Beer and Chocolate

 It almost sounds like the title of a B-Movie, doesn't it?  Perhaps...but it's also the two main ingredients in my challenge last week: Nigella Lawson's Chocolate Guinness Cake. 

This weeks recipe came from the blog "The Kitchn."  There were a few other recipes that sounded interesting on the site, but with St. Patrick's Day so close, I couldn't resist going with the traditional holiday treat.  That and we had Irish cream in the house, did someone say Irish Car Bombs?!

After that little side adventure, I proceeded to add 1 cup of Guinness to my sauce pan, along with 10 tablespoons of butter; simmer on low until the butter has melted completely, then remove from the heat and whisk in 3/4 cup cocoa powder, and 2 cups sugar.  I then added a mixture of sour cream, eggs, and vanilla...and my friends, this made the beer curdle (or at least I think that's happened).  Regardless, I trudged on and added 2 cups of flour and 2 1/2 teaspoons of baking soda.  The batter was pretty thick, and I attribute that to mixing alcohol with dairy.  However, the smell was deep and chocolaty, and made me forget all about the small lumps I kept running into.

Pour the batter into a buttered springform pan lined with parchment paper, and bake at 350 for about 50 minutes, or until the cake passes the toothpick test.

Now for the best part: the icing!  1 block cream cheese + 1/2 cup heavy cream + 1 1/2 cups powdered sugar = **insert your own overwhelmingly delicious adjective here**

Whip that up until nice and fluffy and spread it over your cake, which you have now removed from the pan and let come to room temperature.  I however, did not let it cool that long, and the icing got a little melty in the center.  But I'm so glad I didn't wait, because the cake turned out heavenly!  The icing was decadent, and the Guinness brought up chocolate flavor without losing it's own murky, mysterious character.  I'm not much of a fan when it comes to dark lagers like Guinness, but this cake is definitely a keeper.