Whilst I’m no stout fan, I’ll make the most of any opportunity to bake up a chocolate cake. In honour of St Paddy’s Day, this cake, with its rich colour and taste is one of my favourites. Whilst you can’t actually taste the Guinness, it definitely adds a deepness to the flavour. The texture is so lusciously smooth that I like to use a crunchy meringue topping, but you could use a simple cream cheese icing if you prefer.
Ingredients:
250ml Guinness
250g unsalted butter
75g cocoa powder
400g caster sugar
142ml sour cream
2 medium eggs
1 tbsp vanilla extract
275g plain flour
2 ½ tsp bicarbonate of soda
3 tbsp blackberry jam
For the meringue:
3 medium egg whites
165g caster sugar
Method:
- Preheat the oven to 180°C and grease a 23cm springform tin.
- Heat the butter and Guinness in a large saucepan until the butter has melted. Whisk in the cocoa powder and sugar until there are no lumps and the mixture is well combined.
- In a separate bowl beat together the eggs, sour cream and vanilla extract and add to the chocolate mix folding through until combined. Add the flour and bicarbonate of soda and whisk through.
- Pour the mix into the springform tin and bake for around 45 minutes or until a skewer comes out clean. Remove from the oven and leave to cool.
- Once cool, remove from the tin. Use a skewer to punch holes through the top of the cake. Heat up the jam in a saucepan over a low heat and use a pastry brush to brush over the top of the cake. Leave for the jam to cool.
- To make the meringue, break three egg whites into a large clean bowl. Don’t forget the eggs will expand once whisked! (Use a clean tea towel or kitchen paper to remove any grease from the bowl before using.) Use an electric whisk, or plenty of elbow grease to whisk the whites until foamy and it forms soft floppy peaks. Add a third of the sugar and whisk until thickened. Continue to gradually add the sugar and whisk until all combined and the meringue forms stiff peaks.
- Wrap a double-folded strip of baking paper around the sides of the cake with a piece of string. Then transfer the meringue into a piping bag to decorate the cake, or use a spatula and fork to spread it over and spike it up.
- Place on a baking tray and bake in the oven at 150°C until the top is crunchy and the middle is still squidgy. You could also use a baking blowtorch, or a grill on a low heat
As an alternative, you could whip up this quick dessert using the same recipe. Bake the cake as above. Heat a handful of blackberries in a saucepan with a splash of water and a couple of tablespoons of caster sugar. Use a potato masher to crush the berries and heat until the sugar is dissolved. Strain through a sieve to separate the seeds.
Divide between serving glasses with a few berries in the bottom of each. Crumble up the cake and spoon into the glasses. Top with a layer of crumbled meringue that you could either make or buy. Speedy and scrummy, and you’ll most likely have a slice or two of cake leftover to enjoy!
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