Chocolate Guinness Loaf Cake
A soft and moist Chocolate Guinness Loaf Cake flavored with natural cocoa powder and everyone’s favorite Irish stout, which enhances the chocolate flavor. This easy and festive loaf is topped with a rich chocolate Guinness icing.
Chocolate Guinness Loaf Cake
It’s that time of year when my fellow Americans start buying more Guinness, baking their favorite “St. Patrick’s Day” desserts, and cooking up Irish stew. So it only makes sense for me to add a Chocolate Guinness Loaf Cake to the blog. With the same moist texture and rich flavor as my Chocolate Guinness Snack Cake, this rich, little loaf is seriously good. With a simple chocolate icing in place of a buttercream frosting, this loaf comes together with bit more ease than a traditional cake. So pour yourself a pint and start baking, because I know you’ll love this Chocolate Guinness Loaf!
Why You’ll Love This Loaf
- Soft and moist texture
- Rich chocolate flavor highlighted by the Guinness
- Easy to bake and ice
- The perfect size for a small gathering or snack for yourself
What You’ll Need For the Cake
- All-purpose flour makes up the bulk of the cake batter. I like to use an unbleached variety, but any all-purpose flour will work.
- Natural cocoa powder gives the cake a chocolate flavor. Make sure you use a regular, natural cocoa powder (not Dutched).
- Baking soda leavens the loaf for the perfect rise.
- Salt enhanes flavor.
- Light brown sugar adds sweetness and moisture to the cake. You only need to “loosely” pack the sugar for this cake.
- Eggs bind the ingredients and help create the perfect cake texture. I haven’t tested this recipe with any egg alternatives.
- Olive oil adds moisture. Feel free to use your favorite baking oil (vegetable, avocado, etc) in place of the olive oil.
- Plant-based milk also adds moisture. I used almond milk but any plant-based milk (or regular milk) will work.
- White vinegar is added to the plant-based milk to create a more acidic “buttermilk” type of milk, which reacts with the baking soda to aid in leavening the cake.
- Vanilla extract adds flavor.
- Guinness Draught Stout (in a can) enhances the flavor of the cake and creates a “festive” loaf that’s perfect for St. Paddy’s Day. I used canned Guinness which contains a “widget” that injects the beer with nitrogen upon opening the can.
What You’ll Need For the Icing
- Powdered sugar makes up the bulk of the icing and gives it sweetness to balance out the bitter cocoa powder.
- Cocoa powder adds a rich chocolate flavor to the icing.
- Vanilla extract adds flavor.
- Guinness Draught Stout adds a slight stout flavor to the chocolate icing. And it just makes this loaf feel more festive! If you’d like to skip this addition, you can use a plant-based milk in place of the stout in the icing.
FAQ
Can I use another stout beer instead of Guinness? I haven’t tested this cake with any other beer. I used Guinness from a can, which contains a “widget” that injects nitrogen into the beer upon opening the can.
Do I have to add Guinness to the icing? Not at all. If you prefer, you can use plant-based milk in place of the reduced Guinness.
Will Dutched cocoa powder work instead of regular/natural cocoa powder? No, not for this recipe. The cake will rise differently with Dutched cocoa, which is less acidic than regular cocoa powder.
Can I bake this ahead of time? Definitely. I recommend baking only a day in advance and storing the loaf in an airtight wrap at room temperature (a large ziploc bag that you’ll press the air out of will work). You’ll want to wait to ice the loaf the day you plan to serve it.
Will the cake taste like beer? No, the cake itself won’t taste like beer. The Guinness acts like coffee does in a chocolate cake and enhances the chocolate flavor. The icing will have a very slight Guinness taste.
Chocolate Guinness Loaf Cake
A moist Chocolate Guinness Loaf Cake made with everyone's favorite Irish stout. The Guinness enhances the chocolate flavor of the cake and icing and makes for a fun loaf to bake around St. Paddy's Day.
Ingredients
Loaf Cake
- 1 cup + 2 Tbsp (146g) unbleached all-purpose flour
- 3/4 cup (60g) regular cocoa powder
- 3/4 tsp baking soda
- 3/4 tsp salt
- 3/4 cup (128g) light brown sugar, loosely packed (scooped with measuring cup and leveled)
- 3 large eggs, room temperature
- 1/3 cup olive oil
- 1/3 cup plant-based milk
- 1/2 tsp white vinegar (or apple cider vinegar)
- 1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 1/2 cups canned Guinness Draught Stout Beer (will reduce in Step 2)
Icing
- 1 1/2 cups (180g) powdered sugar
- 1/3 cup (27g) cocoa powder
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- 1/2 cup canned Guinness Draught Stout Beer (will reduce in Step 2)
Instructions
Bake the Loaf
- Bring your eggs to room temperature by placing them in a glass of warm water for at least 10 minutes.
- Meanwhile, add 2 cups of canned Guinness (for the cake and icing) to a medium saucepan and bring to a boil. Keep an eye on the beer as it might bubble and foam for the first five minutes or so. You can whisk the foamy beer to keep it from overflowing. Once the beer is boiling, lower the heat to medium and simmer until the beer reduces to 1 cup. This should take between 5 and 10 minutes.
- Once reduced, measure out 3/4 cup of beer (for the cake) and set aside. The other 1/4 cup of beer will be used for the icing.
- Preheat your oven to 325°F and prepare an 8.5x4.5" loaf pan with non-stick spray and parchment paper. I like to cut one piece of parchment that will cover the bottom and two sides (feel free to line all four sides by using two pieces of paper, if you prefer). Fold the remaining paper over the sides and trim with scissors.
- In a glass measuring cup, add the 1/3 cup of plant-based milk and 1/2 tsp of white vinegar. Give the mixture a quick stir; set aside.
- In a large bowl, sift in the flour and then the cocoa powder. Add the baking soda, salt, and brown sugar and whisk everything together until well combined; set aside.
- In a small bowl, add the eggs, oil, milk/vinegar, and vanilla. Whisk everything together. Slowly pour in 3/4 cup of the reduced Guinness while whisking.
- Add the wet ingredients into the dry and beat with a hand mixer on medium speed for 30 seconds. Pour the batter into your prepared baking pan. Tap the pan on the counter to release air bubbles (I like to do this up to 20 times).
- Bake at 325°F for 45-55 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the cake comes out with a few crumbs. Allow the cake to cool in the pan for 10 minutes. Run a butter knife along the two edges without parchment paper, and then carefully lift the loaf up and out onto a cooling rack. Carefully peel off the parchment paper and toss in the trash.
- Allow the loaf to cool completely before making the icing. This will take up to 2 - 2 1/2 hours.
Ice the Loaf
- Once the loaf is totally cool, make the icing. In a medium bowl, sift in the powdered sugar and cocoa powder. This helps the icing whisk together smoothly without any lumps of sugar or cocoa. Whisk the two together.
- Add the vanilla extract and whisk. Add reduced Guinness 1 Tbsp at a time and whisk until you've got a thick icing. I ended up using 2 1/2 Tbsp of beer. The icing should be very thick, almost to the point that it can't be poured.
- Pour the icing over the loaf. The icing will very slowly pour out but will even out as it settles over the next few minutes.
- Slice immediately, or wait until the icing is more set, and enjoy!
- Store leftover cake in an airtight container in the refrigerator (to keep the icing from melting).
DID YOU MAKE THIS LOAF? I WOULD LOVE TO SEE!
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