Guinness Chocolate Cake

A Guinness Chocolate Cake sitting in a bakery box and ready to give.

A Guinness Chocolate Cake is the cake I turn to when I want to make something special but also no fuss.

The cake is moist, rich and quick to make. Because it's a one-layer cake, frosting it couldn't be easier. Just spread on a batch of cream cheese icing so that it resembles the froth on top of a pint of Guinness and it's done.

The recipe is from Nigella Lawson's cookbook "Feast" and it also makes great cupcakes.

Chocolate Guinness Cake
1 cup Guinness
1 stick plus 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
3/4 cup cocoa powder
2 cups granulated sugar
3/4 cup sour cream
2 eggs
1 tablespoon vanilla
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 1/2 teaspoons baking soda

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and butter and line a 9-inch springform pan.

Pour the Guinness into a large saucepan, add the butter in slices and heat until the butter is melted. Turn off the heat and whisk in the cocoa and sugar. Beat the sour cream with the eggs and vanilla and pour into the beer mixture and finally whisk in the flour and baking soda.

Pour the cake batter into the greased and lined pan and bake for 45 minutes to 1 hour. Leave to cool completely in the pan on a cooling rack, as it is quite a damp cake.

Cream Cheese Icing
8 oz. cream cheese
1 1/4 cups powdered sugar
1/2 cup heavy cream

Lightly whip the cream cheese until smooth, sift over the powdered sugar and beat them both together. Add the cream and beat again until it's a spreadable consistency. Ice just the top of the cake so that it resembles the frothy top of the famous pint.