Chocolate Stout Cake | Hi-Wire Brewing

As if we needed another reason to eat more chocolate! This chocolate stout cake is the perfect marriage of chocolate and beer — two of our favorite things in the world.

It’s exactly how you’d imagine a rich, decadent, chocolate cake tasting: intensely chocolatey and not overly sweet with the perfect denseness. If you’re hosting a dinner with friends (or you just want an excuse to celebrate) this cake is party ready!

What Does a Stout do in Baking?

Have you ever cooked with beer? If you haven’t, you’ve just discovered your new secret weapon. For starters, beer’s soft carbonation helps breads and cakes rise, leaving them fluffier and more moist.

Secondly (and probably most importantly,) beer ramps up flavor. With dark beers, like stouts in particular, you get a nice mix of tasting notes that range from chocolate, sweet caramel, and bitter coffee — all of which work exceptionally well with cocoa. Hence this decadent recipe!

The Cake

1 cup of your favorite Hi-Wire stout
10 tablespoons unsalted butter
¾ cup unsweetened cocoa powder
2 cups sugar
¾ cup sour cream
2 eggs
1 tablespoon vanilla
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 ½ teaspoons baking soda
½ teaspoon salt

The Icing

1 ¼ cups confectioners’ sugar
8 oz cream cheese (room temperature)
½ cup heavy whipping cream
Chocolate shavings (optional)

Recipe inspired by Nigella Lawson

How to Make it

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Butter a 9-inch pan and line with parchment paper.
In a large saucepan, combine stout beer and butter. Place over low heat until butter melts, then remove from heat. Add cocoa and sugar and whisk to blend.
In a small bowl, combine sour cream, eggs and vanilla, and mix well. Add to the stout mixture.
Add flour, salt, and baking soda and whisk again until smooth consistency. Pour into buttered pan and bake for 45 minutes to 1 hour (should be risen and firm).
Set cake aside and let it cool completely in the pan
For the icing, mix confectioners sugar and cream cheese and blend until smooth. Add heavy whipping cream and blend until smooth.
Remove cake from pan and ice the top of the cake.

3 Hi-Wire Brewing Favorites to Perfect Your Chocolate Stout Cake

Can you ever go wrong with beer and chocolate? We think not. And this recipe proves our point!

Stouts come packed with all kinds of rich flavors, and here at Hi-Wire Brewing, we like to get creative with what goes into our craft brews. If you already have a favorite Hi-Wire stout, by all means feel free to use it! But if you want to weigh your options and try something new, here are three of our favorites that will knock your socks off.

#1. 10W-40 Imperial Stout

An Imperial Stout with huge notes of dark chocolate, fresh vanilla, and roasted coffee beans. This decadent stout is full-bodied, sweet, and creamy with a smooth finish (not motor oil).

#2. Strongman Coffee Milk Stout

Inspired by our head brewer’s cafe con leche-fueled travels in Key West, this is a milk stout with some kick. Local coffee from Dynamite Roasting Co. is cold-extracted and added post fermentation to this sweet, creamy beer.

#3. Chocolate Taco 10W-40 Imperial Stout

Inspired by an ice cream truck classic, we bring you a Frankenstein dessert that dares to combine a chocolate-dipped waffle cone with a taco. This batch of 10W-40 Imperial Stout is brewed with chocolate, vanilla, lactose, and waffles. It’s a full-bodied dark delight that sports all the decadent flavors of our now-famous stout accentuated by the nostalgic biscuit and caramel flavors present in homemade waffles.

Looking for Hi-Wire Brewing Beer Near You?

If this recipe has you excited and amped up to do some baking, check out our beer finder to pick up some of these craft brews near you. If baking isn’t your thing, that’s cool too! You can sip on these delicious stouts at one of our taprooms.

It’s all about Good Beers and Good Times. We’ll see you soon!