Guinness Chocolate Cake with Whiskey Caramel and Cream Cheese Frosting

I found this recipe from one of my favorite food blog and find it interesting. I am not a big fan of Guinness but I have friends that like it hence I thought it will be nice to share this recipe. One of my best friend in Malaysia loves Guinness, her name is Natalie and she is the first girl that I know that drink Guinness. I always think this beer is for MAN because I saw my grandfather drink this since I was young so in my mind, "Guinness = old man"! haha  I hope Natalie read my blog and try to bake this cake one day. Here you go and tell me whether this is nice!

Guinness Chocolate Cake with Whiskey Caramel and Cream Cheese Frosting

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Recipe type: Cake, Dessert

Prep time: 2 hours

Cook time: 40 mins

Total time: 2 hours 40 mins

Serves: A lot

INGREDIENTS

• GUINNESS CHOCOLATE CAKE
• 4 1/2 cups cake flour
• 3 tsps baking soda
• 1 lb unsalted butter
• 1 can guinness (440ml)
• 1 1/2 cup cocoa
• 2 /14 cup brown sugar
• 3/4 tsp salt
• 1 1/8 cup sour cream
• 4 eggs, lightly beaten
• CARAMEL SAUCE
• 1 cup butter
• 2 cups packed brown sugar
• 1/4 whipping cream
• 3 tsps whiskey
• CREAM CHEESE FROSTING
• 1 packet (300g) Philadelphia cream cheese
• 1.2 cups icing sugar
• 125ml double or whipping cream

INSTRUCTIONS

1. With the rack in the middle position preheat the oven to 350F.
2. Line three 8-inch springform pans with parchment paper. Take 1/8 cup of butter and butter/flour the sides.
3. In a saucepan, melt the butter with the beer and cocoa, stirring with a whisk and let cool.
4. In a small bowl, combine the flour and baking soda. In a large bowl, combine the brown and white sugars and salt. With a whisk add the butter mixture, flour mixture and eggs alternatively to the sugar mixture.
5. Add sour cream and beat until the mixture is smooth.
6. Divide the batter among the pans and bake for 40 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Let them cool for ten minutes in the pans then unmold and let cool.
7. In a saucepan combine butter, brown sugar and whipping cream. Cook and stir over medium heat for three to five minutes. Remove from heat and stir in whiskey.
8. Set aside.
9. Lightly whip the cream cheese until smooth in a bowl. Sift the icing sugar and beat this together till smooth. Add the cream and beat till it reaches a spreadable consistency. Make the cream cheese frosting just as you are ready to place it on the cake, I don’t believe it sits well.
10. My cakes ended up with dome tops and the inverted gravity trick was not working so I cut parts of the tops off to allow each layer to lay flat. (As best as I could). Take a large serving platter and place the first cake down, give a generous dollop of caramel sauce and push around with a spatula till all the top is covered. Repeat with the next two layers. On the next two layers I placed toothpicks inside the cake just to keep it steady as a secrity measure. Dollop the cream cheese frosting and cover the entire cake. I did a crumb coat first and then K went back and refined the icing. (Yes he was the one who made the icing look all pretty, not me.)

NOTES

If you are not a whiskey fan, start off with a lower measurement and taste as you go on. I like my whiskey so I wanted a decent kick to the sauce. I also used Jamieson’s because it’s what I keep in the house, plus I liked the play of an Irish stout with an Irish whiskey. You can try any whiskey you wish.

Prep time may seem a lot but it took me awhile to get the hang of it, plus the cake needs to cool before icing.

Photo: Teawithme