The Yummiest Chocolate Cake
This Guinness chocolate cake recipe is rich, fudgy, and one of my all-time favorites. ♡
I’ve been baking some version of this recipe — a slight adaptation of Nigella’s famous Guinness cake — for over a decade now. And it’s one of those recipes that is always, always a winner. The added stout doesn’t make the cake taste boozy at all. But instead, deepens the cocoa flavor and gives the crumb this ultra-moist, almost velvety texture that is just perfection.
Over the years, I’ve made a few small tweaks to the recipe — a pinch of espresso powder to dial up the chocolate, a slightly fluffier, more buttery cream cheese frosting, small adjustments here and there. It’s the kind of cake that’s perfect for St. Patrick’s Day or a cozy weekend baking project anytime you just want a really, really good chocolate cake. I promise you’re going to love it.
Recipe Tips
This is a wonderfully forgiving cake, but these small tips will help it turn out extra great every time:
- Use regular Guinness Draught. Extra Stout can push the bitterness a bit too far here.
- Don’t let the beer boil. Warm it just until the butter melts — boiling can dull the chocolate flavor.
- Sift the cocoa powder and powdered sugar. I’m generally one to skip sifting steps when I see them in recipes. But cocoa loves to clump, and sifting keeps the batter silky smooth. Sifting the powdered sugar for the frosting also makes it extra smooth.
- Stop mixing once the flour is in. Over-mixing can make this cake dense instead of tender, so mix until the dry ingredients are just combined.
Recipe Variations
If you feel like playing around, here are a few of my favorite ways to customize this cake:
- Add chocolate chips to the batter for little pockets of melted chocolate.
- Swap the espresso powder for instant coffee granules or omit it entirely if you prefer.
- Add orange zest to the batter for a subtle chocolate-orange vibe.
- Swap sour cream for full-fat Greek yogurt if that’s what you have on hand.
- Turn it into cupcakes by baking for about 18–22 minutes.
- Add a splash of Irish cream to the frosting for a boozy twist.
FAQ
Not at all. The Guinness deepens the chocolate flavor but doesn’t taste distinctly beer-ish.
A 10-inch springform will work (the cake will just be a bit shorter and may bake a few minutes faster). You can also use two 8-inch round pans and turn it into a layer cake — just start checking for doneness around 30–35 minutes. A 9×13-inch pan works too for a more casual, sheet-cake vibe — just bake for about 35–40 minutes and frost right in the pan.
Because of the cream cheese frosting, yes, I recommend storing it in the refrigerator once it’s frosted. That said, it tastes best at room temperature, so I like to pull slices out about 30 minutes before serving.
The unfrosted cake freezes beautifully for up to 2 months. Wrap it tightly and thaw overnight.
Guinness Chocolate Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting
- Prep Time: 30 minutes
- Cook Time: 35 minutes
- Total Time: 65 minutes
- Yield: 12 slices 1x
Description
This is the best Guinness chocolate cake recipe I’ve found! It is, of course, made all the better with rich cream cheese frosting.
Ingredients
For The Chocolate Guinness Cake:
- 2 cups Guinness (or other stout)
- 2 cups (4 sticks) unsalted butter
- 1 1/2 cups dark chocolate unsweetened cocoa powder (or regular unsweetened cocoa powder)
- 4 cups all-purpose flour
- 4 cups sugar
- 1 Tbsp. baking soda
- 2 tsp. salt
- 4 large eggs
- 1 1/3 cups sour cream
For The Cream Cheese Frosting:
- 3 (8 oz.) bricks cream cheese, room temperature
- 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
- 1 Tbsp. vanilla extract
- 1/2 tsp. salt
- 6 cups powdered sugar
Instructions
To Make The Cake:
- Preheat oven to 350°F.
- Butter three 8-inch round cake pans with 2-inch-high sides, and line the bottoms of the pans with parchment paper. Butter paper.
- Bring the Guinness and 2 cups butter to simmer in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add cocoa powder and whisk until mixture is smooth and no lumps remain. Transfer the mixture to the freezer and let cool for 10 minutes.
