let them eat cake..

Hello there, sorry I haven't posted in a while, it's been a hectic week. My parents' birthday was last weekend. Yes, both of theirs. Mum's on Friday and Dad's on Saturday, talk about convenient. I baked them one cake to share. They didn't mind, there were plenty to go around.

This is how it came to be. All week I was looking for the perfect cake recipe for my folks' birthday. Now my experience in baking is limited to cookies and the occasional cupcake, never have I attempted the arduous process of making a full size cake, for the purpose of a birthday celebration no less. There was no screwing this up. I needed a simple yet gratifying, in every sense of the word, recipe to work with. So I looked and I looked then I googled and looked some more but alas, no cake. Everything was either too much hassle or not enough, meaning boring, but just as I was about to do the walk of shame to the nearest bakery, this little baby fell from the sky. Ok, popped into my inbox, but by no means any less heaven-sent. It's the best birthday cake recipe I've ever attempted. Ok the only birthday cake recipe I've ever attempted but the first of many I'm sure.

When I first read the recipe and saw Guinness on the ingredient list, I was sold, no questions asked. I mean what's not to love about a cake that listed my favourite stout as one of its main component. Oh right, there's no photos of the full size cake because I'm afraid that won't do this recipe much justice. I mean I really should work on my frosting skills.

Cake
adapted from thehungrymouse.com

• 1 cup Guinness
• 1 cup butter + more for greasing the pans
• 3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
• 150 gr of bittersweet chocolate, chopped
• 2 cups flour
• 2 cups sugar
• 1/2 Tbsp. baking soda
• 3/4 tsp. salt
• 2 eggs, separated
• 3/4 cup sour cream

Firstly, put the butter in a heavy-bottomed pan along with the cup of Guinness and set it to medium low heat. Put the chocolate in and stir it in the butter until its completely melted. Add the cocoa powder into the mixture and whisk while on the heat. When it's well mixed turn the heat off and let it cool down to room temperature.

While it's cooling, combine the flour, sugar, baking soda and salt in a bowl. Mix well and set aside. Beat the egg yolks with the sour cream in a stand in mixer. Pour the cooled chocolate/butter mixture slowly while the whole thing is whisking.

At this point, combine the flour mixture with the chocolate mixture and fold well. Whisk the egg whites until stiff peaks and fold it into the batter. Be careful not to overfold, just until no more white streaks is visible.

Finally, top 2 9-inch cake pans with parchment paper and divide the batter equally. Bake in a preheated 350 Fahrenheit (180 Celsius) oven for about 30 minutes.

Chocolate Filling

• 50 gr bittersweet chocolate, chopped
• 1/4 cup heavy cream
• 1/2 cup heavy cream, whipped
• 1 1/2 tbsp cocoa powder

In a heavy-bottomed pan, heat the heavy cream along with chocolate. Stir until chocolate has melted and add the cocoa powder. Let cool to room temperature before combining with the whipped cream.

Chocolate Fudge Glaze

• 100 gr butter
• 100 gr bittersweet chocolate
• 3 tbsp corn syrup 

In a heavy-bottomed pan, melt the butter along with the chocolate. Mix well before adding the corn syrup. Then let cool to room temp before using.

Frosting

This bit is optional. Given the richness of the cake and the glaze, the frosting might be a lil much for some people. Having said that however, I've toned down the butter and sugar in this recipe, it's  so I don't think it'll be a problem. But then again, that's just me, decadence is my middle name. If you don't have that big of a sweet tooth however, trust me, skip the buttercream frosting.

• 1 1/4 cup confectioner sugar
• 65 grams butter
• 1/4 cup heavy cream
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Whisk the sugar and butter until both are thoroughly combined before adding the cream and the vanilla. Whisk the whole thing, adding more cream if necessary for spreading consistency.

Assembly

At this point, all your ingredients should be cooled down and ready to assemble. Firstly, cut one of the cake into two thin, even layers.

photos courtesy of thehungrymouse.com

Once it's sliced, spread half of the fillings onto the bottom layer. Take your still-whole cake and place it on top of the bottom layer. Spread the rest of the filling on top and finish the layer with the other half of the sliced cake. Now this is much easier said than done. The cakes are extremely fragile and they might fall apart but you shouldn't worry too much, remember everything is going to be covered with frosting and fudge.

Gently spread your frosting over the cake as evenly as you can. Chill in the fridge for 30-45 minutes. Once the frosting is set, slowly pour the fudge over the cake, letting it dribble down the sides. At this point you can go ahead and serve or pop the cake in the fridge allowing the fudge to set.

Yield: one 9-inch cake.