Sunday Rewind: Cake of the Irish

As The Rantings of an Amateur Chef has been going since February of 2012, there are quite a few readers that have joined along the way. In an effort to bring back some great recipes that they may have missed, I will dedicate Sundays to re-posting a favorite that is at least two years old. I hope you enjoy! – The Ranting Chef

Here is another post from Maggie. I first met Maggie back in 1988 when I was hired as a Resident Advisor at The Ohio State University. Maggie was the Hall Director, my boss and the zoo master for a staff of misfits that really blended into a high functioning team. While Maggie is not a member of the Gourmet Club I am in (the commute to Ohio might be rough), she made this in honor of the Irish theme for the Gourmet Club’s dinner this past weekend. Take a look.

I don’t have a drop of Irish blood in me, but hey – it’s March, St. Patrick’s Day is coming, and who doesn’t like cake and beer? I saw this gorgeous cake on the Real Simple magazine website a few months ago, and had to try it. I prefer cake to be pretty moist, so I’ve tweaked their original version a bit by using the whole bottle of beer.  They called for just ¾ cup- of course, you could just use that much and enjoy the rest of the bottle as a treat for all your hard work in the kitchen. I also added a little more sour cream. You can cut back on these if you like your cake more “cakey” or on the dry side.

This is a very pretty cake that is moist, delicious and filled with rich, fattening ingredients. This is not a light recipe, so be prepared to schedule an extra 20 minutes on the elliptical the week you bake this beauty!

If you make it for an office or family event, you will be asked to bake it for every special event as the requests will pour in like a nice bottle of beer into a frosted glass.” May the Road Rise to Meet You” as you enjoy this cake, and always!

Chocolate Guinness Bundt Cake

What you need:

1 cup (2 sticks) butter at room temperature

Cocoa powder (to coat buttered pan)

2 ½ cups all-purpose flour

¾ t baking soda

½ t kosher salt

1 bottle of stout beer (such as Guinness)

12 ounces of chopped semi-sweet chocolate, divided (I just used chocolate chips)

3 large eggs

1 cup granulated sugar

1 cup packed dark brown sugar

¾ cup sour cream

½ cup heavy cream (for ganache glaze)

What you do:

1. Heat oven to 350° F. Butter a 12-cup Bundt pan and dust with the cocoa powder, tapping out the excess. In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, and salt.
2. In a small saucepan, combine the butter and stout. Cook over medium heat, stirring, until the butter is melted. Remove from heat, add 8 ounces of the chocolate, and whisk until smooth.
3. Using an electric mixer, beat the eggs and sugars on medium-high until fluffy. Beat in the chocolate mixture and sour cream. Reduce speed to low and gradually mix in the flour mixture until just combined (do not over mix).
4. Pour into the prepared pan and bake until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out with a few moist crumbs attached, 45 to 55 minutes. Let cool 30 minutes in the pan, then invert onto a rack to cool completely.

In a small saucepan, bring the heavy cream just to a boil. Remove from heat, add the remaining 4 ounces of chocolate, and let sit 5 minutes. Whisk until smooth. Set the cooling rack with the cake over a baking sheet. Drizzle the cake with the glaze and let set before serving.