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How to Work with Chocolate
Recipe
4 hr 45 min

Chocolate Stout Bundt Cake

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Chocolate Stout Bundt Cake
Author: America's Test Kitchen

Recipe By America's Test Kitchen

Published on July 31, 2024

Wine or beer and chocolate pairings have become as popular as cheese pairings, and stout, in particular, tastes great with chocolate—it has notes of chocolate itself, after all.

Time

4 hr 45 min

Yield

Serves 12

Why This Recipe Works

We wanted to take the chocolate off the plate and the beer out of the flight glass and bring the two together in a fine-crumbed, moist, rich chocolate cake enhanced by the slightly bitter, malty, roasted flavors of stout. A Bundt cake seemed like the right choice as it could also be an attractive vehicle for displaying a chocolate-stout glaze, which we knew would boost the flavor of the cake itself. We used both bittersweet chocolate and cocoa powder, dissolving them in boiling stout to bloom their flavor. Brown sugar and sour cream both provided moisture and the latter contributed a subtle tang that enlivened the other flavors. Coating the Bundt pan with a paste made from cocoa and melted butter ensured a clean release from the pan's ridges. We cut some of the heavy cream from the glaze with beer to give our cake a substantial glossy coating with a real hit of stout.

Ingredients

Cake

¾ cup (2¼ ounces/64 grams) natural unsweetened cocoa powder, plus 1 tablespoon for pan
12 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened, plus 1 tablespoon melted, for pan
¾ cup stout, such as Guinness
6 ounces (170 grams) bittersweet chocolate, chopped
1 cup sour cream
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
1¾ cups (8¾ ounces/248 grams) all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon table salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
2 cups packed (14 ounces/397 grams) light brown sugar
5 large eggs, room temperature

Glaze

6 ounces (170 grams) bittersweet chocolate, chopped
½ cup heavy cream
¼ cup stout, such as Guinness

Instructions

Cook along with these step-by-step instructions

step 1 imagestep 2 imagestep 3 imagestep 4 image

    CAKE

  1. Adjust oven rack to lower-middle position and heat oven to 350 degrees. Stir 1 tablespoon cocoa and melted butter into paste in small bowl. Using pastry brush, thoroughly coat interior of 12-cup nonstick Bundt pan with paste.
  2. Microwave stout, chocolate, and remaining ¾ cup cocoa in bowl at 50 percent power, stirring occasionally, until melted and smooth, about 3 minutes. Let chocolate mixture cool for 5 minutes, then whisk in sour cream and vanilla.
  3. Whisk flour, salt, and baking soda together in second bowl. Using stand mixer fitted with paddle, beat remaining 12 tablespoons butter and sugar on medium-high speed until pale and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add eggs, one at a time, and beat until combined. Reduce speed to low and add flour mixture in 3 additions, alternating with chocolate mixture in 2 additions, scraping down sides of bowl as needed. Give batter final stir by hand.
  4. Transfer batter to prepared pan and smooth top with rubber spatula. Bake until skewer inserted in center comes out clean, 45 to 50 minutes, rotating pan halfway through baking.
  5. Let cake cool in pan on wire rack for 10 minutes. Invert cake onto wire rack set in rimmed baking sheet, remove pan, and let cool completely, about 3 hours.

    6. GLAZE

  6. Microwave chocolate, cream, and stout in bowl at 50 percent power, stirring occasionally, until melted and smooth, about 3 minutes; let cool for 30 minutes. Drizzle glaze over cake and let set for at least 15 minutes before serving.

My Rating

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Chocolate Stout Bundt Cake

Recipe By America's Test Kitchen

Published on July 31, 2024

Time

4 hr 45 min

Yield

Serves 12

Chocolate Stout Bundt Cake

Ingredients

Cake

¾ cup (2¼ ounces/64 grams) natural unsweetened cocoa powder, plus 1 tablespoon for pan12 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened, plus 1 tablespoon melted, for pan¾ cup stout, such as Guinness6 ounces (170 grams) bittersweet chocolate, chopped1 cup sour cream1 tablespoon vanilla extract1¾ cups (8¾ ounces/248 grams) all-purpose flour1 teaspoon table salt1 teaspoon baking soda2 cups packed (14 ounces/397 grams) light brown sugar5 large eggs, room temperature

Glaze

6 ounces (170 grams) bittersweet chocolate, chopped½ cup heavy cream¼ cup stout, such as Guinness

Instructions

    CAKE

  1. Adjust oven rack to lower-middle position and heat oven to 350 degrees. Stir 1 tablespoon cocoa and melted butter into paste in small bowl. Using pastry brush, thoroughly coat interior of 12-cup nonstick Bundt pan with paste.
  2. Microwave stout, chocolate, and remaining ¾ cup cocoa in bowl at 50 percent power, stirring occasionally, until melted and smooth, about 3 minutes. Let chocolate mixture cool for 5 minutes, then whisk in sour cream and vanilla.
  3. Whisk flour, salt, and baking soda together in second bowl. Using stand mixer fitted with paddle, beat remaining 12 tablespoons butter and sugar on medium-high speed until pale and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add eggs, one at a time, and beat until combined. Reduce speed to low and add flour mixture in 3 additions, alternating with chocolate mixture in 2 additions, scraping down sides of bowl as needed. Give batter final stir by hand.
  4. Transfer batter to prepared pan and smooth top with rubber spatula. Bake until skewer inserted in center comes out clean, 45 to 50 minutes, rotating pan halfway through baking.
  5. Let cake cool in pan on wire rack for 10 minutes. Invert cake onto wire rack set in rimmed baking sheet, remove pan, and let cool completely, about 3 hours.

    6. GLAZE

  6. Microwave chocolate, cream, and stout in bowl at 50 percent power, stirring occasionally, until melted and smooth, about 3 minutes; let cool for 30 minutes. Drizzle glaze over cake and let set for at least 15 minutes before serving.
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