With St. Patrick's Day rapidly upon us, I have been working on a dinner menu to celebrate with my family. While the dinner - Shepherd's Pie (recipe coming soon) was a no-brainer (also a family favourite comfort food dish), the dessert has been a recipe test work in progress for a few years - Chocolate Stout Bundt Cake With Irish Cream Glaze.
This Chocolate Stout Cake is a rich, moist cake that can be enjoyed all year long - especially during the cold winter months. The addition of the Irish Cream Glaze takes this over the top in a nod to Ireland and St. Patrick's Day. I've tested this cake with a number of different flours and ales, finally deciding in a favourite! I've kept it fairly simple in terms of cake ingredients, and recommend you use your favourite ale, as the flavours shine through.
Cooking (or Baking) with Stout versus Porter
A number of years ago, I completed a Beer Cicerone Training Program (essentially the beer equivalent of a wine sommelier). In the class, we delved deep into the effects and influences of geographical location, ingredients, water, yeast and the diverse processing methods of grains and malt. It amazes me that beer, a drink rich in history and practice, has been around for thousands and thousands of years.
In the Cicerone Training Program I learned that beer is as unique as the person that brews it. The complexity, colour, nose and flavour profiles can be at extremes, even within a type or category of ale (i.e. stout). When it comes to using beer (ale) in stews and baking, I prefer stout because of the complex end flavour it leaves - a dry-roasted, slightly bitter and hoppy finish. People often interchange stouts with porters, however they are distinctly different. Aside from their similar deep brown to black colour, a porter holds an entirely different nose and flavour profile - much sweeter than stout, with a rich fruity cream finish.
The main difference between these two ales, stout and porter, is in the ingredients - the kinds of malt used during processing. Stout traditionally uses an unmalted roasted barley, while Porters use malted barley.
Stout's roasted (or kilned) barley and the addition of hops gives off the flavour and essence of bitter chocolate and roasted coffee. So, if you are not a fan of either of those and need an ale in cooking or baking, use a Porter. Being that I am a big fan of bitter chocolate and coffee, I always use Stout to add complexity to my dishes.
In addition to using stout in this Chocolate Stout Bundt Cake, I added a pinch of baker's espresso powder. You don't taste espresso in the final cake, however you do get a sense of a roasted flavour enhancing the nuances of the stout. Baker's espresso powder is different from instant espresso powder, it is ground very fine and dissolves quickly with less acidity than instant espresso. You don't have to include this if you don't have it - the cake is still amazing without.
I hope you enjoy my nod to Ireland and St. Patrick's Day with this Chocolate Stout Cake delight! Make sure to pair a slice of cake with the same stout you bake with - yum! As is tradition in my house, we will be doing a local BC stout tasting alongside the cake this year (we might throw in a traditional import like Guinness though - just to make the tasting interesting!). A few of our local blind tastes will be this, this , this and this stout. Do you have any other "must" taste stout recommendations?
Hope you enjoy this amazing Chocolate Stout Bundt Cake this St. Patrick's Day!
Sláinte,
Krista xo
Chocolate Stout Bundt Cake With An Irish Cream Glaze
serves 6-8 (adapted from here)
Ingredients
For The Cake
non-stick flour baking spray
1 cup unsalted butter, room temperature (2 sticks)
3/4 cup dutch processed cocoa powder (+ 3 tablespoons to dust the pan)
1 cup stout (I used Guinness, Porter works well here as well if you prefer)
1 cup granulated sugar
1 cup brown sugar
1 teaspoon baker's espresso powder
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 eggs, room temperature
1/2 cup sour cream
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
3/4 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
For The Irish Cream Glaze
1 cup powder icing sugar
2 tablespoons Irish Cream (I used Bailey's)
1 teaspoon vanilla
Method
Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees.
Use a non-stick flour baking spray to thoroughly grease all sides and angles of a 10 cup bundt pan. Sprinkle 3 tablespoons of cocoa powder on top of the greased/sprayed pan and "tap and twist" the pan to fully cover the inside (see image below).
Sift and add flour, baking soda, salt to a medium bowl. Set aside.
To a medium pot over low-medium heat add the butter and cocoa powder. Whisk to melt and combine. Add stout, sugar, brown sugar and baker's espresso powder. Keep whisking until any lumps are gone and liquid glistens and starts to thicken slightly.
In a stand mixer, add eggs and sour cream. Beat until combined and smooth.
Alternating in batches add 1/3 of the dry mix to the stand mixer. Mix to combine. Then add 1/3 of the chocolate liquid, mixing to combine. Repeat two more times.
Add vanilla and chocolate chips and fold into batter.
Pour batter into bundt pan and bake for 45 to 50 minutes, or until a cake tester (or skewer) poked into the centre of the cake comes out clean.
Let bundt rest for 15 minutes (the cake should start to pull away from the edges of the pan as it cools). Then, using a knife, gently go around the outside edge to release any sticky bits. Place a serving plate over top of bundt, invert cake giving it a shake as you turn. Allow cake to cool completely.
While cake is cooling or just before serving, make Irish Whisky Glaze.
To Make The Irish Whisky Glaze
In a small bowl add the powder icing sugar, whisky and vanilla. Whisk until all lumps are gone and glaze is slightly thickened. If glaze is too runny, add more icing sugar or if too thick, add 1/2 teaspoon cold water at a time until desired consistency.
Recipe Note:
*The process of melting the butter and cocoa powder on the stove creates a moist cake with a soft crumb. This result can also be achieved using oil instead of butter.
*Topping - if you do not like Irish Cream, then I recommend a Torched Whisky Meringue topping. It's a bit more labour intense than a glaze, however the end result is not only scrumptious, but total eye candy! The image below was one of my recipe test versions made in an 8" spring form pan instead of a bundt and topped with toasted whisky meringue. Delish!
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