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Chocolate Stout Cake with Bailey’s Cream Cheese Frosting

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Chocolate Stout (Guinness) Cake
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Stout brings out the flavours of the chocolate in this light and moist chocolate cake.

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Since I was previewing a St. Patrick’s day meal on the weekend, I knew exactly what I wanted to make for dessert. I had been seeing recipes for a chocolate stout cake around for a while and I really wanted to try it. I would not have thought about adding a stout beer like Guinness to a cake and I was very curious to see how it would work. I also liked the fact that this chocolate cake used sour cream which I also found interesting.
The last time that I made a cake I had problems getting the cake out of the pan so this time I made sure to grease the pan really well and I even greased the parchment paper liner. This time the cake came out of the pan like magic and the parchment paper pealed off of the cake with ease.
The cake came together quickly and easily. After I got it into the oven I had a chance to sit down and relax while finishing the rest of the open can of Guinness while the cake was baking. The chocolate stout cake turned out even better than I had thought would and I had high hopes from the beginning. It was nice and light and tender and moist and chocolaty and good!
Just when you thought it could not get any better than a chocolate cake with Guinness in it… how about topping it off with some Bailey’s cream cheese frosting? I could not pass up on trying the Bailey’s frosting from Nook and Pantry’scupcake version of the chocolate stout cake. An Irish beer and an Irish liqueur in one magically delicious dessert!
When doing food and wine pairing a rule of thumb is that the wine that went into cooking the meal would go well with the meal. I took that theory to the test and applied it to beer and I enjoyed a Guinness with the chocolate stout cake. Note: If you can find a chocolate stout, I would think that that would also work really well both in the cake and being served with the cake.

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Chocolate Stout (Guinness) Cake

Chocolate Stout (Guinness) Cake

Prep Time:20 minutes Cook Time:50 minutes Total Time:1 hour Servings: 6

Stout brings out the flavours of the chocolate in this light and moist chocolate cake.

ingredients
  • 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter
  • 1 cup stout (such as Guinness)
  • 3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
  • 2 cups all purpose flour
  • 2 cups sugar
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
  • 3/4 teaspoon salt
  • 2 large eggs
  • 2/3 cup sour cream
directions
  1. Melt the butter in a sauce pan, remove from heat and let cool a bit.
  2. Mix in the stout and cocoa powder.
  3. Mix the flour, sugar, baking soda and salt in a large bowl.
  4. Mix the eggs and sour cream in another large bowl.
  5. Mix the stout mixture into the egg mixture.
  6. Mix the dry ingredients into the wet.
  7. Pour the batter into one or two greased and parchment lined circular cake pan(s).
  8. Bake in a preheated 350F/180C oven until a toothpick pushed into the center comes out clean. If you bake it in a single pan then it should take about 40-50 minutes. If you bake it in two cake pans then it should take about 20-30 minutes.
Bailey's Cream Cheese Frosting

Bailey’s Cream Cheese Frosting

Prep Time:10 minutes Total Time:10 minutes Servings: 1cup

A cream cheese frosting spiked with Irish cream.

ingredients
  • 4 ounces cream cheese, room temperature
  • 1 cup confectioners sugar
  • 3 tablespoons of Bailey’s Irish cream
directions
  1. Cream the cream cheese.
  2. Slowly mix in the confectioners sugar.
  3. Slowly mix in the Irish cream.
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Comments

  1. Sarah says

    March 10, 2009 at 1:18 am

    I have made this chocolate stout cake before with plain cream cheese frosting, and I really like it. I am going to make is again this weekend. I was also going to make corned beef and colcannon. I think I will try your honey mustard recipe, it sounded really good! Love the blog!

    Reply

  5. Rita says

    March 10, 2009 at 2:39 am

    Hum, looks delicious, and the best part is that you get to drink beer while the cake bakes, haha! Does it taste less sweet cake than regular cakes?

    Reply

  7. Steph says

    March 10, 2009 at 3:07 am

    I just love how you paired it with the Bailey’s frosting.. The next time I make frosting, I might have to flavour it with Bailey’s.

    Reply

  34. ChichaJo says

    March 10, 2009 at 10:20 am

    I’ve always wanted to try baking with beer! This cake is gorgeous and sounds so yummy…might just dash over to my neighborhood pub to grab some stout!

    Reply

  36. Debbie says

    March 10, 2009 at 12:05 pm

    I’ve made this cake several times and it’s always excellent. I have never tried the Bailey’s Cream frosting on it though. I have used that on brownies. What a great idea to use it on this cake. I am going to use that frosting also when I make it again!!!

    Reply

  43. Lori says

    March 10, 2009 at 1:17 pm

    That lloks amazing. I have been wanting to try this kind of cake as well. I have found that any cakes with sour cream in the mix have been great recipes.

    Reply

  49. Bridgett says

    March 10, 2009 at 3:55 pm

    I made this a few months back for a dinner party and it was such a hit. I like the addition of bailey’s to the cream cheese! I will have to try that next time!

