Easy Guinness Chocolate Cake with Baileys Frosting
This is the ultimate and only Guinness chocolate cake recipe you’ll ever need because it’s so incredibly easy to make in just one bowl-no mixer needed! The rich and decadent chocolate flavor is deepened by the almost coffee like flavor of Guinness Stout which is used in the cake batter, and also brushed on the cake layers before frosting. Fill and frost with this Bailey’s frosting, and you’ve got yourself a boozy and chocolatey cake worth celebrating with!
Booze and chocolate? Sign me up! Good news for you is that this Guinness chocolate cake has both! I adapted my 5 star rated chocolate birthday cake, and swapped the coffee for Guinness. I knew it was going to work out well from the start because stout has similar undertones to coffee, with a little bit of a caramel flavor to it too.
To make sure the Guinness flavor really comes through, I also reduced some down on the stove and brushed it over the cake layers when they were done. As a professional baker, I wanted to do something a little extra to make sure all that flavor came through!
Making it even more festive and boozy, the cake is filled and frosted with a Bailey’s Frosting. It’s simple to whip up in just 5 minutes! You could also frost this cake with a chocolate cream cheese frosting, or this cream cheese frosting without butter. Feel free to dye it green if you want to use it to celebrate St. Patricks Day!
Baking with Guinness
Guinness is awesome to bake with because it has those coffee/caramel undertones. Coffee is known to bring out big flavor in chocolate cakes, which is why I always like to use it in my recipes. You don’t taste a bitter flavor, its more of a deeper chocolatey and fudgy taste.
For this recipe I used the Guinness Extra Stout, but you can use the Draught too. Any of them will work well. You’ll need 16 oz for this whole recipe. 1 cup for the cake batter and 1 cup for the reduction.
Making the cake
What makes this cake so easy is that its made in just one bowl. Because it has a high sugar content were using a method called the two stage method. Instead of creaming the butter and sugar together, all the dry ingredients go into the bowl first with the oil (the fat). When mixed, the oil coats the flour which limits the gluten development in the cake batter.
If you creamed the butter and sugar instead, there would be too much air which would collapse the cake. Using this method instead, the sugar melts slowly into the liquid creating a super moist and fluffy texture.
After you add the fat you’ll add the rest of the liquid ingredients in two steps. It doesn’t get better than this for a one bowl, no mixer cake recipe!
The batter will be super thin but don’t worry, it bakes up beautifully fudgy! Bake the cake in 2, 9″ round pans at 350°F for 30-35 minutes.
Reduce the Guinness
You can totally skip this step but if you want to go the extra mile, reduce the Guinness to make a syrup. Pour 1 cup of Guinness into a medium sized pot over high heat. Bring it to a boil over high heat for 1 minute, then reduce to a simmer for 10 minutes.
The beer should be reduced in half to a dark and syrupy liquid. When the cakes cool, brush this over the cake for extra flavor. The frosting is sweet so this step helps with the contrast of flavors.
Baileys Frosting
The Baileys frosting is made with powdered sugar, butter, Baileys Irish Cream, a splash of milk, and another splash of the reduced Guinness, because why not. It takes just 5 minutes to make. You’ll need a hand mixer or a stand mixer though so don’t use your mixer bowl for the cake unless you want to wash it.
Fill the frosting in between the 2 cake layers, then frost the outside of the cake with whatever is left.
I topped the cake with some shaved chocolate but a dusting of cocoa powder would be nice too!
Make ahead
To make the cake ahead you can make the cake layers and freeze them. Wrap them well in plastic and freeze for up to 2 months. Let them defrost at room temperature.
Freeze the already frosted cake the same way, and let defrost uncovered at room temperature.
Store the cake in a cake dome for freshness, it doesnt have to be stored in the fridge!
Easy Guinness Chocolate Cake with Baileys Frosting
Ingredients
- 2 ½ cups granulated sugar, 500 g
- 2 ½ cup all purpose flour, 312.5 g
- 1 cup cocoa powder, 86 g
- 2 tsp baking soda
- 1 tsp baking powder
- ¼ tsp kosher salt
- ⅓ cup vegetable oil
- 1 cup Milk
- 3 eggs, room temp
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 cup Guinness Stout
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350° F.
- In a large bowl combine the 2 ½ cup sugar, 2 ½ cup flour, 1 cup cocoa powder, 2 tsp baking soda, 1 tsp baking powder, and ¼ tsp salt. Whisk lightly to combine.
- Add in the 1/3 cup oil and whisk again. It might be a little hard to mix but it’s ok.
- In a measuring cup add the 1 cup milk, 3 eggs, and 2 tsp vanilla extract. Whisk and pour into the batter. Whisk again till a batter starts to form.
- Pour in the 1 cup Guinness and mix well.
- Spray 2, 9” round cake pans with baking spray. Pour the batter in evenly and bake for 30-35 minutes or until the tops are set and the cake starts to pull off from the side.
- Cool the cakes for 10 minutes in the pan and then completely over a wire rack.
- Meanwhile reduce the Guinness. Pour 1 cup of Guinness into a medium sized pan and let it come to a boil over high heat.
- Boil for 1 minute, then lower to a simmer for 10 minutes. The beer should be reduced by half and be dark and syrupy. Brush the reduced stout over the cakes, it’s ok if they are still a little warm.
- Make the Baileys frosting.
- Fill and frost the cakes with the frosting once completely cool.
Awesome fudgy chocolate cake! The Guinness is the ingredient you never knew you needed!
Yes! So glad you loved it. The Guinness really does add that extra depth of flavor—such a game-changer. Thanks so much for trying the recipe and for your kind words!