Nigella Lawson’s Guinness Chocolate Cake

Name: Nigella Lawson’s Guinness Chocolate Cake
Prep time: 15 min
Cook time: 50 min
Ingredients: 250 gm brown butter; 250 ml Guinness; 75 gm cocoa powder; 150 gm white sugar; 50 gm brown sugar; 150 gm yogurt; 1 tbsp lemon juice; 2 eggs; 1 tbsp vanilla; 250 gm all purpose flour; 25 gm corn flour; 2 tsp baking soda; 1/2 tsp baking powder; 1/4 tsp salt; 300 gm cream cheese; 90 gm icing sugar; 90 ml heavy cream

The BEST Guinness chocolate cake recipe you will ever make, all you need it s sauce pot and whisk. It is moist, tender and so rich! With a very simple and rich cream cheese frosting that is prefect for St Patricks Day.

Let me tell you something, when I tried Guinness beer for the first time I was like omg no this is not for me. Until I had it the second time and absolutely LOVED it. What changed between the first and second time? I had it in the form of a chocolate loaf the second time round, LOL! However, today, I LOVE the flavor of Guinness and don’t think it is too butter at all. If you are not a Guinness stout fan then you can use any Irish stout you prefer. The point of the stout here is to add moisture yes but also balance and enhance that chocolate flavor in the cake.

I made a Guinness Chocolate Ice Cream Cake, we made a cream cheese ice cream as the “frosting” and it was so delicious. Basically an ice cream cake, and it was perfect! The cake was steamed which made it even more tender, moist and delicious. This cake however is baked and the frosting is literally just cream cheese, icing sugar and heavy cream. It is simple to make but I must warn you, it is delicious. And how could it not be? Our QUEEN Nigella Lawson came up with the recipe. I have so many of her cookbooks and every now and then I go back to them for inspiration however sometimes some recipes are classics – like this one.

Having said that I have done a few tweaks to her original recipe, that doesn’t mean I am making it better than her cause honestly, I couldn’t, no could. She is a goddess. Her original recipe is linked here if you would like to check it out.

Okay less Nigella and more cake, so what have I done differently as compared to her?

She melts her butter while I brown the melted butter.
She uses all purpose flour while I use all purpose flour and corn flour aka cake flour.
She uses 400gm of sugar while I reduce the amount of sugar to 150gm white sugar and 50gm brown sugar making it less sweet and more balanced in flavor.
She uses sour cream while I use yogurt mixed with a little lemon juice.
As for the frosting I leave out the corn flour and do not beat it like crazy, I just mix the ingredients to combine them together and I reduce the icing sugar amount to 1/2 cup for a less sweeter and more tangy frosting.

What is Guinness?

Guinness is an Irish dry stout that originated in the brewery of Arthur Guinness at St. James Gate Dublin, Ireland in 1759. It is a malty beer that has bitter notes to it with hints of coffee and chocolate. There is a roasted flavor that comes through as well. It is a smooth and creamy beer that has a delicious foam on top once poured out.

What is Guinness chocolate cake?

It is basically chocolate cake with Guinness stout in it. The cake is rich and moist, packed with chocolate flavor from unsweetened cocoa powder. The cake is the perfect balance of sweet and bitter making it a delicious dessert to make any time of the year or specially during St Patricks Day.

What is St Patricks Day?

It is the feast of saint Patrick. It is a religious and recreational holiday held on 17th March every year. It is a celebration to commemorate the arrival of christianity in Ireland and also celebrates the heritage and culture of the Irish. There are traces and roots of the celebrations in American history as well, particularly in Boston. History is not my cup of tea, food is, so lets get on with the recipe.

What ingredients do you need to make this Guinness Chocolate Cake?

For the cake –

We need butter, Guinness beer, cocoa powder. White sugar, brown sugar, yogurt, lemon juice, eggs, vanilla, all purpose flour, corn flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt.

For the frosting –

We need cream cheese, icing sugar and whipping cream.

What substitutes can you used to make this Guinness Chocolate cake?

To keep this cake gluten free you can use any gluten free flour mxi (like the one from Bob’s Red Mill). If you don’t have access to Guinness you cause any dark stout. If you don’t have brown sugar you can use white sugar all the way. You don’t have to make the frosting as it is yummy on its own as well. The cocoa powder must be unsweetened, you cannot use hot chocolate powder.