    Reply

  51. Anonymous says

    March 10, 2009 at 4:20 pm

    “I took that theory to the test and applied it to beer and I enjoyed a Guinness with the chocolate stout cake.”

    Love this line! =)

    Reply

  53. Helene says

    March 10, 2009 at 6:15 pm

    What a beautiful cake Kevin. I’ve bookmarked a recipe for a chocolate stout cake year ago and haven’t made it yet. I should make it with that frosting.

    Reply

  55. Ingrid says

    March 10, 2009 at 6:20 pm

    Man, I can’t keep up! I’m going to have to make a special folder for just your recipes or recipes that you’ve passed along. While I don’t care for chocolate cake you have me wondering if this could be the cake to make to change my mind!
    ~ingrid

    Reply

  62. Anonymous says

    March 10, 2009 at 8:58 pm

    Wow Kevin, this is awesome, I have to try your recipe one day, it’s very special combo: chocolate and guinness. And on top it has a Bailey’s Cream Frosting, must be divine!

    Reply

  65. Marjie says

    March 10, 2009 at 10:17 pm

    I made a chocolate cake with pureed tomatoes in it, and it was good enough to make a grown man cry. The fruits must just give it an added umph! Of course, I’m glad you were able to think of a good use for the rest of the Guinness Stout!

    Reply

  73. KT says

    March 11, 2009 at 2:28 pm

    Chocolate goes well with any alcohol doesn’t it? I’ve made a chocolate kahlua cheesecake before, but never thought to mix stout with chocolate (except Young’s Double Chocolate Stout in a can 🙂 – thanks for the sharing this recipe!

    Reply

  77. Mrs. L says

    March 11, 2009 at 10:18 pm

    I’m so glad you made this combination and it worked. I’ve had both that frosting and a Guinness cake bookmarked to make for a relatives birthday this weekend!

    Reply

  82. Nurit - 1 family. friendly. food says

    March 12, 2009 at 3:57 pm

    What a great idea to pair the cake with Bailey’s!
    And drinking beer with cake! That’s a new one!
    Sometimes I bump into raspberry beer and such. Do you think those would work too?
    Kevin, I am always searching for new/innovative ideas for simple cakes with an oomph, so I’ve launched a “Cake Collection” happening last night with a giveaway: http://www.familyfriendlyfood.com/2009/03/launching-cake-collection-with-a-giveaway/
    Would you do me the honor and submit this cake to my “collection”? There’s a giveaway too…
    Nurit

    Reply

  85. Kevin says

    March 13, 2009 at 10:20 pm

    Nurit – 1 family. friendly. food: I have never tried it with a non stout beer. I see no reason why it would not work, though it would be different. Raspberries go with chocolate and trying new things is always fun.

    Reply

  90. Dan G. says

    March 18, 2009 at 3:15 am

    The cake was a HUGE hit at the office — it’s light and moist and perfectly chocolate. The icing was too sweet for my taste, I drizzled it on rather than frosting the cake completely and the office folks loved it. I put the extra out so people could add it as they saw fit and quite a few did. Delicious recipe

    Reply

  93. Jodie, Florence, KY says

    April 3, 2009 at 6:45 pm

    My daughter in law and I made this cake from your recipe and it was delicious! Thanks for sharing it with us!

    Reply

  96. Jeanine says

    April 17, 2009 at 7:22 pm

    Wow, how on earth did I miss this one? And with 95 people commenting before me, I think I’m the ONLY person to miss it. 😉
    This cake looks fantastic, Kevin! I wonder what else that frosting would be good on…I’ve got a large bottle of Irish Cream in the fridge. Yum!

    Reply

  97. Anonymous says

    May 1, 2009 at 9:08 pm

    i just stumbled upon this cake last week it looks really good and smells really good too (it in the oven right now) i might have to kick the baileys up a little bit as long as i can keep good concistancy i am very excited about eating it

    Reply

  98. Sarah says

    March 5, 2010 at 3:25 am

    yum, i want to make this! do you think that the frosting would keep in the fridge for 3 days? I want to make one batch of cupcakes for a party on sat, and one for another on sunday, and would love to make the icing only once. thanks!

    Reply

  101. Meghan says

    March 16, 2010 at 5:47 pm

    This cake is too good to not try but I'm making it for a large group so doubling the batter recipe and making a layer cake with it. Do you think it would be frosting overkill to use this between the layers and on top? If so, would a chocolate ganache work well in the middle with the frosting on the top?

    Reply

  103. Anonymous says

    April 5, 2010 at 6:55 pm

    WOW! Made this recipe into cupcakes for the office for St. Pat's day and they were a huge hit!
    So I made it again, in two layer cake form, adding three teaspoons espresso powder to the cocao powder, and using a chocolate cream cheese icing. It's possibly the BEST chocolate cake I have ever had! Divine!! Thank you for sharing!

