Guinness Chocolate Cake with Irish Cream Frosting
Chocolate and Guinness come together for the ultimate Guinness Chocolate Cake. With a tender crumb, chocolate-packed flavor in every bite, and a Baileys-spiked buttercream, one slice will just not be enough! Make this chocolate stout cake for the perfect St. Patrick’s Day dessert.
This is by far one of the best chocolate cakes I have ever made. The chocolate flavor is deep and rich, the cake is moist, and the frosting is a perfect complement.
So What is A Guinness Chocolate Cake?
Technically classified as a butter cake, this chocolate stout cake is typically made around St. Patrick’s Day – mostly because of the use of an Irish beer. The Guinness adds a depth of flavor with notes of cocoa and coffee to the chocolate cake making it absolutely irresistible. Guinness Chocolate Cake started making a splash in the early 2000’s and has been a St. Patrick’s Day tradition ever since.
If you are unsure about adding beer into your baking, I have been there. I was every kind of skeptical about throwing beer into my chocolate baked goods, and this is coming from someone who will choose a beer over a mixed drink any day of the week. My skepticism was obliterated when I made my Irish Car Bomb Cupcakes and Guinness-Milk Chocolate Ice Cream, both of which use beer. Have faith!
How to Make Guinness Chocolate Cake
Let’s break this recipe down into two parts: the cake baking and the frosting making. I suggest tackling the cake first so it will have plenty of time to cool before you frost it.
Ingredients You Will Need
- Guinness Stout – If you can’t find Guinness you can try a different dry Irish Stout such as O’Hara’s or Murphy’s.
- Butter – Unsalted at room-temperature.
- Cocoa Powder – I use a Dutch-process cocoa powder, if you do not have this in your pantry yet, take a minute to order it (also, Costco carries the Rodelle brand of Dutch-process cocoa powder). It produces such an intense, rich chocolate flavor and a deeper, darker color than unsweetened cocoa powder.
- Dry Ingredients – Flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt – the basics.
- Eggs – Binds all of the ingredients together in a perfectly spongy cake.
- Sour Cream – Adds just a little tang and keeps the cake ultra-moist!
The Chocolate Stout Cake
This cake? Top 3, all-time. No question. To make this moist, Guinness chocolate cake you will need to:
- Preheat the oven to 350°F.
- Prepare the Cake Pans: Grease and flour two 9-inch cake pans, and line them with parchment circles.
- Heat the stout and butter in a large, heavy saucepan, until the butter melts. Remove the pan from the heat, and add cocoa powder. Whisk until smooth. Set aside to cool to room temperature.
- Whisk flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt in a large bowl; set aside.
- Beat together eggs and sour cream in a large mixing bowl. Add the stout-cocoa mixture, mixing to combine.
- Add the flour mixture and mix together at a slow speed. Scrape the sides and the bottom of the bowl, and mix again for 1 minute.
- Divide the batter equally between the prepared pans.
- Bake for 35 minutes, until a cake tester inserted into the center comes out clean.
- Remove from the oven and cool on a rack for 10 minutes before turning the cake out of their pans and returning to the rack to finish cooling completely before frosting.
Bailey’s Irish Cream Frosting
My favorite frosting for this chocolate stout cake is without a doubt this Bailey’s-spiked frosting. The ingredients you will need are:
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- Unsalted Butter – At room temperature for easy whipping.
- Powdered Sugar – Sifted so you have a smooth and sweet frosting.
- Baileys Irish Cream – Spikes the frosting and adds an extra milky, chocolaty flavor. If you don’t have Baileys on hand you can also make your own Baileys with this Homemade Irish Cream recipe.
- Salt – Just a pinch to help balance out the sweetness in the frosting.
Now that you have your ingredients, let’s get to making the frosting!
- Beat butter on medium-high in a mixing bowl until super light and fluffy, 3 to 5 minutes. Scrape the sides and bottom of the bowl as needed.
- Reduce the speed to medium-low and gradually add the powdered sugar, then Baileys Irish Cream and salt until combined.
- Increase the speed to medium and beat for an additional 3 minutes, until light and fluffy.
- Note about consistency: If the frosting feels too stiff to spread, beat in 1 tablespoon of cream at a time. If it feels too soft, beat in extra powdered sugar, 1 tablespoon at a time.
How to Decorate and Serve Guinness Chocolate Cake
I love to serve this chocolate stout cake with the included Bailey’s Irish Cream Frosting but if you are looking for something not spiked you can try one of these delicious frostings below!
