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Vegan Guinness chocolate cake on a cake stand with a can of Guinness.
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Vegan Guinness Chocolate Cake

Vegan Guinness chocolate cake - this intensely chocolatey layer cake is moist, rich and delicious. It has a deep flavour thanks to the addition of Guinness which gives it a malty, almost bitter tang and prevents it from being overly sweet. Paired with a rich Guinness ganache and whiskey buttercream this is a cake just for grown-ups!
Course Dessert
Cuisine British
Keyword cake
Prep Time 30 minutes
Cook Time 30 minutes
Servings 12 people
Author Domestic Gothess

Ingredients

Cakes:

  • 160 ml (⅔ cup) neutral oil ( I use sunflower)
  • 240 ml (1 cup) Guinness
  • 180 g (¾ cup) unsweetened non-dairy yogurt (I use soy)
  • 1 teaspoon vinegar
  • 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
  • 150 g (¾ cup) light brown soft sugar
  • 150 g (¾ cup) caster sugar
  • 280 g (2 ¼ cups) plain (all-purpose )flour
  • 80 g (¾ cup) cocoa powder (dutch processed)
  • 2 teaspoons baking powder
  • ½ teaspoon bicarbonate of soda (baking soda)
  • ¼ teaspoon salt

Ganache:

  • 150 g (5 ½ oz) dark chocolate (70% cocoa) finely chopped
  • 100 ml (⅓ cup + 4 teaspoons) vegan cream (I use Elmlea double)
  • 60 ml (¼ cup) Guinness
  • 10 g (2 teaspoons) vegan butter melted

Buttercream:

  • 85 g (⅓ cup + 1 teaspoon) vegan block butter (NOT the spreadable kind. I use Naturli Vegan Block) cold
  • 200 g (1 + ⅔ cup) icing (powdered) sugar sifted
  • 2 teaspoons whiskey

Instructions

  • Preheat the oven to 180°/160°C fan/350°F/gas mark 4. Grease and line two 20 cm/8 in round cake tins.
  • Whisk together the oil, Guinness, yogurt, vinegar, vanilla and sugars in a large bowl until smooth.
  • Sift together the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, bicarbonate of soda, and salt.
  • Add the dry ingredients to the wet and stir with a balloon whisk until no dry lumps remain.
  • Divide the batter evenly between the tins. Bake for about 30 minutes until a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean.
  • Leave the cakes to cool in the tins for 10 minutes then carefully turn them out onto a wire rack and leave to cool completely.
  • To make the ganache, place the chopped chocolate in a heatproof bowl. Heat the cream and Guinness together in a pan until almost simmering but don't let it come to the boil.
  • Pour the cream over the chocolate, let stand for 5 minutes then stir gently until smooth. Stir in the melted butter. Set aside until it becomes thick and spreadable. If you accidentally leave it too long and it becomes too thick, you can gently re-warm it over a pan of hot water (don't let the base of the bowl touch the water).
  • Meanwhile make the buttercream. Whisk the butter, icing sugar and whiskey together with an electric mixer until light and fluffy.
  • To assemble the cake, trim the tops of the cakes to level them if necessary. Place one cake layer on a cake stand or serving platter and spread over the buttercream. Place the other cake layer on top and spread over the ganache.

Notes

  • All of my recipes are developed using grams, and as with all of my baking recipes I really do recommend using the metric measurements with a digital scale rather than the cup coversions. Cups are a wildly inaccurate measuring system and you will get far better, more consistent results using a scale, not to mention that it is also easier and less messy than cups!
  • See post above for tips, details and step-by-step photos.