Beer Recipe: Chocolate Stout Cake

I had been craving dessert the entire week, and then Adri had the great idea to make a chocolate stout cake! I went into the cellar (garage...) to see which stout we had on hand. It turned out to be a bottle of Imperial Stout, Corriveau, by Le Bilboquet; this one aged 3 months in bourbon barrels. Adri found this recipe from Barrington Brewery on the Epicurious recipe site. Here it is.

Barrington Brewery, ingredients (for baking instructions go to link):

• 2 cups stout (such as Guinness)
• 2 cups (4 sticks) unsalted butter 
• 1 1/2 cups unsweetened cocoa powder (preferably Dutch-process) 
• 4 cups all purpose flour 
• 4 cups sugar  
• 1 tablespoon baking soda  
• 1 1/2 teaspoons salt  
• 4 large eggs  
• 1 1/3 cups sour cream

 

So, I did not follow it exactly, for a few reasons. Firstly, the recipe was huge, so it would have to be halved. Secondly, there was a ton of sugar and flour, so I figured it could be adjusted to be a tad healthier. Thirdly, we did not have any sour cream on hand. And lastly, I love chocolate, Adri loves chocolate... the recipe needed more chocolate! This is what our recipe looked like.

 Our Chocolate Imperial Stout cake recipe:

• 1 3/4 cups Corriveau (Bourbon barrel aged)
• 1 cup butter (unsalted)
• 1 cup unsweetened cocoa (fry's)
• 4 units of 72% extra-dark chocolate (finely chopped)
• 1 1/2 cup all purpose flour
• 1 cup buckwheat
• 3/4 cup processed sugar
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 2 large eggs
• 1 cup buttermilk

  Baking Instructions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 Fahrenheit, and coat the cake bowl with oil/lard to make sure the cake will not stick to it. You can also use parchment paper - we used canola oil.

2. Add the beer, melted butter, cocoa, and extra-dark chocolate to a sauce pan and bring to a simmer; mix continuously. When everything is nicely combined and it looks consistent take it off the heat and let it cool slightly.

3. While that is cooling, take 1 cup of milk and add 1 Tbs of white vinegar, mix, and let sit 5 min; now you have buttermilk.

4. Now add all the remaining dry ingredients to a large mixing bowl and stir together.

5. In another mixing bowl beat the buttermilk and eggs together - we whisked. 

6. Now you can add the slightly cooled beer/chocolate mixture to the buttermilk/egg mixture; beat gently - once again we simply whisked it together.

7. Combine the dry ingredients into the bowl containing the liquid chocolate mixture; whisk gently and continuously add the dry ingredients until everything is as uniformly mixed as possible. Do Not add all the dry ingredients at once to avoid making a mess, and to facilitate the thorough integration of dry into wet ingredients.

8. Pour the mixture into the cake bowl and place it inside the oven; cook for roughly 45 min.

9. Make sure to set a timer for about 35 min so as not to forget your cake. To check if the cake is cooked insert a spaghetti into the centre of the cake, if it comes out covered in cake cook for another few minutes, and once again make sure to set a timer. You do not want to be responsible for ruining all that amazing beer and chocolate! 

10. When it is done it should look like this, and taste delicious!

The cake came out very dense and very heavy. The texture of it is somewhat grainy, probably a characteristic imparted by the buckwheat. The smell coming from the cake is of alcohol, with some of that bourbon aging really coming through. The taste is very good; it is moist, but dry like the imperial stout used. The cake finishes with a nice bitter aftertaste. Served with a raspberry coulee or jam this cake is perfect. For those of you who like your cakes like you like your beers: complex, strong, and bitter, this cake is for you!

Thanks again. I hope you enjoy this recipe. Do try it and tell us how it went, if you made any changes, or if you just have a comment we would love to hear from you.

Cheers,

- Jean