Guinness Chocolate Cake Recipe

This dessert is a MUST try. If you’re a chocolate lover, like me, you will go crazy for every bite of this incredible sweet treat! If you want to try more unique chocolate desserts, we have so many good ones. Try this nostalgic ho ho cake, this fun whoopie pie cake, or this almost sinful tuxedo cake.

Guinness Chocolate Cake Recipe

This Guinness Chocolate Cake is decadent and sweet with the perfect boozy kick. If you’re looking for a dessert to celebrate St. Patrick’s Day, this is it! The recipe features Guinness beer in the cake and the ganache frosting, and Irish cream in the buttercream filling. This is one of those recipes that’s absolutely heavenly, and one that you’ll be thinking about long after you’ve taken the last bite. The Guinness gives the cake a fluffy texture and adds a slight malt flavor that pairs well with the chocolate without being overpowering. The buttercream spiked Bailey’s Irish cream tastes incredible and the creamy spiked ganache is the perfect finishing touch. If you’re making a full St. Patrick’s Day spread, be sure to check out our collection of all of the best St. Paddy’s Day recipes!

Ingredients Needed

The ingredient list for this Guinness cake recipe might look a bit long, but the ingredients are simple and mostly pantry staples. Plus, one bite of this flavorful, fluffy cake and you’ll see that it is so worth it! Exact measurements can be found at the end of the post in the recipe card!

Cake

Guinness Stout: Guinness extra stout or draught may be used. You can also use any favorite stout beer! Sugar: Granulated sugar will perfectly sweeten the cake without overwhelming the flavor. Cocoa Powder: Use regular unsweetened cocoa powder, not dutch process, to add depth and richness. Vegetable Oil: For an extra moist crumb. Eggs: Two large eggs will help bind all of the ingredients together. It’s best if they are room temperature for easy mixing. Sour Cream: Use full-fat sour cream for the most wonderful moist texture. Vanilla Extract: Adds warm subtle sweetness. Flour: All-purpose flour will give the cake structure while keeping it nice and soft. Baking Soda: Helps the layers rise properly while baking. Salt: To balance the sweetness and bring out all of the delicious flavor.

Ganache

Chocolate: Use a high-quality semi-sweet chocolate like Ghirardelli or Guittard. Heavy Cream: Makes it super creamy and irresistibly rich. Guinness: For extra Irish flavor in the frosting.

Bailey’s Buttercream Filling

Salted Butter: Use softened butter as the foundation for the buttercream filling. Powdered Sugar: Makes the buttercream sweet and smooth. Bailey’s Irish Cream: Complements the Guinness cake with rich chocolate and vanilla flavors.

How to Make a Guinness Chocolate Cake

Grab all of the ingredients and get ready to make one of the best cakes ever! This is such a special dessert and will be the hit of any party. Here’s how it all comes together:

Cake

Ganache

Bailey’s Buttercream Filling

Assembly

Beer Options: If you are not going to use Guinness beer, it may be substituted for any other stout beer. If you would like to leave out the beer completely, I recommend using this recipe for chocolate cake instead. Use Butter: You may substitute the oil for butter if you would like to. Add the butter to the saucepan with the beer, sugar, and cocoa powder. Cook it until the sugar is fully dissolved and the butter is completely melted. If you use salted butter, reduce the salt in the recipe to ½ teaspoon. What if the Cakes Sink? Don’t be alarmed if your cakes sink a little! The best way to avoid this is to let the cakes bake undisturbed as long as possible since opening the oven door causes a drop in temperature and that can make the cakes fall. These cakes bake longer than a standard cake, so try to wait until 40 minutes. If the cakes do sink a little, let them cool completely before using a serrated knife to carefully level off the cake. If it is just a slight dip in the center, invert the warm cake upside down on the cooling rack right out of the oven. Letting it cool upside down will often help level out the dip. Frosting Option: You may omit the Bailey’s buttercream filling and just use ganache instead. Irish Cream Option: If you don’t have Bailey’s you may use an equal amount of Irish Cream flavored syrup or 1 tablespoon of vanilla extract instead.