Recipe??

Sorry about that -
here is Nigella Lawson's recipe:

For the cake:
1 cup Guinness
1 stick plus 2 two tablespoons unsalted butter
3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa
2 cups superfine sugar
3/4 cup sour cream
2 eggs
1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract
2 cups all-purpose flour
2-1/2 tsp. baking soda

For the topping:
8 oz. cream cheese, at room temperature
1-1/4 cups confectioners sugar
1/2 cup heavy cream.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F and butter and line a 9-inch springform pan. Pour the Guinness into a large wide saucepan, add the butter - in spoons or slices - and heat until the butter is melted, at which time you should whisk in the cocoa and sugar. Beat the sour cream with the eggs and vanilla and then pour into the brown, buttery, beery pan and finally whisk in the flour and baking soda.

Pour the cake batter into the greased and lined pan and bake for 45 minutes to an hour. Leave to cool completely in the pan on a cooling rack, as it is quite a damp cake.

When the cake's cold, sit it on a flat platter or cake stand and get on with the frosting. Lightly whip the cream cheese until smooth, sift over the confectioner's sugar and then beat them both together. Or do this in a processor, putting the unsifted confectioner's sugar in first and blitz to remove lumps before adding the cheese.

Add the cream and beat again until it makes a spreadable consistency. Ice the top of the black cake so that it resembles the frothy top of the famous pint.

There are other recipes identical to this but use 2 8 inch layers - which I would like to do.

Pat

I meant to add that I also found this cake recipe with a chocolate icing, and a couple with a ganache, another version was a single layer with powdered sugar on top.

I'm leaning toward the cream cheese, but am open to suggestions!
Pat

What does it taste like? Sounds interesting to me....
I also lean to cream cheese frosting....perhaps with grated orange? Orange and chocolate are wonderful, and cream cheese frosting is good on your shoe!
I may have to make it just because I can't imagine what it would taste like.
Linda C

Pat, check out this womans's blog:
http://www.judyskitchen.blogspot.com/
Go half way down the page, she made this cake, I just found it over the weekend and thought it looked interesting!
Gina

Please make it , Linda !! bostonpat won't taste hers since she's going to give it away, lol.....
it does sound like a chocolate lover's dream come true.

Oh this sounds great and I have everything in the house including the Guiness! Guess what I will be making this afternoon....

Alexa

Oh I'll get to taste it - the cake is for our lunchtime office party - we are all chocolate freaks.

Every review I have read of this recipe (and it's variations) has been a rave.

I made that last year (I think) and it was ummmm...interesting. It was good, but you could definitely taste the maltiness? yeastiness? of the beer. I got the recipe from Southern Living's August or September issue, 2007.

The recipe I had used a boxed gingerbread mix (I know), and I had to give it a try just for giggles.

I posted about it on my blog...

Here is a link that might be useful: Guinness Cake

Update.....
SUCCESS!
I made the cake in 2 layers , it does come out quite moist and dense. If you do make it, let it sit in the pan until quite cool unless you put some parchment paper in the bottom . I did cut the circles out from the parchment, but I was so preoccupied I didn't use them, thankfully I did grease the pans with butter and dusted them with cocoa and they came out with just a smidge from one layer left stuck to the pan. I used some Polaner All Fruit - Raspberry in between the layers and frosted the whole cake with a ganache using Trader Joe's Dark Chocolate. I flavored the ganache with a tablespoon or two of Framboise liqueur, I couldn't taste it, but others could. I placed fresh raspberries on the top. The cake was quite rich and dense and was a HUGE Hit - my boss loved it.
This cake was not as sweet as your traditional chocolate cake and the Guinness leant a nice nutty flavor. I am not a big fan of dark chocolate and felt that the ganache tasted bitter, my co-workers who like/love dark chocolate raved about the ganache. The all fruit layer worked well - as a matter of fact it was good!
When I make it again I won't use the dark chocolate for the ganache - unless I make it for my Boss - he took the little left over home.
I'd also try some fresh whipped cream.
Pat

It made it for hubby's birthday this year. I used a highly rated recipe on Epicurious and did it in a bundt pan. Hubby loves chocolate and Guinness so I figured it couldn't miss. It's dense and rich, almost like a sweet bread. It doesn't have the dark chocolate taste that I expected (and love). We ate it and liked it but if I was going to make the effort to make a cake I'd rather do a plain dark chocolate with ganache.