Have you ever made or eaten a flourless chocolate cake before? While it sounds like it defeats the point of cake without flour, it is actually quite good. Rich and fudgy are the best ways to describe it.
Chocolate Guinness Cake is a super rich and moist cake with fluffy meringue topping. This flourless chocolate cake is perfect for St. Patrick’s Day dessert or any other day of the year!
My Chocolate Guinness cake is not only laced with stout beer, it is also flourless and boasts a fluffy, two inch high meringue topping. Stop drooling and run to the kitchen to make one of your own!
Chocolate Guinness Cake is generally more dense and bitter than a regular chocolate cake. It is the flour that gives a cake all that fluff.
Some also assume that a flourless cake is healthier, generally because they are a great gluten free chocolate cake option.
I like both of these aspects. Slightly fudgy and not terribly sweet. This cake isn’t even gluten-free, as it does contain a beer that has wheat.
But this a Chocolate Guinness Cake and neither dense nor healthy, so take those notions out of your head right now! And like most of my recipes, this flourless chocolate cake also comes with a funny story, so here it goes…
What ever happened to the dessert tray?” says my good friend Nathalie at lunch. This simple statement started an afternoon baking fest that ended with a Chocolate Guinness Cake. It was right before St. Patrick’s Day, so it only make sense!
She does make a good point. People enjoy visual representation. They will be more likely to order dessert if they can see it. Sadly, most eateries have done away with the beloved dessert tray.
We also decided that all dessert menus should offer a basic chocolate cake, period. Basic. Plain. Delicious.
No dessert tray and no chocolate cake landed us at yet another small food joint that had neither. Finally we decided that unless we wanted to spend our entire Sunday wandering around Baltimore we must make our own cake. If you want something done, you gotta do it yourself, right?
So now we are at the grocery store in the baking aisle Googling “Chocolate Cake”. The first page to pull up was a Flourless Chocolate Cake offered by the Food Network. Bingo!
This chocolate cake recipe, however, has been modified considerably because the one posted, quite frankly, just didn’t work that well.
Keep in mind that almost all ingredients are heated before being incorporated so you will use a few pans before it even touches the oven.
Read the instructions thoroughly before starting. I tried to simplify them as much as possible, but they are still slightly complicated.
Chocolate Guinness Cake only has a small amount of stout, so no one is getting drunk off this cake. It merely adds the flavor of stout and hops. If you choose to leave it out, substitute with water.
Meringue creates a variety of texture, also adds sweetness to the rich cocoa flavors. There is nothing I love more than pillowy clouds of meringue that literally melt in your mouth.
And if you are still looking for something a little easier, check out our Guinness Cupcakes with Bailey’s Frosting!
You’ll probably also like these great cake recipes!
- Creamy No-Bake Chocolate Cheesecake
- Blackberry Bundt Cake
- Chocolate Mayonnaise Cake
- Maple Coffee Cake
- Boston Cream Pie Poke Cake
- Eggnog Cake
- Vanilla Pound Cake
Almond Pound Cake Recipe
Cherry Poke Cake
Flourless Chocolate Stout Cake Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon vegetable shortening
- 12 ounces semisweet chocolate , chopped
- 16 tablespoons unsalted butter , cut into 1 tablespoons pieces
- 3/4 cup granulated sugar
- ¼ cup , plus 2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder, divided
- 2 teaspoons baking soda
- 1 teaspoon instant espresso powder
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1/2 teaspoon coarse Kosher salt
- 1/2 cup stout beer
- 4 eggs
- 1 1/2 cups cream cheese frosting
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 300°F. Line the bottom of a 9-inch springform pan with parchment paper, then cover with the vegetable shortening. Spoon 2 tablespoons of the unsweetened cocoa powder into the pan, swirling to coat and tapping out the excess. Set the prepared pan aside.
- In a medium microwave safe bowl, combine the chocolate and butter. Melt in the microwave on high for 1 minute, stir and return for 30 minute intervals until fully melted and smooth.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer or a large mixing bowl, whisk together the sugar, 1/4 cup of the cocoa powder, baking soda espresso powder and salt. When no lumps remain, pour in the melted chocolate mixture and blend until thick.
- Add the stout beer and eggs to the mixture and blend until just combined.
- Transfer the cake batter to the prepared springform pan, tapping down to get out bubbles.
- Place the spring form pan onto a rimmed baking sheet (to prevent messes and leaks) and then bake for 55-65 minutes, or until the the center is set, but still slightly jiggly. The edges will look like traditional cake.
- Shut off the oven and crack the door, allowing it start cooling in the oven for 15 minutes before taking it out to cool completely.
- When cool, remove from the pan and transfer to a serving plate or cake plate. Frost the center with cream cheese frosting.
- Chill for at least 2 hours before serving and store, covered, in the fridge.
- If you’ve tried this recipe, come back and let us know how it was in the comments or star ratings.
As soon as you add the Guinness you can no longer call this gluten / wheat free. Be aware that no flour does NOT mean no wheat.
Thank you, Bak. I didn’t not claim that this cake was GF- but pointed out that some think because cakes are GF or flourless, that it makes them “healthy”. I put in another disclaimer so no one is confused. Have a fabulous day!
Can you substitute any type of beer or does this recipe work best with the Guinness?
It really works well with Guiness. I haven’t tried it with any other type of beer, but if you do, I would use a stout. Maybe even a chocolate stout, YUM!
Rich and fudgy with a meringue topping?! YES PLEASE!
OH!!! My hubby is going to love this!!! Guinness is his drink of choice. And he never says no to cake!!
What a great idea to add the meringue to the top. Now it looks like a pint of Guinness!