2/17/14

Guinness Cake with Irish Whiskey Ganache

Guinness Cake w/ Irish Whiskey Ganache & Bailey's Buttercream (a.k.a. Carbomb Cake) for St. Patrick's Day

Also known as Carbomb Cake and very popular during St. Patrick's Day. Credit for the recipe goes to http://nomnom2.wordpress.com/2012/04/03/carbomb-cake/

Easy Irish Whiskey & Guinness Cake Recipe

Guinness Cake
  • 1 cup cocoa powder
  • cup buttermilk
  • 3/4 cup Guiness beer
  • 2-3/4 cake flour
  • 1 tsp. baking soda
  • 1/2 tsp. salt
  • 1-1/2 cups butter, at room temperature
  • 2-1/4 cups of granulated sugar
  • 1 Tbsp. vanilla extract
  • 4 eggs
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Grease two 9-inch cake pans with butter and line bottom of pans with parchment paper. Grease parchment with butter and dust pans with flour or cocoa powder, shaking out any excess powder.

In a small mixing bowl, slowly add buttermilk to cocoa powder while continuously whisking until all buttermilk has been added and cocoa powder has dissolved into buttermilk. Add Guinness beer to cocoa mixture. Whisk to combine thoroughly. Set aside.

Sift together flour, baking soda and salt. Set aside.

In a separate mixing bowl, beat butter until slightly fluffy. Add sugar and vanilla and beat until fully incorporated and fluffy. Add eggs one at a time and beat until each egg is fully incorporated before adding next egg.

Add cocoa mixture to butter mixture and beat until fully incorporated.

Add sifted dry ingredients to butter-cocoa mixture. Stir until just incorporated (Do not overwork the batter or the cake will be tough and dense.) Divide cake batter evenly into prepared cake pans. Bake cakes at 350 degrees for 30 to 35 minutes until a toothpick inserted into center of cake comes out clean, with only a few crumbs but no batter.

Cool cake pans completely, about 90 minutes. Loosen the cake and then invert the cake onto a plate.

Irish Whiskey Ganache

  • 1/2 cup of heavy cream
  • 6 oz. semi-sweet chocolate chips
  • 2 oz. Irish Whiskey

Place chocolate chips in a heat proof bowl.

Heat cream over medium-high heat and heat until simmering - but not boiling - stirring occasionally. Pour hot cream over chocolate chips and stir until smooth and silky. Add whiskey and stir until fully incorporated. Let ganache cool to room temperature. Refrigerate for 30 minutes, stirring every 10 minutes, until ganache is the thickness of a frosting.

Bailey's Buttercream

  • 4 oz. cream cheese, at room temperature
  • 1/2 cup of butter, at room temperature
  • 16 oz. powdered sugar, sifted
  • 1/4 tsp. salt
  • 1/4 cup + 2 Tbsp. Bailey's Irish Cream liqueur

Beat all ingredients in a mixing bowl until smooth

Assembly

Place one cake on serving dish, bottom-side up. Spread ganache over top of cake in a even layer. Place second cake on top of ganache layer. Evenly coat top and sides of cake with the butter-cream frosting. Dust with cocoa powder to garnish.

Serve at room temperature. If making ahead of time, keep cake chilled, but bring to room temperature before serving.

For another treat with Baileys, see these truffles.

If you Like this, then Share...