Guinness Chocolate Cake with Coffee Guinness Buttercream and Chocolate Ganache
Ingredients:
1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
2 cups cups granulated sugar
1 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1/2 tsp. baking powder
2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
1 cup sour cream
1/2 cup vegetable oil
3 eggs
2 tsp. vanilla extract
1 cup Guinness Beer
Buttercream:
1 mug of strong coffee
1/2 cup Guinness
3/4 cups unsalted butter, room temp.
3 cups confectioner's sugar
2 tsp. vanilla
1/4 tsp. salt
Ganache:
4 oz. chopped semi-sweet chocolate
1/2 cup heavy whipping cream
Directions:
Preheat the oven to 350 F degrees and line two 8" round cake pans with non-stick spray and parchment paper circles on the bottom. Set aside.
In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.
In a separate medium sized bowl, whisk together the sour cream, vegetable oil, eggs and vanilla until well combined.
Add the Guinness beer to the wet ingredients. Continue to mix.
Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and mix just until the batter is combined. This shouldn't take more than 1-2 minutes.
Divide the cake batter evenly between the two prepared cake pans.
Bake for 35-45 minutes. Insert a toothpick in the center to make sure the cakes are done.
Remove the cakes from their pans and transfer onto a cooling rack to let them cool completely before decorating.
To make the buttercream, brew a cup of strong coffee.
Mix the coffee with the Guinness. Let this mixture cool down in the fridge before mixing with the butter.
Using an electric mixer, add the butter and 1/4 cup of the coffee and Guinness mixture. This mixture will have a hard time combining until you add the confectioners sugar.
Slowly add in the confectioner's sugar while mixing on low speed until the buttercream smooths out and starts to become light and fluffy.
Add in additional coffee/ Guinness mixture or confectioner's sugar to get the consistency right.
Add in the vanilla and salt. Continue to mix.
To make the ganache, place 4 oz. of chopped chocolate into a small bowl.
In a separate microwave safe bowl, heat the heavy whipping cream in 30 second intervals until it begins to bubble. Be sure to keep an eye on it in the microwave to prevent it from bubbling over.
Pour the hot heavy cream over the chopped chocolate. Let this sit for about 45 seconds. Then whisk until combined. The longer the ganache sits, the cooler it gets, the thicker it gets.
To assemble the cake, place a dollop of buttercream on the bottom of your cake dish to prevent the cake from moving around too much. Place one layer of cake face down.
Add a couple scoops of buttercream on top of the first layer and spread it around evenly.
Add the second layer of cake face down. Add a thin layer of buttercream on top of this layer. Then pour the ganache on top and spread it around using the back of a spoon and allow it to slightly drip down the sides of the cake.
Enjoy!