Guinness chocolate cake is perfect for St Patrick’s Day, because it’s made to look just like a freshly poured pint of Guinness. It’s also one of the best chocolate cakes you’ll ever have!

slice of Guinness chocolate cake

After the success of my Irish whiskey cake for St Patrick’s Day last year, I decided to add this beautiful Guinness chocolate cake for those of you who love to celebrate with sweets as well as tipple! I think you’ll be swooning over this cake!

Guinness chocolate cake with can, glass of beer and leprechaun

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Guinness in a glass with a leprechaun

Here’s the Irish whiskey cake if you’re interested: she’s a bit of a stunner. 🍀

Back to the Guinness chocolate cake, though. What this cake lacks in visual appeal (not quite so stunning as the whiskey cake) is more than made up for in taste and its rich, dense texture! Another advantage is that this cake is very easy to make and decorate. I am so delighted to share this recipe with you because I truly feel this is one of the best chocolate cakes I’ve ever made, and I have made a few!

Does Guinness Cake Contain Alcohol?

Guinness chocolate cake is made with the stout, but you won’t taste the alcohol. I’m no food scientist, so I can’t say whether all of the alcohol is gone by the time it comes out of the oven, but I would absolutely feel comfortable having my children eat this cake (if they’re under 21). (A chocolate Guinness cake you can buy states the alcohol content is less than one half percent (.5 %) by volume, if that helps.)

NOTE: IF YOU DON’T DRINK, OR LIKE GUINNESS, YOU WILL STILL LOVE THIS CAKE!

I do not like any beer, stout or ale, and I adore this cake (and my mother feels the same)! Not only is the texture of this stout cake just fabulous, but it’s not very sweet, thanks to the Guinness. However, the sweet cream cheese frosting is the perfect balance to the flavor of the very dark chocolate cake.

slice of Guinness chocolate cake with clover

What is Guinness Cake Made of?

This Guinness cake has a chocolate component, so instead of only using Guinness and cocoa, in addition to the normal cake ingredients, I’ve added chocolate, which gives this cake an extra rich flavor! It’s topped with a butter and cream cheese frosting that complements it stupendously!

If you’ve tried one of “my” spectacular muffin recipes which began with this perfect plum muffin recipe, you’ll know that they are actually from Waitrose, a British supermarket that I love. Well, I’ve adapted this Guinness chocolate cake recipe via Waitrose, so I am thinking I need to start trying all of their recipes!

overhead shot of a Guinness and the top of a Guinness chocolate cake

What is the Perfect Cake for St Patrick’s Day?

This Guinness chocolate cake is just so perfect for St Patrick’s day because it’s not just made with Guinness, but it’s made to look like a perfectly poured Guinness!

A perfect Guinness chocolate cake matches a perfectly poured Guinness in a glass.

Please don’t reserve this cake for one day of the year because it’s truly just a delicious chocolate cake. If you aren’t trying to make it look like a poured Guinness with a foamy head, you can put half the frosting inside the cake (slice it in half). And it’s the best ending to a meal of Irish bangers and mash!

bite of Guinness chocolate cake on a fork

You can even cover the entire cake with the frosting instead of just putting it on top. Let’s get baking so you can cut into your own delicious cake and pour yourself a Guinness!

A perfect Guinness chocolate cake matches a perfectly poured Guinness in a glass.

Guinness Chocolate Cake

Slightly adapted from a Waitrose recipe Serves 10

FULL PRINTABLE RECIPE BELOW

Ingredients for Cake

butter
chocolate
Guinness
unsweetened cocoa powder
sugar
eggs
vanilla
buttermilk
all purpose/plain flour
baking powder
salt

Ingredients for Frosting

cream cheese
butter
vanilla extract
powdered/confectioner’s sugar

Special equipment: 8″ springform pan and serrated bread knife

Oven temperature: 335℉ (170℃) Between 325℉ and 350℉ if you don’t have a digital oven. Prepare the baking pan by buttering and dusting with flour.

Directions for the Guinness Chocolate Cake Batter

Put the butter into medium sized pan over low heat along with the chocolate and stir until almost melted. Add the Guinness, stirring to combine until smooth.

Remove from heat and whisk in the unsweetened cocoa powder and sugar.

In a large glass measuring jug or bowl, whisk the eggs, vanilla and buttermilk together then add to the Guinness and chocolate mixture in the pan.

Sift the flour and baking powder together into a large bowl of a stand mixer. Pour in the Guinness chocolate mixture and blend with the paddle attachment at low speed. Stop the mixer to clean the sides of the bowl with a spatula so the mixture is blended evenly. Be sure to scrape the bottom of the bowl as the chocolate mixture drops to the bottom when mixing.

Pour the mixture into the springform pan and bake for about an hour or more (mine took about 1 hr 10 mins) or until the a cake tester comes out clean.

WHILE THE CAKE IS BAKING, MAKE THE FROSTING (RECIPE BELOW).

Remove the cake from the oven and allow to cool in the pan for about 30 minutes before removing the side and bottom. Place on a cooling rack to cool completely before decorating.

When cool, slice the domed top off of the Guinness chocolate cake with a serrated knife so that you have a flat surface to work on.

Directions for the Frosting

Beat the cream cheese until it’s soft, then add the butter and continue to beat until well combined. Add the powdered sugar and vanilla and beat at a high speed until light, fluffy and smooth.

Decorate the Guinness Chocolate Cake

Put the cake on a serving or cake plate and top with all of the frosting. Try to make the frosting level across the cake, as the head of foam on a Guinness would appear.

Ten slices from this cake may be a lot per serving, so feel free to cut smaller slices to serve more guests.

If you have some clover growing in your yard, pop some on the plate for another Irish touch!

Here’s another similar recipe: Guinness Dark Chocolate Pudding Cakes with Caramel Sauce

USE GOOD QUALITY INGREDIENTS FOR BEST RESULTS – IT MAKES A HUGE DIFFERENCE!