Chocolate Guinness Cake Recipe (2024)

Love this cake. I do think a little Bailey's in the frosting does wonders.

We make this cake one day in advance. It tastes better and it's a little more moist. We release the spring form after about an hour in the cooling process so the sides don't stick the next day. We prepare the frosting the day we plan to serve.
In a side by side taste test with my family of 19 tasters... this was a clear winner over the epicurious three layer Guinness cake.

It's better with 1) a half-teaspoon of kosher salt added to the dry ingredients, and 2) a better stout than Guinness - preferably a chocolate stout.

Made this cake for the folks. They loved it! Didn’t notice the Guinness in the cake, but I noticed there was leftover beer in the bottle, so it was a win for the cook.

Please list ingredients by weight, not by volume.

Made cake as stated. I used about 3 oz. of goat cheese in the topping in place of cream cheese. To accompany the cake I use a jar of Morrelo cherries simmered in a bit of sugar and ruby port. Served it on a plate and put the cake on top. It was a warm syrupy mixture that set off the deep chocolate cake. It was awesome and pretty.

For those of you asking for weight. You can find it on Nigella's website
http://www.nigella.com/recipes/view/chocolate-guinness-cake-3086

This was superb and so easy to make! Not too sweet (I used ordinary sugar, not superfine, and didn't adjust quantity). Came out perfectly. Icing was easy too, and frosted beautifully. My husband loved the deep flavor of chocolate with a hint of bitterness. Looked gorgeous as well! Did I mention how easy it was to make? :)

I made it in Denver (5280', folks, if you had forgotten!) and it didn't fall! Changes:
9oz stout
6.25 oz sugar: 2cups minus 2T
10.25 oz flour: added 2T to the 2cups
2 tsp baking soda (not 2.5)
Baked at 375 (actually in my convection oven, 350 which is 375 in normal ovens) for 35 mins. I should have checked at 30 mins.
Also, I food-processed the sugar and cream cheese, then added the whipping cream just until I liked the texture.
Quite yummy

I make this with the above-noted changes (salt, a better stout) in a Bundt pan, rather than a springform, and don't frost it at all. Dusting with a mix of confectioner's sugar and cocoa is all it needs, not a thick gloppy frosting.

I made this recipe into cupcakes, adjusting the cooking time downwards and just using a cake tester to figure out when they were done. I also used the food processor to make superfine sugar out of white granulated sugar with no problems. The cupcakes were a hit!

I have made this over and over since it was first published and think it is the best in the world! Last one I used a cherry ale instead of Guinness. Also tossed in a coupla handfuls of frozen Bing cherries and added more chopped cherries to the frosting and a bit more powdered sugar to thicken. The cake was grand and gone in one day. I am going to keep experimenting with the recipe as my go-to base for chocolate cake.

And a few more notes on making and baking the cake:
I let the butter-Guinness-sugars-cocoa mixture cool to room temp before adding to batter.
After filling the pan, I rapped it on the counter a few times to shake out any air pockets.
I used an instant-read thermometer to check for doneness: 200 degrees F in center (don't start testing too early and deflate the cake).

My go-to chocolate cake, always wins raves. It's what I think a chocolate cake should be: intensely chocolate-y, not overly sweet, and fairly dense. Occasionally I save other chocolate cake recipes but then I think, "Why bother?"

I feel like a heretic saying this - and I like both chocolate cake AND beer - but there’s a reason why they aren’t mixed together. To me, it tasted like a chocolate cake with a weird beer aftertaste, kinda like the college experience of scrounging for leftovers the day after a wild night out.

Someone gave me a knob of 95% cacao from Ecuador. How do I put it in this cake? I imagine it will need more sugar? Do I grate the cacao? Thanks for any ideas!

Anyone have guidance on how to make this without eggs (we have an allergy)?

Put the hint about Nigella’s 18-tablespoons of unsalted butter at the top of the recipe followed by some sort of qualifier as “For the health conscious, we’ve reduced the butter to 10 tablespoons and the finished product is still lasciviously delicious.” If it is, that is. Still, 10 tablespoons/18 tablespoons, big diff. Do you plan to eat the whole cake by yourself? I chose the Nigella option. The cake cooks as I write. I may eat the whole thing by myself, too.

Amazing, and I got to drink the left over can of Guinness.This frosting is great. this frosting is not commercial and doesn't have the terrible sweetness.

I'm confused.... should it be 1 stick of butter plus 2tbsp or 2 sticks plus 2 tbsp??

What caused the cake to collapse in the middle?

Came out moist and delicious but not quite chocolatey enough for me...can I just add more cocoa? How much and besides taste, how would that change the final result?

I have been making this wonderful cake for many years from Lawson’s Feast cookbook. Always a hit and delicious any time.

I have made this cake for years just as written, and it always gets rave reviews.

Good but needs salt. All baked goods need salt. Add 1 tsp.

This is a fabulous recipe. I have made with Guinness or whatever Stout I can buy by the can at Trader Joe's. I have been making for years. It is the "official" Birthday Cake request from my family.

Excellent, must try but with Whiskey frosting

Has anyone tried this in an air fryer or microwave? My kitchen is undergoing renovation and I’m without an oven.

This cake was beautifully chocolately and dense, with a dash of complexity. Second the advice in the comments re: adding a splash of Baileys in the frosting, refrigerating the cake overnight (and making the icing the day you are serving), and adding a dash of salt to dry ingredients. The cocoa powder I had on hand was old, so I supplemented w/ chopped dark chocolate, which did wonders for both taste and texture. Also chocolate shavings on top of icing do wonders for presentation