NAKED GUINNESS CHOCOLATE CAKE
ADULTS ONLY! naked GUINNESS CHOCOLATE CAKE with bourbon vanilla buttercream.
SKILL LEVEL: BEGINNER | QUANTITY: 8” double LAYER CAKE
LISTS
GROCERY LIST:
5 sticks | Unsalted Butter (plus more for buttering cake pans - about 3 tablespoons)
3 large | Eggs
½ cup | Sour Cream
1 cup | Light Brown Sugar
1 cup | Granulated Sugar
3 cups | Confectioners’ Sugar
2 cups | All-purpose Flour (plus more for dusting cake pans - about 3 tablespoons)
¾ cups | Cocoa Powder
1 teaspoon | Kosher Salt
2 teaspoons | Baking Soda
1 teaspoon | Vanilla Extract
½ | Vanilla Bean
1 cup | Guinness Extra Stout
2-3 tablespoons | Bourbon
Brand recommendation - Buffalo Trace Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey
KITCHENWARE:
2 8-inch Round Cake Pans
Stand Mixer or Hand Mixer w/ Large Mixing Bowl
Measuring Spoons & Cups, Sieve (fine mesh strainer), Rubber Spatula, Serrated Knife or Cake Leveler & Offset Spatula
PREP
Helpful tips!
Let butter for frosting and eggs come to room temperature by leaving out for about 1 hour*.
Let sour cream come to room temperature by leaving out for about 30 minutes*.
When measuring flour and cocoa powder, don’t pack them or you will end up adding more into the mixture and risk having a drier cake. Instead, use a large spoon to scoop into measuring cups and level off with the handle of the spoon.
Don’t sift kosher salt. It’s usually not fine enough to get through the sieve.
If you don’t want to do a naked cake, simply frost as is, however, for a naked cake, I like to use a serrated knife or cake leveler to split both cakes in half to create 4 layers, thus resulting in more frosting layers to account for less frosting being on the outside.
*Dependent on the temperature of your home
BAKE
CAKE:
2 sticks | Unsalted Butter
1 cup | Guinness Extra Stout
¾ cups | Cocoa Powder
1 cup | Light Brown Sugar
2 cups | All-purpose Flour
1 cup | Granulated Sugar
2 teaspoons | Baking Soda
1 teaspoon | Kosher Salt
2 large | Eggs (room temperature)
1 teaspoon | Vanilla Extract
½ cup | Sour Cream (room temperature)
FROSTING:
3 sticks | Unsalted Butter (room temperature)
1 large | Egg Yolk (room temperature)
½ | Vanilla Bean
3 cups | Confectioners’ Sugar
2-3 tablespoons | Bourbon
Preheat oven to 350° F and place rack in the center of the oven.
Melt butter in a medium saucepan. Add beer, cocoa powder and brown sugar, whisking until sugar is dissolved and combined. Remove from heat and let cool.
Roll out parchment paper and trace the bottom of two 8x2-inch round cake pans. Cut out the two parchment circles and set aside. Butter two 8x2-inch round cake pans with 1 tablespoon of room temperature butter per pan. Use your hands to smear butter all over the bottom, corners and sides of the inside of the pan. Place parchment circles inside of pans. Use remaining ½ tablespoon of room temperature butter per pan and smear over parchment circle. Sprinkle about 1 ½ tablespoons of flour over buttered pan and rotate and tap the pan to move flour around to completely coat the bottom, corners and sides. Tap out excess flour. This will allow for an easy and clean removal. Set aside.
Sift flour, sugar and baking soda in a stand mixer with a paddle attachment or a large bowl. Add salt, mix and set aside.
Turn your stand mixer with a paddle attachment on low or use a hand mixer on low and slowly pour the cooled sugar beer mixture into the dry ingredients. Mix on low speed until combined. With the mixer still on low, add eggs one at a time, beating until well blended after each addition. Add vanilla extract and sour cream and beat until combined.
Pour batter into prepared pans and bake cakes for 20 minutes. Quickly rotate pans to ensure an even bake and bake for an additional 10-15 minutes, until a toothpick comes out clean. Don’t leave your oven open too long or you run of the risk of your cakes sinking. Cool the cakes in the pans for at least 30 minutes before removing.
Make the frosting by beating the room temperature butter in a stand mixer with a paddle attachment or a large bowl with a hand mixer until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add the egg yolk and scraped seeds from vanilla bean and continue beating for 3 minutes. Slowly add in the confectioners’ sugar until mostly mixed. Increase speed, scraping down the sides of the bowl until smooth and creamy. On low speed add the bourbon and mix until blended, but don’t overwhip. Set aside.
This cake is naturally a pretty flat cake but use a serrated knife or cake leveler to remove any domed top. Use the same tool to evenly split both cakes in half to create 4 layers.
Use an offset spatula to frost between each layer. Add a very thin layer of frosting to the outside of the cake. Pop in the fridge for about 20-30 minutes and use the same offset spatula to run against the outside and top of the cake, removing frosting to expose the cake creating the naked cake look. Decorate as desired!
Store leftovers in airtight container at room temperature.
