St. Patrick's Day is almost upon us and what better way to celebrate than with boozy, Irish-inspired desserts? This decadent chocolate Bundt cake gets an extra layer of complexity with the inclusion of rich stout beer. While Guinness is possibly the most famous stout in the world, there's a huge variety available from Murphy's Stout, made in Cork, Ireland, to North Coast Brewing Co.'s Old Rasputin Russian Imperial stout, one of my favorite stouts to bake with. It has a delightfully robust malt character supported by dark cherry and chocolate aromas that come through nicely in the cake. Avoid using a milk stout for this recipe, as they contain non-fermentable lactose sugars which can result in a cake that is cloyingly sweet.
Trifles are traditional throughout the U.K. and their creation undoubtedly came about as a means to use up leftover cake. Various spirits are used. In England sweet sherry is often used, but in Ireland and Scotland whisky is the preferred choice. Use a large attractive glass bowl with straight sides or make individual trifles in stemware or glass jars.
Chocolate stout cake
For the cake:
1 cup stout beer
2 sticks unsalted butter
¾ cup cocoa powder
2 cups sugar
¾ teaspoon baking powder
¼ teaspoon soda
1 teaspoon kosher salt
2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup sour cream
2 eggs, well beaten
For the icing:
4 ounces cream cheese
½ cup powdered sugar
3 tablespoons half and half
All ingredients should be at room temperature. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Thoroughly butter a 10-12 cup Bundt pan. Combine the stout, butter and cocoa in a heat -proof bowl or saucepan and heat until the butter melts, then whisk until smooth and let cool for 15 minutes. In a separate mixing bowl, whisk together the baking powder and soda, salt and flour. Pour the stout mixture into the mixing bowl with the dry ingredients and mix gently until thoroughly combined. Use the bowl you heated the butter and beer in to whisk together the sour cream and eggs, then thoroughly mix into the batter.
Scrape the mixture into the prepared Bundt pan and smooth the top with spatula, then transfer the pan to the preheated oven. Bake for 45-55 minutes, until a skewer inserted into the middle of the cake comes out clean. Cool for 5 minutes before inverting the cake onto a wire rack to finish cooling.
While the cake cools, make the icing by beating together the cream cheese, powdered sugar and cream. Add more cream as necessary to achieve a drizzly consistency. When the cake has cooled completely, pour the icing slowly around the top of the cake, allowing it to drip down the sides.
This cake is even better the next day and will keep, covered, for about three or four days, if it lasts that long.
Irish whisky trifle
1 day-old pound cake, about 12 ounces
Irish whisky, to taste
Chilled custard sauce, recipe below
Raspberry puree, recipe below
1 cup chilled whipping cream
2 tablespoons sugar
2 cups fresh raspberries, washed and gently dried
¼ cup lightly toasted almonds
Sprinkle the cake cubes with whisky, using just enough to moisten the cake. Be careful not to use so much that the cake becomes soggy. Put half the cake cubes in the bottom of a trifle dish or glass serving bowl and drizzle with the raspberry puree. Cover with half of the custard sauce and sprinkle half the fresh raspberries. Repeat with another layer of cake, puree and custard.
Whip the chilled cream with the sugar until it forms firm peaks, then spoon the whipped cream over the custard. Refrigerate for at least 30 minutes and up to 12 hours ahead of serving.
Just before serving, drizzle with the remaining raspberry sauce and garnish with the remaining raspberry sauce and nuts.
Custard sauce
1 cup whole milk
1 cup heavy cream
4 egg yolks
¼ cup sugar
A pinch of salt
1 tablespoon vanilla
1 tablespoon Irish whisky, optional
Heat the milk to a simmer over medium heat in a saucepan. Whisk the eggs, sugar and salt in a mixing bowl. Whisking the eggs constantly, very slowly pour half the milk mixture into the egg mixture (Place the mixing bowl on a ring of rolled up dish towel to help stabilize it.) Then pour this tempered egg milk mixture into the remaining milk in the saucepan. Cook over medium heat, whisking constantly until the mixture coats the back of a spoon. (Do not boil.) Stir in the vanilla and whisky, if using, then pour through a fine meshed sieve into a heat-proof bowl. Place the bowl in an ice bath to chill. When thoroughly chilled, cover the surface of the custard with plastic wrap and refrigerate until ready to use.
Raspberry purée
12 ounces frozen raspberries, thawed
½ cup sugar
Purée the berries and sugar in a blender or food processor until the sugar is dissolved. Strain through a fine mesh sieve and refrigerate until ready to use.