What equipment do you need to make this Guinness Chocolate Cake?

To make the cake we need a heavy bottom sauce pot and whisk. In the same pot that we brown the butter we make the cake batter so use a medium to large size pot. To make the frosting we need a mixing bowl and rubber spatula to beat the ingredients together. I have baked the cake in a 9 inch springform tin but you can use any round tin you like or even an 8×8 inch square tin. Alternatively you can bake it in a bundt tin as well.

How to make this Guinness Chocolate Cake?

Preheat the oven to 180℃ and line a 9 inch springform tin with baking paper and baking spray, set aside. In a heavy bottom sauce pot add the butter and brown it until nutty and a light brown color is achieved, should take 3-5 minutes deepening on the size of the pot and the heat. I like to do this on a medium heat. Remove from the heat, add the Guinness beer and whisk. Add the cocoa powder, sugar and whisk again. Add the yogurt, lemon juice and whisk until smooth. Add the eggs, vanilla and whisk again until smooth. Add the flour, corn flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and whisk until smooth. Pour into the lined tin and bake for 45 – 50 minutes until a tooth pick inserted into the center comes out clean. Remove from the oven and let it cool down completely, in the mean time make the frosting by beating fridge cold cream cheese until smooth, add the icing sugar and whipping cream, beat again and place in the fridge.

Serving & storing this Guinness Chocolate Cake?

When the cake is cool remove from the tin and finish with the frosting on top. Slice and serve. I like to frost the top of the cake with rustic swirls using a spatula but you can use a butter knife or a spoon, the point is for the cake to look rustic and simple. The frosting is enough only for the top of the cake hence if you want to frost the sides I would recommend doubling the recipe. The leftovers can be stored in air tight containers in the fridge for 1 week. The cake stays longer however the frosting will not. You can bake the cake the night before, cover it and frost the next day once it is cooled and also it tastes better the next day.

Looking for more St Patricks Day recipes?

Now that we have covered how to make this Guinness Chocolate Cake, you can have a look at the video on my socials but let’s get to it. Don’t forget to follow along for more baking recipe inspiration.

If you try this recipe out, don’t forget to share it with me on instagram so I can see how it turned out. I’d love nothing more than to chat with you on your cooking/baking.

Nigella Lawson’s Guinness Chocolate Cake

Print Recipe Pin Recipe

Prep Time 15

Cook Time 50

Course Cake, Celebration, Dessert

Cuisine Ireland, Irish

Servings 10 people

Equipment

Sauce pot
Whisk
Mixing bowl
Rubber spatula
9 inch round cake tin

Ingredients

Cake -

250 gm brown butter
250 ml Guinness
75 gm cocoa powder
150 gm white sugar
50 gm brown sugar
150 gm yogurt
1 tbsp lemon juice
2 eggs
1 tbsp vanilla
250 gm all purpose flour
25 gm corn flour
2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt

Frosting -

300 gm cream cheese
90 gm icing sugar
90 ml heavy cream

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 180℃ and line a 9 inch springform tin with baking paper and baking spray, set aside.
In a heavy bottom sauce pot add the butter and brown it until nutty and a light brown color is achieved, should take 3-5 minutes deepening on the size of the pot and the heat. I like to do this on a medium heat.
Remove from the heat, add the Guinness beer and whisk. Add the cocoa powder, sugar and whisk again.
Add the yogurt, lemon juice and whisk until smooth. Add the eggs, vanilla and whisk again until smooth.
Add the flour, corn flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and whisk until smooth.
Pour into the lined tin and bake for 45 - 50 minutes until a tooth pick inserted into the center comes out clean.
Remove from the oven and let it cool down completely, in the mean time make the frosting by beating fridge cold cream cheese until smooth, add the icing sugar and whipping cream, beat again and place in the fridge.
When the cake is cool remove from the tin and finish with the frosting on top. Slice and serve.

Notes

Allow the cake to cool completely before frosting it.
Do not over mix the frosting or else it will get loose.
Recipe adapted from Nigella Lawsons

1 thought on “Nigella Lawson’s Guinness Chocolate Cake”

Jitu
March 16, 2024 at 2:01 AM

Àmazing amazing.Chef……UR A TREAT

Reply

Annika Eats

Hi Ninja!

Nigella Lawson’s Guinness Chocolate Cake