Once you have your frosting there are plenty of ways to frost the Guinness chocolate cake:
- For a simple design: Place one of the cake layers on a serving platter or cake stand and spread 1½ cups of the frosting over the top in an even layer. Place the second cake layer on top of the frosting upside-down, then frost the top and sides of the cake and decorate as desired.
- Pipe a Shell Rim: Using a Star French Tip, pipe a shell border around the top edge of the cake and the bottom of the cake. Here is a great tutorial on How to Pipe a Shell.
- Spiral: Do a "spiral" design on the top of the cake, as shown below.
- Garnish Tops or Sides: Press festive sprinkles around the sides of the cake or sprinkle on top.
Storing, Freezing, and Make-Ahead Tips
- Storing: Keep this deeply chocolate-y cake stored in an airtight container at cool room temperature or in the refrigerator for 4 days.
- Freezing Directions: The cake layers can be baked, cooled, wrapped in plastic wrap, and placed into a freezer zip-top resealable bag, and frozen for up to 3 months before thawing in the refrigerator overnight and proceeding with the frosting. You can wrap the entire cake in plastic wrap, then in aluminum foil, and freeze for up to 1 month. Thaw in the refrigerator before serving.
- Make-Ahead: For the best taste, you can make the cake up to 2 days in advance and keep it in an airtight container in a cool place. Or freeze the layers and thaw overnight in the refrigerator. Frost before serving.
Notes About Baking with Beer
Guinness and other stout beers act as a leavening agent in cakes. It also inhibits the formation of gluten giving the cake a tender, delicate crumb.
Guinness does contain alcohol and contrary to popular belief, the baking process does not entirely evaporate the alcohol.
If you do not consume alcohol or do not want to use beer in this recipe, swap the beer for coffee; you will still get the rich chocolate taste. If you do not want to use coffee either, substitute water.
Other Irish Recipes to Try
- Irish Car Bomb Cupcakes
- Traditional Irish Soda Bread
- Irish Soda Bread Scones
- Irish Whiskey Soda Bread with Irish Whiskey Butter
Guinness Chocolate Cake
Chocolate paired with Guinness and frosting paired with Baileys Irish Cream, what more could you want?!?! This Guinness Chocolate Cake is tender, moist, and a chocolate-lovers dream come true.
If you make this utterly delicious Guinness Chocolate Cake and love it, remember to stop back and give it a 5-star rating - it helps others find the recipe! ❤️️
Guinness Chocolate Cake with Irish Cream Frosting
Ingredients
For the Cake:
- 1½ cups (345 ml) Guinness stout
- 1½ cups (340.5 g) unsalted butter
- 1 cup (86 g) Dutch-process cocoa powder
- 3 cups (375 g) all-purpose flour
- 3 cups (600 g) granulated sugar
- 2¼ teaspoons (2.25 teaspoons) baking powder
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 3 eggs
- ⅔ cup (153.33 ml) sour cream
For the Frosting:
- 2 cups (453.59 g) unsalted butter, at room temperature
- 6 cups (720 g) powdered sugar, sifted
- ¼ cup (113.5 g) +2 tablespoons Baileys Irish cream
- Pinch (7 tablespoons) salt
Instructions
- Make the Cake: Preheat the oven to 350°F. Grease and flour two 9-inch cake pans, and line them with parchment paper circles.
- Place the stout and butter in a large, heavy saucepan, and heat until the butter melts. Remove the pan from the heat, and add the cocoa powder. Whisk until the mixture is smooth. Set aside to cool to room temperature.
- Whisk together the flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt in a large bowl; set aside.
- In a large mixing bowl, beat together the eggs and sour cream. Add the stout-cocoa mixture, mixing to combine. Add the flour mixture and mix together at slow speed. Scrape the sides and bottom of the bowl, and mix again for 1 minute.
- Divide the batter equally among the prepared pans. Bake the layers for 35 minutes, until a cake tester inserted into the center comes out clean. Remove the cakes from the oven and cool on a rack for 10 minutes before turning the cakes out of their pans and returning to the rack to finish cooling completely before frosting.
- Make the Frosting: In a mixing bowl, beat the butter on medium-high speed until super light and fluffy, 3 to 5 minutes, scraping the sides and bottom of the bowl as needed. Reduce the speed to medium-low and gradually add the powdered sugar, then the Baileys Irish cream and salt until combined. Increase the speed to medium and beat for an additional 3 minutes, until light and fluffy. If the frosting feels too stiff to spread, beat in 1 tablespoon of cream at a time; if it feels too soft, beat in extra powdered sugar, 1 tablespoon at a time.
