Decadent Chocolate Guinness Cake with Chocolate Ganache and Chocolate Buttercream Frosting
In honor of St. Patrick’s Day coming up, I thought I’d post the recipe of our absolute favorite cake on the face of the planet: Decadent Chocolate Guinness Cake with Chocolate Ganache and Chocolate Buttercream Frosting.
Say that 3 times fast!
I do not like beer, but I was super excited to turn 21 (many moons ago) so I could start buying Guinness to make this cake! I worked in a bakery one summer while I was in college (um, best job EVER), and one of the main items I baked that summer was this chocolate Guinness cake. It was one of their staples, and Aaron and I will be forever grateful for that job of mine because of this cake! We fell in love with it, and I’ve made it about a bazillion times since then. The two frostings – the chocolate buttercream frosting + the chocolate ganache – are a match made in heaven on this cake.
The recipe is below, but I’m showing you in these photos that I make the chocolate buttercream frosting and then completely ice the 2 layers of cake with it, and then I pour the ganache on the very top layer of the cake.
Sprinkle pecans on top and you’ve really got it made!
This cake is so rich and dense – it slices perfectly!
The cake recipe I use is from Epicurious – this recipe is pretty similar to the one we used in the bakery. However, I always make HALF of Epicurious’s recipe (which they say serves 12) when I make this cake and it easily serves 15 people with a hearty piece. Crazy! In the bakery, we always used a chocolate buttercream for the entire cake and then the ganache on top, so that’s how I’ve always made it since working there.
I’ve given this recipe out to so many people who’ve requested it! I’m excited to share it with you, too! Hope you love it as much as we do!
Decadent Chocolate Guinness Cake with Chocolate Ganache and Chocolate Buttercream Frosting
Ingredients
- 1 c Guinness beer
- 2 sticks unsalted butter
- 3/4 c unsweetened cocoa powder
- 2 c all-purpose flour
- 2 c granulated sugar
- 1/2 tbsp baking soda
- 2 eggs
- 2/3 c sour cream
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- For the buttercream frosting:
- 1 c unsalted butter, softened
- 2.5 c powdered sugar
- 1 tsp vanilla
- ½ c cocoa
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- For chocolate ganache:
- 3/4 c whipping cream
- 1 c semisweet chocolate chips