    Reply

  106. Meg says

    March 1, 2011 at 3:15 am

    Just made these into cupcakes, and they turned out so great! I used knockoff Baileys because it was a lot cheaper, but the bonus was I didn't feel too bad using it liberally in the frosting 🙂 Thanks for a great recipe!!

    Reply

  107. Anonymous says

    April 26, 2011 at 2:22 am

    I made this for my sister's birthday cake this weekend, and everyone was blown away. So. Crazy. Good. My mom, the best baker I know, the woman who taught me everything I know, dubbed this one of the best cakes she's ever had. It has an awesome crumb – moist yet dense (in a great way,) just sweet enough without being too much.

    I made 2 nine inch cakes, and it was awesome with a layer of frosting in between. Two things – I for some reason has an awful time getting the cake out the pans. Could very well be I was using old, crappy pans. Next time I'd probably add a dusting of cocoa to the pan in addition to greasing. Also, I doubled the frosting and had to thicken it up quite a bit. I wouldn't want to lose any of the Bailey's flavor (SO good!) so I'd probably just up the cream cheese and powdered sugar somewhat.

    Thank you so much for the recipe! I'll definitely be making this again…and again….and again….

    Reply

  114. Kathy Mercure says

    March 16, 2012 at 4:36 pm

    The perfect combination! Guinness, Chocolate AND Bailey's!

    Last year for a St. Paddy's promo I made two kinds of Guinness Cupcakes for my clients. One was with butter, and it was soooooo much tastier than the oil variety. I will try this, this weekend. Thanks.

    Reply

  115. Chris says

    March 18, 2012 at 6:35 pm

    My Chocolate Stout cake turned out spectacular but I have a question about cooking with Guinness. My husband asked if I should have poured the entire can of Guinness into a mug first so the nitrogen could be released? I just poured the amount I needed and left the rest in the can not activating the little canister thus not a lot of pretty foam. What are your thoughts?

    Reply

  116. Renee says

    March 19, 2012 at 4:06 am

    This cake was to-die-for!!!! Rave reviews from all my guests and I even had friends come over today to sample toe leftovers because they had heard about it! I bakes it into a layer cake and doubled the frosting to add some as a filling and to cover the sides. I used baking Pam and that worked like a charm. Reading the recipe again today, I am actually wondering if I accidentally used 1cup of sour cream…I kind of remember filling my measuring cup 3 times. My only changes were using low fat cream cheese and low fat sour cream. Cut out a few calories 😉 What would happen if I didn't use as much butter or cut it out all together??

    Reply

  120. Jojo says

    July 11, 2013 at 11:26 pm

    Hi Kevin,
    Wondering why the cocoa powder is included with the wet ingredients and not the dry (flour and sugar)? Mine got quite lumpy in the butter/Guinness mixture. I think it would be much better if it was mixed in with the dry.

    Also, I cooked mine as 2 9" rounds. It took 45 minutes to cook!

    This will be my fourth time making this cake. It is my husband's favorite and it is now tradition to make it for his birthday, as well as for St Patrick's day!

    Reply

  121. kevin says

    July 13, 2013 at 4:40 pm

    Jojo: I am glad that you like the cake! I prefer to mix the cocoa powder into the wet ingredients because I find that it combines better and it should easily melt into the simmering liquids with a bit of whisking. Was the cocoa powder really packed in when you added it or nice and loose? Mixing it in with the dry ingredients would definitely work!

    I always recommend using the toothpick method for deciding when the cake is done as every oven is a little different and things like altitude and moisture can affect the baking time.

    Reply

  122. redvolvo says

    March 9, 2014 at 10:03 pm

    instead of cocoa powder, can I use melted dark chocolate? and can I use plain greek yogurt instead of sour cream? Can I sub some of the butter for applesauce?

    Reply

  123. kevin says

    March 17, 2014 at 11:35 pm

    redvolvo: I have not tried it but you should be able to replace the cocoa powder with 4 ounces of unsweetened chocolate and reducing the butter by 1/4 cup.

    Reply

  124. Anonymous says

    July 20, 2015 at 4:57 pm

    Made this cake and would totally make it again!! So moist and delicious you could eat it without frosting!!!

    Reply

  126. Unknown says

    May 6, 2016 at 12:59 pm

    Was what should be adjusted for high altitude baking? My bf loves this cake and requested it for his bday this year but we are at a much higher elevation now.

    Reply

  127. Phyllis Provo says

    March 8, 2019 at 11:27 pm

    Kevin!!! Oh my!!! This looks like a bit of heaven. You just helped me decide what I will serve for dessert at dinner this weekend with good friends. Can’t wait to try it. The icing…oh wow, it sounds delish!

    Reply

    • kevin says

      March 12, 2019 at 12:52 pm

      The baking time is going to depend on the size of the dish. If it is a large one (9×13 inch) start checking at about 30 minutes and a smaller dish will be closer to 40 minutes. The 9 inch diameter circular pan that I use takes about 45 minutes. The real test is when a toothpick pushed into the center comes out clean. Enjoy!

      Reply

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