Chocolate Stout Cake

[CaliPoutine]

I made this tonight along with the frosting. It was easy to make on top of the stove and it smelled great as it was baking.

I also made the frosting to go with it. Your basic cream cheese with some heavy cream to lighten it up.

Now, for the taste. I cant describe it other than weird. It wasnt particulary chocolaty. Im not a beer drinker so maybe thats why I didnt really care for it. MY SO didnt really like it either.

Ive heard rave reviews though, so Im wondering what you all think.

[helenjp]

I actually came a similar recipe a while back, googling to see if anybody had thought of combining beer and chocolate .

http://www.deliaonline.com/recipes/r_0000001858.asp

I didn't bake it, because it seemed to have an outrageously large proportion of sugar. I'm curious to know how the proportion of sugar compared with the recipe you used?

[CaliPoutine]

I actually came a similar recipe a while back, googling to see if anybody had thought of combining beer and chocolate .

http://www.deliaonline.com/recipes/r_0000001858.asp

I didn't bake it, because it seemed to have an outrageously large proportion of sugar. I'm curious to know how the proportion of sugar compared with the recipe you used?

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The one I made had 2 cups of sugar, 1 stick and 2tbls of butter ( 1 stick= 1/2 cup), 8 oz stout, 2 cups flour, 2 eggs, 3/4 cup sour cream, 2 and a 1/2 tsp baking soda and vanilla.

[R Washburn]

The one I made had 2 cups of sugar, 1 stick and 2tbls of butter ( 1 stick= 1/2 cup), 8 oz stout, 2 cups flour, 2 eggs, 3/4 cup sour cream, 2 and a 1/2 tsp baking soda and vanilla.

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Is this a "mock" chocolate cake? I don't see any chocolate at all in your recipe.

[CaliPoutine]

The one I made had 2 cups of sugar, 1 stick and 2tbls of butter ( 1 stick= 1/2 cup), 8 oz stout, 2 cups flour, 2 eggs, 3/4 cup sour cream, 2 and a 1/2 tsp baking soda and vanilla.

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Is this a "mock" chocolate cake? I don't see any chocolate at all in your recipe.

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whoops, it also has 3/4 cup of cocoa.

[R Washburn]

What kind of Cocoa did you use? If it was Hershey and Nigella used Valrhona, that would make a big difference in the intensity of chocolate flavor.

[CaliPoutine]

What kind of Cocoa did you use?  If it was Hershey and Nigella used Valrhona, that would make a big difference in the intensity of chocolate flavor.

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I used Drost.

[Maesie]

If it tasted bitter it could be the baking soda. I read in another chocolate stout cake recipe that the yeast in the stout acts as an additional leavening agent, so you don't have to use as much baking soda. I'm actually making a chocolate stout cake tonight using the recipe from the "best chocolate cake" thread as a jumping off point (subing Young's Double Chocolate Stout for some of the water, reducing the baking soda, and replacing some buttermilk with sour cream). I'll let you know how it goes.

[Patrick S]

CaliPoutine, does the cake have a strong beer taste or is it mild? A cake with a strong beer taste doesn't sound all that appealing to me, but I won't knock it till Ive tried it, and if its a milder taste, I could see how it might be interesting.

[CaliPoutine]

CaliPoutine, does the cake have a strong beer taste or is it mild? A cake with a strong beer taste doesn't sound all that appealing to me, but I won't knock it till Ive tried it, and if its a milder taste, I could see how it might be interesting.

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Im not a beer drinker so thats probably why I didnt like it. It did have a strong beer flavor and not a very strong chocolate taste at all.

[Pucca]

I know this is a really old thread....but has anyone else made this cake? How does it compare to the one from Barrington Brewery on Epicurious? Here are the links to the two recipes:

Nigella Lawson

Barrington Brewery

The most notable difference is the frosting, where Nigella uses a cream cheese frosting and the other uses a chocolate ganache. There are also slight differences in the amt of sour cream, cocoa amt and type, and baking soda (I am halving the BB recipe for my basis of comparison). Anyway, if you've made a chocolate stout cake, which one did you make, and how did you like it?

[Aria B.]

I have made the Nigella cake. I like beer okay but am not a huge beer drinker. Both hubby and I liked the cake. It is different for sure. It is one of those recipes that you have to make yourself to get a sense for what we're talking about. I'd make it again, but can see why others aren't sure.

[Danielle Lauer]

A couple of years ago, I made a chocolate stout cake (Epicurious, Bon Appetit, 2002) with amazing results. It did have a chocolate ganache, no cream cheese frosting. The beer (I used Guinness) really intensified the chocolate (similar to adding espresso to a chocolate recipe) with no overbearing beer favor.

[JeanneCake]

Chefpeon had a recipe from Epicurious for Stout cake (the same one probably as the one Danielle Lauer mentions above); I've made it and also found it to be not too chocolatey but very sturdy and excellent for scupting cake into various shapes and forms. I use my favorite Felchlin's cocoa powder, though; which tends to be intense (much more than Hershey's, Droste and the other one that Williams Sonoma sells whose name I can't remember exactly. Not Valhrona though.) so even though I didn't think of it as very chocolatey, it was probably more so than with another brand of cocoa.

To my taste, the beer highlighted some bitter notes (not unpleasant).

[annarborfoodie]

The Nigella cake is one of my go-to recipes. My husband requests it again and again - most recently about two weeks ago. It is a really damp cake, and it sinks in the middle, leaving room for lots of the frosting. The better the cocoa you use (I like valrhona), the better the cake will be - with Hershey's it's so-so, with good cocoa it's fabulous.