So many compliments and requests for the recipe! Great job!!
The lack of fussy is what makes this cake so beautiful. LOVE it. Happy holidays! XOXO
Just beautiful! I may just pull this off this week!
It reminds me of the scene (“Snow, snow, snow!”) in White Christmas when they are on the train to Pine Tree, VT, anticipating the snow. Your cream cheese frosting is much better than their napkin!
Hi Greg! Happy Holidays!! This is a cake I have made from Nigella, however did not know the recent recipe lineage…recipes are for sharing. Thank you Greg, and love the trees atop! ~Bijouxs
Wow! It’s beautiful! I bet it’s delicious. I’ve seen stout brownie recipes before, but I’ve never made any. Can you describe the flavor? What does the beer bring to the table?
Lightly chocolate flavored with a bitter background (much like Guinness). It’s quite dense and moist. The sweet tang from the cream cheese frosting really worked well too. GREG
Mmm, sounds like my kind of thing. Thanks for sharing the recipe!
I made this cake. It was so good, that I made it again, twice! I liked it so much I blogged about it. Thanks again for this wonderful recipe.
Delicious cake Greg, happy holidays to you and your loved ones.
Guests at the holiday party will be most pleased with this cake! I love the simple, fuss-free and festive effect you’ve achieved here. That, and you had me at stout.
Looks delicious Greg!
I adore this kind of a simple yet elegant cake. That recipe sounds good, will pin it for sure. I can’t fuss much with the nozzles and piping, I always tend to go for a look like this. I have to say though, this is so so lovely. I need to checkout those trees on etsy. Such a wonderful place to get so many things.
Have a wonderful weekend Greg!
xo
Your version wins hands down.
Greg this is amazing, I’m pinning, sharing, stumbling, you name it! Have a wonderful holiday!
I’ve never made a stout cake.. yours looks intriguing.. love those trees!
I love that Nigella Guinness cake, Greg. I’ve made it many times and it works well as cupcakes too — so dense and moist — just delicious. Love how you’ve decorated yours — the little trees are perfect!