It’s five o’clock somewhere, right? Good. Now I can have a slice of the cake that Maggie brings us…

I ran across this recipe a few weeks ago on the Better Homes and Gardens site, and two things made me give it a shot.

1)     I had just returned from Dublin, Ireland, home of Guinness.

2)     The Chocolate Guinness Cake I made last year was amazing, so I was encouraged to try another Stout Cake

This was pretty darn good. The folks in my office were more enthusiastic than my family. The cake is incredibly moist and has great texture. The Limoncello Sauce is amazing, and really gives the cake some needed sweetness. If you like real old-fashioned gingerbread you will probably like this. No matter what, use only MILD molasses. I had a jar of unsulfured molasses and it was far too strong and bitter for this recipe when you consider the beer. Just plain old mild molasses is the best.

I poured some of the lemon sauce over the warm cake as a glaze. I loved the look and texture of this cake, and the lemon sauce is a perfect complement to the bold flavors. Not my favorite cake ever, but I might try it again. If you’re planning a St. Patrick’s Day gathering, it will be a hit!

Guinness Gingerbread Cake with Limoncello Sauce

What you need:

¾ cup Guinness or stout beer

2 ½ cups flour

1 Tbs ground ginger

2tsp cinnamon

1 ½ tsp baking soda

½ tsp salt

¼ tsp ground nutmeg

¼ tsp ground cardamom

1 cup butter, softened

1 ¼ cups brown sugar, packed

3 eggs

1 cup MILD molasses

1 Tbs grated fresh ginger

1 Tbs powdered sugar, for sprinkling

Limoncello Hard Sauce

¼ cup butter, softened

¾ cup powdered sugar

2 Tbs limoncello liqueur

2 tsp finely grated lemon zest

1 tsp vanilla

What to do:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Generously spray a Bundt cake pan with non-stick cooking spray. Pour beer into measuring cup and set aside for at least 15minutes. In a bowl, stir together flour, ground ginger, cinnamon, baking powder, baking soda, salt, nutmeg, and cardamom. Set aside.

In a large mixing bowl beat butter with an electric mixer until fluffy. Add brown sugar and beat until creamy, scraping sides of bowl as necessary. Add eggs one at a time. Stir in molasses and grated ginger. Next, alternate flour mixture and beer in three additions, mixing on medium speed until combined.

Pour batter into prepared pan. Bake for 50-60 minutes or until a wooden pick comes out clean. Cool on a wire rack for 10 minutes, then remove cake from pan.

Limoncello Sauce

With an electric mixer beat butter until fluffy. Add powdered sugar,  lemoncello, lemon zest and vanilla. Mix until blended and smooth.

Sprinkle cake with powdered sugar and serve with Lemoncello Sauce.