- Assemble the Cake: Place one of the cake layers on a serving platter or cake stand and spread 1½ cups of the frosting over the top in an even layer. Place the second cake layer on top of the frosting upside-down, then frost the top and sides of the cake and decorate as desired.
Notes
- Equipment: Two 9-inch round cake pans
- Guinness: To eliminate the alcohol, replace the Guinness with coffee. If you can't use coffee either, then use water.
- Dutch-Process Cocoa Powder: If you do not have any, it can be purchased on Amazon or at your local Costco (they sell Rodelle's brand).
- Sour Cream: You can substitute plain Greek yogurt or buttermilk for the sour cream.
- Baileys Irish Cream: To eliminate alcohol in the frosting, you can substitute heavy cream. You can also use any of these frostings instead: Cream Cheese Frosting / Vanilla Buttercream Frosting / The Best Chocolate Frosting
- Storing: Keep this cake stored in an airtight container at cool room temperature or in the refrigerator for 4 days.
- Freezing Instructions: The cake layers can be baked, cooled, wrapped in plastic wrap, and placed into a freezer zip-top resealable bag, and frozen for up to 3 months before thawing in the refrigerator overnight and proceeding with the frosting. You can wrap the entire cake in plastic wrap, then in aluminum foil, and freeze for up to 1 month. Thaw in the refrigerator before serving.
- Make-Ahead: For the best taste, you can make the cake up to 2 days in advance and keep it in an airtight container in a cool place. Or freeze the layers and thaw overnight in the refrigerator. Frost before serving.
- Cake recipe adapted from King Arthur Flour,
Did you make this recipe?
Leave a review below, then snap a picture and tag @thebrowneyedbaker on Instagram so I can see it!
I’m guessing I can make cupcakes with this recipe as well. Making for work. Thank you
It’s dilicious! Thank you very much in advance, for your lovely recipes.
I wanted to let you know that I’ve made this cake once for a Christmas party for a bunch of firemen. They have begged for this cake for every station party since! I’m making it again today for their Christmas party tomorrow. Thanks for the best cake to make a bunch of firemen happy and full!
thank you is so good i love your recipes i wont to make all you are wonderful!!!!! than you thank you thank you
Do you think putting the ganache from the car bomb cupcakes between the two layers and then the above frosting for the outside of the cake would work well together?
Yes, that sounds wonderful!
Hi Michelle, I’ve made the king arthur version of this cake many times and it is the most amazing cake ever. It looks like you’ve scaled their version down by a quarter. If I plan to make the full recipe do you think there would be enough of your frosting to cover it? Does the frosting for the Irish Car Bomb cupcakes make a larger batch than this version? If it does I’ll just try that one or if you don’t think either will be enough then I’ll be forced to make the ganache filling to stretch out the frosting :)
Hi Sarah, I think you’ll have enough frosting if you use the full version; it mostly makes for a taller cake, so that shouldn’t make too much of a difference when frosting. This recipes makes a bit more frosting than the cupcake version.
Thanks Michelle! I made the full size cake tonight and had plenty of frosting for a generous filling and to frost the outer cake.
Hi, I’m baking this cake now and it’s been in the oven for 35 minutes but the middle is undercooked and I’m worried if I keep cooking it the sides will burn. Any ideas on how to fix it
This looks fantastic! For the poor college student with limited time and funds, would it be possible to adapt this to be made with a boxed cake mix? And if so, do you have any recommendations?
Sure, you could do that.
Great cake and frosting! Added mint chocolate chips to the outside of the cake. Thanks for sharing!
Hi Michelle
Made this last night for St. Patty’s Day and it was a hit! Love your wonderful creativity with the ingredients and I’m excited to try with the ganache next time! I’m wondering, my cake came out very dense and not fluffy really at all. Do you think perhaps my baking powder needs to be replaced, was it over mixed or is it supposed to be on the dense side? Thanks for your help. This is my first exposure to your site and I’ll be coming back ;-)
Hi Shana, I’m so happy you enjoyed the cake! As for it being dense, if your baking powder is REALLY old, that might be, but more than likely it could have been due to some overmixing.
this cake was a disaster. the recipe makes too much batter -mine overflowed in the oven and created quite a mess. the outer edges got quite done while the middle took awhile so Imturned the oven temp down a bit. the cake was was too moist getting it out of the pans and was almost like a thick pudding.