- Meanwhile, whisk flour, sugar, baking soda, and 1 1/2 teaspoons salt in large bowl to blend.
- In a stand mixer, beat the eggs and sour cream on medium speed until combined. Add the slightly-cooled Guinness mixture to the egg mixture, and beat on low speed just until combined. Add flour mixture and beat briefly on slow speed for 10 seconds. Using rubber spatula, fold batter the rest of the way until completely combined. Divide batter equally among prepared pans. (I use a kitchen scale to be sure that the cakes are even.)
- Bake cakes until a toothpick inserted into center of cakes comes out clean, about 35-40 minutes. Transfer cakes (within their pans) to rack, and cool 10 minutes. Then carefully turn cakes out onto rack and cool completely. Frost with cream cheese frosting once cooled. Keep cake covered in a sealed container, and refrigerate for up to 3 days, although this cake is best enjoyed the day it is made!
To Make The Frosting:
- Using an electric mixer, cream together cream cheese and butter on medium speed for 1 minute or until smooth with no lumps remaining. Add in vanilla extract and salt, and continue mixing until combined. Lower speed to medium-low and gradually add in powdered sugar. Increase speed to medium-high and beat until combined. If frosting is too thick, you can add in a teaspoon or two of water. If it is too thin, you can add in more powdered sugar.
Notes
Cake recipe adapted slightly from Epicurious
I made this recipe for my family a year ago and it is now the most requested dessert that I make! Perfect balance of everything. Not too sweet. I laughed when you said it can last for 3 days, because we have never made it that long! It disappears!!
Just make this cake, it’s a sure winner!
This one didn’t work for me — split the batter between the three cake pans, like the recipe called for, and the pans were VERY full. It the rose quite a bit (unevenly too), and spilled over into the bottom of my oven. When it was finally cooked, the cakes didn’t come out of the pans well (I buttered generously and used parchment), and texture was very crumbly. Tastes great, but not an easy textured cake to work with.
*made lol
I have maded this cake a number of times and it is FABULOUS. It is dense, fudgy, moist, and super flavorful. Absolutely love it with the cream cheese frosting, but I could honestly eat it bare and be happy as a clam. I plan on making it again today for a birthday celebration this weekend- with chocolate frosting :) Possibly with salted caramel sauce on top? We’ll see.
For anyone interested in making this in advance, the last couple times I’ve made it, I baked the layers ahead of time, wrapped them in plastic wrap and stuck them in freezer bags after they cooled, and froze them. I find frozen cake layers SO much easier to frost, and this cake has frozen beautifully for me each time. Love this recipe, its my go to chocolate cake especially for birthdays.
Hello! I’m making this in a few days and I was wondering if you have any suggestions on making the layers with 9 inch round pans? Should I make more batter? How long do you think I should cook cakes for?
Hello there. I was wondering if this recipe could fit a 13×9 pan? Thank you
I halved the ingredients and it was perfect when I baked it in my 9×13 pan
How would you suggest reducing the sugar content for someone pre-diabetic? With Stevia or xylitol?
Thanks,
Carole
Hi Carole! Unfortunately we’re not familiar enough with Stevia or Xylitol, and haven’t experimented with anything like that in this recipe. Additionally, we’d be afraid to make any suggestions since we aren’t dietitians or medical professionals. We would definitely recommend checking out Carolyn’s blog though — she works with those ingredients all the time and is an excellent baker! We hope this helps.
This is the second time I’ve made this cake. It is wonderful, but definitely takes more than a half an hour to make. So worth it though!!
We’re so glad you enjoy it, Jeanice!
Hi!
Is it possible to bake the cake in advance and freeze it (without the frosting)?
Thanks
Hi Marilyne! Yes, you can definitely do that! We hope you enjoy!
If I wanted to adapt these to be cupcakes, do you know how I’d adjust the baking time and temp? Any other considerations I’d need to take into account?
Hi Lauren! For cupcakes, they’ll still bake at 350, but should only need about 15-20 min in the oven (test them with a toothpick at the 15 min. mark). We hope this helps, and that you enjoy them! :)