Chocolate Stout Cake, aka Baking with Guinness

What better way to include others than chocolate cake? Oktoberfest concluded this week, which means that you all will probably have some leftover beer sitting around...and even if not, why not make a cake loaded with stout (read: Guinness-like beer!), coffee, and dark chocolate? This is a nice dark cake, not too sweet, with a rich ganache icing - and I've been told it gets better over time (it didn't last long enough in my house for me to taste it on day 2). If you don't overwhip the egg whites like I did this last time, the cake should end up light and moist. The Guinness also lends a subtle yeastiness to the cake, a quality I appreciate when using it in this beer bread.

So here you go! Enjoy the remainder of the stout left in the can or bottle after you apportion some for the recipe:

Chocolate Stout Cake
from Bon Appétit (see original recipe for notes on beer)

3 ounces unsweetened chocolate, chopped
2 1/4 cups all purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
14 tablespoons (1 3/4 sticks) salted butter, room temperature
1 1/4 cups plus 3 tablespoons sugar
3 large eggs, separated
3/4 cup chocolate stout, regular stout, or porter
2/3 cup freshly brewed strong coffee

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Butter and flour two 9-inch cake pans, line each with parchment paper on the bottom inside, and set aside.

Melt chopped chocolate in a double boiler and remove from heat.

In a medium mixing bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.

In a large bowl, use an electric mixer to beat butter and 1 1/4 C sugar together until light and fluffy (about 2 minute). Beat in egg yolks one at a time. Add melted chocolate, then stout, then coffee. Beat in flour mixture in two additions until just incorporated.

With clean dry beaters, whip egg whites and remaining 3 T sugar until stiff but not dry. Then fold 1/3 of whites into the cake batter, then the remaining whites in 2 additions.

Divide the batter into the prepared pans and smooth the top of each with a rubber scraper.

Bake about 30 minutes until a toothpick comes out clean. Let cool in pans on a rack for 20 minutes, then run a knife around the edge of each layer and turn out onto racks to cool completely.

Ganache Icing
1 pound bittersweet chocolate (54% to 60% cacao), chopped
2 cups heavy whipping cream
1 teaspoon instant espresso powder

Place chopped chocolate in medium heatproof bowl. Combine whipping cream and espresso powder in medium saucepan. Bring cream mixture to simmer over medium-high heat, whisking occasionally.

Pour cream mixture over chopped chocolate; let stand 1 minute, then whisk until chocolate is melted and mixture is smooth (try to whisk without incorporating air bubbles). Chill chocolate frosting until slightly thickened and spreadable, stirring occasionally, about 2 hours (or for quick chilling, place frosting in freezer until thickened and spreadable, stirring occasionally, about 30 minutes).

Using serrated knife, trim rounded tops from both cake layers so that tops are flat (optional). Place 1 cake layer, trimmed side up, on 9-inch-diameter tart pan bottom or cardboard round, then place on rack set over baking sheet. Drop 1 1/4 cups frosting by large spoonfuls over top of cake layer; spread frosting evenly to edges with offset spatula or butter knife. Top with second cake layer, trimmed side down. Spread remaining frosting evenly over top and sides of cake.

DO AHEAD Can be made up to 1 day ahead. Cover with cake dome and refrigerate. Let cake stand at room temperature at least 1 hour and up to 3 hours before serving.

Whole Grain Beer Bread

I've continued to make beer bread on almost a weekly basis, so this past week I decided to try it with some whole grains in place of the flour, and it worked famously! It has also turned out very well with all whole wheat flour. Here's an even healthier upgrade for this super-easy bread:

In place of the 3 C of flour, use 2 1/3 C whole wheat flour, 1/3 C wheat bran, and 1/3 C ground flax seed. Replace the bran or flax seed with other grains at will; I tried out oats.

It may be a bit more crumbly this way, but it's still moist and hearty. I may even try upping the ratio of whole grains to flour, so we'll see how high I can go before the integrity of the bread is compromised...

On another note, I also tried this with a different kind of beer - Bud Light - and could taste the different tenor of the beer in the bread, but it still tasted great.

I'll start posting on soups soon to welcome in the fall weather, so you can keep this bread in mind to accompany some comforting soup.

Whole Wheat Beer Bread

I am in love with this bread. I've been meaning to make it for weeks with some leftover beer in the fridge, and finally got it together today. The ingredients are few, it only got one bowl dirty, and the aroma filled the apartment quickly. Once cooled, this slightly sweet, hearty bread had great flavor. I think I would even buy beer for the purpose of making this bread!

Whole Wheat Beer Bread
Based on this white beer bread recipe.

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.

Sift together:
1/2 C all-purpose flour (try subbing whole wheat flour)
2 1/2 C whole wheat flour (King Arthur's White Whole Wheat is a nice, fine flour)

Mix in:
3 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. salt
1/4 C sugar

Once the dry ingredients are well mixed, add:
1 (12-oz.) bottle of beer

Pour batter (should be foamy and thick, but light enough to stir well) into a greased or parchment paper-lined loaf pan.

Pour 3 T melted butter over the batter.
Bake for 1 hour, remove from pan and cool at least 15 minutes. See original recipe for notes on baking with non-alcoholic beer.

I decided to top it with a nutty honey butter, so I tossed some margarine, honey, walnuts, and a teeny touch of brandy into the food processor for a spin. Voilà! So good that I've gotta give half of the loaf to my neighbor...