Just made this, phenomenal!!! I did substitute yogurt for the sour cream, just because that’s what I had in my fridge, but it came out perfectly! Thank you!
Hi- Quick question: I am making this cake for a St. Patrick’s Day party but don’t have time to do it the day of. Is it ok to make the cake before hand, put it in tupperware over night and then do the frosting the next day? Didn’t want the cake to dry out over night.
You could definitely do that. As long as it’s an airtight container it shouldn’t dry out.
I just found this while searching for something sweet to bring for a St Paddy’s Day party. It looks decadent and can’t wait ti try it. Thank you for posting it!
Hi, it looks great and I would like to try and make it but in Spain I cannot find ‘sour cream’ in the supermarket. What would be the substitute for Sour Cream in this cake? Thanks, Miriam
Hi Miriam, You can substitute plain yogurt for the sour cream.
Hi Michelle-I will be making this cake today for company. It looks and sounds amazing! I was wondering about decreasing the amount of butter in cake- 3 sticks is alot of butter-? using 1 cup instead of 1-1/2. I would imagine it would still be quite rich. Any thoughts?
Hi George, I personally wouldn’t adjust the amount of butter. Butter does more than just add flavor or richness; the fat also contributes to the texture of the cake. You wouldn’t be able to reduce it by 1/3 and have the cake turn out the same way.
Michelle-
I love so many of your recipes & wanted to make this for my hubby’s Christmas work party. I just realized I’m out of parchment paper, will it be ok without it? I don’t want to ruin a cake for a group of firefighters! Lol
Hi Staci, The parchment helps the cake not to stick to the pans. If you do a good job greasing (I always use shortening) and flouring the pans and you don’t normally have problems with cakes sticking, then I think you should be fine.
Thank you so much for your quick response Michelle! I made the cake last night & can understand the importance of the parchment paper but I was able to “glue” it together with the frosting! GREAT RECIPE!!!!!!
Hi, so I was wondering if you ever tried baking a chocolate lava cake? Not the little one person serving size, but one of the big ones. It would be great if that was your next recipe! (:
Hi Annie, I haven’t made a full-size one, but I will add that to my list. Thanks for the recommendation!
Just made this for a friends birthday, SO GOOD!! but instead of the frosting layer in the middle, I used the Jameson Ganache from the cupcake recipe.. Will definitely be making this again :)
How would you store this as a whole cake? In the fridge?
Hi Li-Anne, If you are serving it the same day, I would leave it at room temperature. Refrigerating cake can cause it to get dry.
So can I leave it at room temperature overnight?
Yes, I would not refrigerate it before serving; it will dry out. However, if your frosting is too soft you may want to keep it in the fridge until the next day and frost it before you serve it.
How high do the cake tins need to be? I have a 9” pan that is roughly 3-4” high, and I was wondering if I could just pour all the batter in the one pan. Also, I was thinking of reducing some of the beer in the cake batter, what should I use to compensate for it? And same with the icing? I thought a mix of Baileys and salted caramel would be interesting, haha. Sorry for all the questions :P
The cake pans need to be at least 2 inches high. I do not think that all of the batter would fit in one cake pan; I would recommend using two.
I made this cake on the weekend for my brother (he is a lover of all things beer), and it was AMAZING!! Easily the best chocolate cake I have ever made. I made myself sick sneaking scoops of batter before the cakes went into the oven – I did the two layers, however found that they took longer to bake than the suggested 35 minutes. It was probably more like 50. The frosting was awesome as well, though I didn’t use as much icing sugar as the recipe said. All in all, a fantastic cake!! Thank you for sharing the recipe!!
So I’m assuming you must keep this cake refrigerated at all times? Do you serve it cold or room temp? I was just wondering because I saw where the frosting needs to be room temp to frost. Thank you! Can’t wait to try it!- Sara
Blondeedm@yahoo(dot)com
Sorry to bother you — I’m a big fan of your recipes!
I was just wondering which recipe you would recommend — this or the Hershey chocolate cake? I am making a layer cake for my Dad’s birthday with vanilla bean buttercream and am torn between the two cake recipes.
Be well.
–Erin.
Hi Erin, Sounds delicious! I think I’d go with the Hershey’s for a classic chocolate cake to go along with the vanilla buttercream.
I’ve made this cake twice and it is absolutely delicious as is the icing.
