Eight-Ender Stout Cake

I've been sitting around the house today, trying to get ready for the holidays, when I realized that I was craving some chocolate cake. We had an open house for the curling club to attend, and we volunteered to bring a dessert, so I figured I could kill two birds with one stone. But what to make?

Then it hit me. Chocolate stout cake! What better way to represent the curling club than with beer? ;)

If you're not a beer person, stout is a rich, dark beer. It's got a lovely taste and texture. Try a stout float...you won't regret it.

Today I used a bottle of Bell's Kalamazoo Stout, which has flavors of coffee and chocolate--perfect for this cake. There are also a nice number of chocolate or oatmeal stouts that would suit this recipe nicely.

A bottle of beer is about a cup and a half. You'll need the entire bottle.

Pour the beer into a sauce pot along with some butter.

Butter makes life good.

Now brew yourself a cup of nice, dark coffee and pour half a cup's worth (that's a measuring cup, not your coffee cup) into the pot.

Unwrap two squares of unsweetened chocolate and toss them in too.

Let everything heat up; the butter and chocolate need to fully melt. Give your pot some good stirs throughout the melting process.

Once everything is melted, pull your pot off the stove and sprinkle in some cocoa. The darker, the better!

Now let your chocolate mixture cool and move onto the next step.

In a large mixing bowl, combine sour cream and some eggs. Beat them together really well, making sure to scrape the sides and the bottom of the bowl.

Now sloooowly pour your chocolate mixture in, a bit at a time. If you add it all at once, you may scald your eggs and sour cream.

Add the dry ingredients in two stages. Just halve the measurements and add them twice. Here's the first addition.

And here's the second. Be sure to get all the flour mixed in, but mix just until combined. Overmixing will make your cake tough.

Pour the batter into a greased cake pan.

If you're planning on making a layer cake, pour into two 8-inch rounds. You'll want to butter and flour your pans really well, to make sure they come out clean.

Yummy.

Bake in a 350F oven for 35-40 minutes (or until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean.)












This makes a super rich, dense cake with just a slight scent of stout. I topped it with my Vanilla Bean Frosting, but if I'd had another bottle of stout I might have made a stout frosting instead. I saw other recipes for stout cake with peanut butter frosting--I don't know if that sounds good or not! What do you think?

Recipe: Eight-Ender Stout Cake

1 1/2 c. (1 bottle) stout beer
1/2 c. strong, dark coffee
2 c. butter
2 oz. unsweetened chocolate

1 c. cocoa powder

3/4 c. sour cream
2 eggs

2 c. flour
2 c. sugar
1 tbsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
2 eggs


Preheat oven to 350F.

In a sauce pot, combine stout, coffee, butter, and unsweetened chocolate. Gently stir over medium heat until butter and chocolate are melted and mixture is simmering.

Pull chocolate mixture off heat and stir in cocoa powder. Cool slightly.

In a large mixing bowl, beat sour cream and eggs until well combined (be sure to scrape the beaters and the sides/bottom of the bowl.

When chocolate mixture has cooled, pour it slowly into the egg mixture while beating. Don't add too much at once or you may scald your eggs.

When chocolate and egg mixture are fully combined, add half the flour, sugar, soda, and salt. Beat lightly until combined.

Add the remaining dry ingredients and beat again until just combined.

Pour into a greased cake pan (or two 8-inch rounds--if you use rounds, butter and flour your pans.) Bake for 35-40 minutes or until a toothpick inserted i the middle of the cake comes out clean.