Trissalicious

May you never steal, lie, or cheat, but if you must steal, then steal away my sorrows, and if you must lie, lie with me all the nights of my life, and if you must cheat, then please cheat death because I couldn’t live a day without you.

Cheers!

The Irish… surely know their toasts…

Guinness Chocolate Cake

They also know their food photography.

I don’t drink nor like anything alcohol, but was inexplicably drawn to this recipe from Katie Quinn Davies on her blog What Katie Ate.  Had it not been for the stunning picture of THAT chocolate cake , I would have never given this recipe a second thought.  But it looked so interesting… Guinness AND chocolate?!? Could it be the only way I could ever enjoy a drink was if it was mixed with chocolate?  Apparently so. Here is what Katie had to say about the recipe.

I chose this cake as I’m a mad keen baker but even more so because I love the strange reaction from people when they hear its name.  They always ask “Chocolate and Guinness?? In a cake?! You’re kidding?!”  Also, it’s nice to introduce a bit of quintessential “Irish-ness” or “Oirish-ness” from my homeland into my cooking especially to my Aussie mates for a laugh, so I often make this cake when I’m going to a BBQ or dinner party if asked to bring a dessert as it’s quite the norm to “bring a plate” here in Oz. To most people, and still myself even after 30 years of living in Ireland, Guinness is an acquired taste.  I honestly find it too bitter for my palette to drink alone.  So when I initially made this cake a good few years ago, I was super surprised to find there is no lingering taste from “the black stuff” whatsoever and I was totally bowled over by the incredible moistness of the cake.  Honestly I really think it’s one of the best chocolate cake recipes out there.  It is heavy, so I would never be tempted to add anything to the middle of the cake or layer it and add frosting inside.  The essence with this cake is to keep it simple and don’t complicate it, enjoy its subtlety.

And yes, the Irish certainly know their chocolate cake.

Guinness Chocolate Cake

Guinness Chocolate Cake

• 250 grams unsalted butter
• 250 ml Guinness
• 75 grams Dutch process cocoa
• 275 grams flour
• 2 tsp baking soda
• 400 grams sugar
• 2 medium eggs
• 150 ml sour cream
• 1 vanilla bean, scrapped

Frosting

• 300 grams cream cheese
• 150 grams icing sugar, sifted
• 150 ml cream, whipped

1. Pre-heat oven to 180 c (fan forced). Add the butter, cocoa and Guinness to a saucepan. Warm over a medium heat and stir until melted. Set aside for around 5 to 10 minutes to cool.
2. Mix the flour, baking soda and sugar in a mixing bowl and pour in the Guinness mixture, lightly combine. Add the eggs, sour cream and vanilla beans and beat everything until well combined. The batter should be thick and dark in chocolate color.
3. Pour into a greased 22 cm by 9 cm angel food pan (I used 12 cupcake containers and 4 mini cake pans) and bake in the oven for about an hour. You need to be diligent in checking the cake. According to Katie the cake is very moist inside so you need to use your judgement regarding the skewer test. Do not leave in the oven until the cake has totally dried out – just cook long enough so there is no uncooked cake on the skewer but there may be some moist crumbs sticking to it. With smaller containers like mine the cupcakes were done in 15 min while the mini pans were done in 20.
4. Leave to cool for 10 to 15 minutes before removing from the cake tin and place on a wire rack to cool completely.

Frosting

1. Place the cream cheese into the bowl of a mixer and beat on low-medium using a whisk attachment. Whisk until the cheese is smooth and there are no lumps.
2. Gradually add the sifted icing sugar and beat gently to combine. After 2 to 3 minutes, stop the machine, scrape any excess frosting from the sides of the bowl and beat on medium speed until lump free. Remove from the mixer and fold in the whipped cream.
3. Place the cake on a cake stand and add the frosting, spreading out just to the edge without going over the side until the cake resembles a pair of creamy black stuff! (Katie’s words – not mine!)

Guinness Chocolate Cake

Guinness Chocolate Cake on the Thermomix

1. Place the butter, Guinness and cocoa in the TM bowl and heat for 3 minutes at 80c on speed 3 to melt. Allow to cool for around 5 minutes.
2. Add the flour, baking soda, and sugar and mix on speed 5 for 10 seconds.
3. Add the eggs, sour cream and vanilla beans and mix on speed 6 for 20 seconds until very well combined.
4. Pour into pans (see above) and bake in a pre-heated oven at 180c (fan forced) until done.

Frosting

1. Insert the butterfly. Place the cream in the TM bowl and beat on speed 4 around 30 seconds. (Check every 15 seconds – you want the cream to be semi-stiff peaks, not butter!
2. Remove the cream from the TM bowl and place in a regular bowl. Now add the cream cheese and icing sugar (without the butterfly attachment) and mix on speed 7 for 10 seconds until very smooth.
3. Fold the cream cheese/icing sugar mixture on to the whipped cream.

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