- 1/4 cup cocoa powder
- 1 cup butter (2 sticks or 1/2 pound)
- 1 cup Guinness (normal or Extra Stout)
- 2/3 cup cocoa powder
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 2 cups all-purpose flour (not self-raising/rising flour)
- 2 cups granulated sugar
- 1 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
- 2 eggs
- 1/2 cup sour cream (or creme fraiche)
- Heat oven to 350 degrees F. Lightly dust two greased 8-inch cake pans with the 1/4 cup of cocoa powder. (You can also use 8-inch springform pans or 9-inch pans for this; just adjust the cooking time a bit, if necessary.)
- In heavy saucepan, heat butter, Guinness and cocoa powder until butter is melted. Cool to room temp.
- Sift dry ingredients together, add the Guinness-cocoa mixture and beat for 1 minute on medium speed. Add eggs and sour cream (or creme fraiche) and beat for 2 minutes on medium.
- Pour batter into prepared pans and bake for 25-30 minutes, or until inserted knife comes out clean. (Note: I had to add an additional seven minutes to the 30 minutes, so be sure to do the knife test and go by whether the center of the cake is set.) Cool 15 minutes, remove from pans and finish cooling. (Note: use a spatula to gently remove cake from pan if necessary, because the cake is very dense and moist. Don't worry; it should be able to take it!)
- Use a serrated knife to even tops, if necessary. Frost (recipe provided below). Makes 16 servings, or 8-10 is everybody's feeling a bit indulgent. ;-)