Chocolate Guinness Cake

_A dark, deeply moist single-layer chocolate cake made with a full bottle of stout, crowned with a thick swirl of cream cheese frosting so it looks just like a freshly poured pint. The Guinness lends a malty bitterness that keeps the sweetness in check and the crumb wonderfully tender._

Ingredients

• 250 ml guinness (or other stout)
• 250 g unsalted butter
• 75 g cocoa powder
• 400 g caster sugar
• 140 ml soured cream
• 2 eggs
• 1 tbsp vanilla extract
• 275 g plain flour
• 2.5 tsp bicarbonate of soda
• 300 g cream cheese
• 150 g icing sugar
• 125 ml double cream

Method

Preheat the oven to 180C / 160C fan / gas mark 4. Butter a 23cm springform tin and line the base with baking parchment.

Pour the Guinness into a large wide saucepan, add the butter cut into cubes and heat gently until the butter has melted. Remove from the heat.

Whisk in the cocoa powder and caster sugar until smooth and glossy, then leave to cool for a few minutes.

In a separate jug, beat together the soured cream, eggs and vanilla until combined.

Pour the soured cream mixture into the pan and whisk in, then sift in the flour and bicarbonate of soda and whisk until you have a smooth, fairly liquid batter.

Pour the batter into the prepared tin and bake for 45 to 60 minutes, until risen, firm to the touch and a skewer inserted in the centre comes out clean.

Leave the cake to cool completely in its tin on a wire rack; it is quite a damp cake, so handle gently when releasing.

For the topping, beat the cream cheese until smooth, then sift in the icing sugar and beat again.

Add the double cream and beat until the frosting is thick and spreadable with soft peaks; do not overbeat or it will loosen.

Sit the cooled cake on a plate or stand and ice the top only, spreading the frosting so it resembles the creamy head on a pint of stout.

Leave to set for 20 minutes before slicing. The cake keeps well, covered in the fridge, for up to 4 days and is best served at room temperature.