Michelle, It doesn’t say how deep the 9 inch cake pans should be, but it seems as though they need to be more than the typical 1 inch deep pans you buy at the grocery or Target. This batter fills them a good 3/4 of the way full.
Hi there,
I love every recipes you have and enjoy them. I tried to make this for a friend’s birthday last week. The cake somehow turned very dense, and not fluffy like your picture. What went wrong? Was the oven temp too high? (mine is not a fan forced) Or, not enough liquid? Should I change the flour to cake flour then?
Helppp.. thanks very much for all the yumminess you have been sharing with us.
Sri
Hi Sri, It’s hard to say what the problem could have been. I would not recommend changing the flour or adding liquid. This was actually one of the most moist cakes I’ve made. I would guess that you may have overmixed the batter, or baked it too long. If you don’t have an oven thermometer, I would recommend picking one up (less than $10) to ensure your oven is registering the correct temperature.
Michelle, can you please tell me what differences you notice in this recipe vs the Irish Car Bomb cupcake recipe, aside from one is for cupcakes and one for a whole cake? Did you notice any difference in texture/crumb/flavor? And which frosting do you like best, and why? Thank you.
My turned out dense as well. It was still moist. In fact it had almost a fudgy brownie consistency. I think I may have added the liquid ingredients too soon. It was still quite warm, but I was in a hurry to get it in the oven. I think maybe the heat of the beer/chocolate mixture caused the double acting baking powder to act too soon. The reason why they call it double acting is because the first chemical reaction happens when liquid is added and the second comes from the heat of the oven, but because the chocolate/beer mixture was still warm, it may have caused it to happen too soon, therefore nothing was left to leaven it during the baking process. But I could be completely wrong.
Michelle, can you tell me how the results of this recipe are different (better? Moister? etc…) than the Irish Car Bomb cupcakes? After I made those, it would be hard to believe anything could taste better than those did. I think I commented, telling you that after close to 50 years of baking chocolate cakes, several years as a pastry chef, I thought I knew all there was to know about them. This sent that concept reeling, and turned it over on its ear! I do believe those were the best chocolate cake I ever tasted. Dare I think that this recipe is even better?? Because now it would take a lot to make me try another recipe for Guinness chocolate cake. If you could contrast the two, it would be really helpful. Also, everyone (myself included, who had to use restraint not to just get a soup spoon and go for it) went fruit-loops-nutzoid over the first Bailey’s frosting (the one with the cupcake recipe.)
Hi Cat, I like them both for different reasons, and find that they are a little different. The cupcakes are great, perfect for carrying a ganache filling, and the frosting is nice and high. This cake is fabulous – thick, moist and fluffy. I would try it and see if you like it better/the same/worse, etc.
Thanks for the advice, Michelle! I’m going to give it a whirl tomorrow for my daughter’s best friend who had the Irish Car Bomb cupcakes that I made for my baby’s wedding shower. She made me promise on the spot when she bit into one to make it as a cake for her birthday. What better excuse to give this one a try?! I’ll post after the party this weekend.
Well, I’m delighted to be able to say this cake is every bit as outstanding as the Irish Car Bomb cupcakes! The frosting was out of this world. However, the recipe made 2 very high, 9″ layers, plus 12 cupcakes!! After I filled the layer pans 2/3 full, I still had a lot of batter left over, so I set up a 12-cupcake pan with papers, and started to fill, planning to just take out any unused papers before baking. The leftover batter filled them all! Don’t know how I ended up making so much. The frosting was, as Michelle stated, just the right amount for filling and frosting the 2 layers, plus a little left over for borders. So I made a small recipe of chocolate butter frosting for the cupcakes. Thank you for a fabulous recipe, Michelle!!
I sent this to my friend as soon as I saw it (she was going to make Bailey’s brownies for the weekly ladies group we’re in). She changed her mind and made this cake instead. We all sat at the table and savored every single bite. It was one of the most amazing cakes I have ever tasted. Fluffy, yet dense. 10 toes and fingers up to this one. Thank you for sharing!
I made this for my grandmother’s 80th birthday, only since she’s a chocoholic, I substituted Chocolate Bailey’s Buttercream for the icing (used Joy the Baker’s chocolate buttercream as a base and switched out the milk and vanilla with Bailey’s and added enough powdered sugar to compensate for the extra fluid). It was a big hit. I was a little worried when the batter was really liquidy, but it turned out marvelous.
Thanks so much for the recipe!!