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This Guinness Chocolate Cake is moist, fluffy chocolate cake spiked with Guinness Stout Beer and topped with a Baileys Irish Cream Frosting.

A close up shot of a slice of chocolate cake sitting on a white cake plate that is drizzled with chocolate and a beer blurred out the background.

Cakes with beer or any alcohol for that matter are my jam. I love a good boozy dessert, and this Guinness Chocolate Cake is no different.

This is a moist, fluffy, dark chocolate cake spiked with Guinness Stout and topped with a Baileys Irish Cream frosting. More alcohol in the frosting? You bet!

Guinness is not my beer of choice, at all actually, but it’s great for baking! The dark Irish stout has a bit of a tangy flavor that pairs really well with coffee or chocolate-flavored dessert.

An overhead view of a big slice of Guinness chocolate cake topped with a baileys frosting. On top of the frosting is a dusting of cocoa powder, chocolate drizzle and chocolate shavings.

I took my original chocolate cake and made adjustments to the sour cream, baking soda, and baking powder. The carbonation in the beer acts as a leavening agent, so naturally, the recipe needed to be adjusted. It took a couple of tries, but I am so excited about the end results.

You can definitely note the Guinness flavor in this chocolate cake both in smell and taste. I hate when you taste a boozy dessert, but you can’t really taste the booze at all. That’s not the case here.

This cake didn’t even need frosting in my opinion, it was spongy but fluffy, full of air bubbles, and super moist because the cake also includes a healthy serving of sour cream. Even 3 days after you’ve made it, it still tastes fresh.

A slice of chocolate cake with Baileys frosting on a white plate drizzled with chocolate. A gold fork is set on the plate with a bite of cake on it and there's a few bites missing from the slice of cake.

When it comes to the frosting, any chocolate frosting would work just as well as this Baileys Irish Cream frosting. It’s definitely on the sweeter side, so a little frosting goes quite a long way, but Guinness and Baileys are a match made in heaven.

The frosting is better once it has sat for a little while and had time to absorb the flavor of the Irish cream. So, don’t worry if you’re not serving this right away.

A slice of chocolate cake with Baileys frosting on a white plate drizzled with chocolate. A gold fork is set on the plate and there's a few bites missing from the slice of cake.

The key to making a good frosting is whipping the butter for several minutes at the various stages. Remove the butter from the fridge and microwave for 10 seconds then whip the butter for several minutes.

Once the powdered sugar and Baileys have been added and incorporated, you’ll whip it again for several minutes to finish it off. You want a fluffy, very spreadable texture.

With St. Patrick’s day approaching, I am sure you’re looking for a dessert to share. This Guinness Chocolate Cake is perfect for the occasion. There are definitely more recipes to come with this Guinness Chocolate cake.

A wide angle shot of a big slice of chocolate Guinness cake topped with a Baileys frosting. There's another slice of cake and a beer blurred out in the background and two gold fork to the left of the plate.

Guinness Chocolate Cake

★★★★★

5 from 2 reviews

Author: Julianne Dell
Prep Time: 15 min
Cook Time: 28 min
Total Time: 43 minutes
Yield: 12-15 slices

Print Recipe

Description

This Guinness Chocolate Cake is moist, fluffy chocolate cake spiked with Guinness Stout Beer and topped with a Baileys Irish Cream Frosting.

Ingredients

For the cake:

1 ½ cups granulated sugar (285g)
½ cup vegetable oil (118 ml)
3 large eggs
1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract (15 ml)
3/4 cup sour cream (177 ml)
2 cups all-purpose flour (280g)
½ cup cocoa powder (55 g)
1 tablespoon espresso powder (5g) (optional)
1 ½ teaspoons baking powder (5 g)
1 teaspoon baking soda (4 g)
1 teaspoon salt (5 g)
1 ¼ cup Guinness (355 ml)

For the frosting

1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter (236g)
4 cups powdered sugar (520g)
3 tablespoons Baileys Irish Cream (44ml)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract (5g)
Pinch of salt

Instructions

For the cake:Preheat the oven to 350°F.
In a large mixing bowl, combine the sugar, vegetable oil, eggs and vanilla extract. Beat on medium speed until the eggs and oil are well incorporated and the batter is lighter in color.
Next mix in the sour cream and beat until well combined.
In a separate bowl, sift together the dry ingredients. Then add half the dry ingredients followed by half of the Guinness and mix just until the flour starts to incorporate.
Finally, add the remaining dry ingredients, mixing on low speed while pouring in the remaining Guinness and beating until all of the ingredients are well combined.
Use a spatula to scrape down the sides of the bowl and stir the batter from the bottom to the top to ensure it’s well mixed.
Pour the batter into a 9×13-inch pan and bake at 350°F for 28-30 minutes. Test the cake for doneness by inserting a toothpick into the center of the cake. If the toothpick comes out clean, your cake is done. Remove from the oven and allow to cool completely.
For the frosting: Remove the butter from the refrigerator and microwave for 10 seconds. Cut the butter into 1-inch blocks. Beat the butter for 2-4 minutes until it is softened and silky.
Add 2 cups of powdered sugar and the vanilla extract and beat until well combined.
Next, add the remaining powdered sugar 2 cups at a time, followed by the Baileys. Start beating slowly until the ingredients are incorporated and then increase the speed to high and beat for another minute or two until the frosting is light and fluffy,
Spread frosting over cooled cake and then dust with cocoa powder, sprinkles or chocolate ganache. Keep in an airtight container.