Cake

CAKE, CHOCOLATE, DESSERT, RECIPES
CHOCOLATE STOUT CAKE

I tend to like adventurous ingredients and when I hopped over to Smitten Kitchen for a dessert recipe and saw that this cake had beer in it,well my decision was made right then and there. Coincidentally, I”m not a fan of beer and can count on 1 hand the number of beers I’ve consumed in my lifetime, but one commenter at SmittenKitchen described the nutty flavor the stout added to the cake and I wanted in.
In the case of a “secret” ingredient, I don’t offer up that ingredient right away. I know a few people that wouldn’t touchsomething that they thought had something “strange” in it. However, Marc took great pleasure in telling everyone that this cake had beer in it. Of course, he mentioned I used Guiness, which is a bit morereassuring than imagining Budweiser in a cake. We brought the cake to a gathering of about 60  and the people that tried it seemed to enjoy it. I personally really loved it and was happy to finally makea cake from scratch that was as moist as cake from a box mix, but had a deeper and more interesting chocolate flavor. Exactly what I’ve been looking for. Do you taste a bit of Guiness? Sure, a bit,but as the commenter said, it just imparts some nuttiness. For the ganache, I substituted instant espresso for instant coffee because I had it on hand and even though I used less, it had a distinctcoffee flavor and I was looking to only enhance the chocolate flavor. I’m posting the further altered recipe that I will try next time.
CHOCOLATE STOUT CAKE
Slightly adapted from Smitten Kitchen
1 C.stout (I used Guiness)
1 C.  unsalted butter (2 sticks)
3/4 C. unsweetened cocoa powder, preferably Dutch-processed (I used Droste)
2 C. all purpose flour
2 C. sugar
1 1/2 t. baking soda
1 t.salt
2 large eggs
2/3 C. sour cream (I used light)
6 oz. good semi-sweet chocolate chips (I used Ghirardelli)
6 T. heavy cream
1/4 t. instant espresso
Cake
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees....