Chocolate Stout Cake

Name: Chocolate Stout Cake
Prep time: 25 min
Cook time: 1 h
Total time: 1 h 25 min
Yield: 12 servings
Cuisine: Irish
Ingredients: 250 ml Irish stout; 225 g butter, cubed; 60 g cocoa powder; 350 g caster sugar; 150 ml soured cream; 2 eggs; 2 tsp vanilla extract; 250 g plain flour; 2 tsp bicarbonate of soda; 250 g full-fat cream cheese, cold; 125 g icing sugar, sifted; 100 ml double cream

A dark, moist chocolate cake made with Irish stout and topped with a creamy white frosting, so it looks like a pint with a head on it.

By Author name, role and credentials: owner to supply

Published 8 November 2026

AI assistance: the introduction, ingredient list, method, tips and FAQ on this page were drafted with an AI writing tool, working from long-established traditional methods. Named editor who reviewed it: owner to supply How we work

Prep: 25 min
Cook: 50 min to 1 hr
Total: 1 hr 15 min to 1 hr 25 min
Makes: 12 servings
Difficulty: Easy
Course: Cake
Cuisine: Irish

Times leave out cooling the cake completely before frosting, which takes at least an hour.

Jump to recipe

A slice of dark chocolate stout cake with a thick white cream cheese topping — Photo: Andy Li via Wikimedia Commons, CC0

Irish stout gives this chocolate cake a deep, slightly bitter edge that keeps it from being too sweet, and it makes the crumb wonderfully moist. You will not taste beer, just a richer chocolate.

The cream cheese frosting goes on top only, like the head on a pint.

Ingredients

12 servings

Cake

250 ml Irish stout
225 g butter, cubed
60 g cocoa powder
350 g caster sugar
150 ml soured cream
2 eggs
2 tsp vanilla extract
250 g plain flour
2 tsp bicarbonate of soda

Frosting

250 g full-fat cream cheese, cold
125 g icing sugar, sifted
100 ml double cream

Equipment

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Small saucepanHow to chooseShop on Amazon(affiliate link, opens in a new tab)
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Large mixing bowlHow to chooseShop on Amazon(affiliate link, opens in a new tab)

Method

Cake

1
Heat the oven to 180°C / 160°C fan / gas 4 / 350°F. Grease a 23 cm springform tin and line the base with baking paper.
2
Warm the stout and butter in a large saucepan until the butter melts. Take off the heat and whisk in the cocoa and sugar.
3
Whisk the soured cream, eggs and vanilla together, then whisk into the pan.
4
Sift in the flour and bicarbonate of soda and whisk until smooth. The batter will be quite runny. Pour into the tin.
5
Bake for 50–60 minutes, until risen and a skewer pushed into the middle comes out clean. Cool completely in the tin; the top may dip slightly as it cools.

Frosting

1
Beat the cream cheese and icing sugar until smooth, then add the cream and beat until thick enough to spread. Spread over the top of the cold cake only.

Tips

A springform tin makes releasing this soft cake easy, and a palette knife gives a neat finish. For more Irish baking, try barmbrack or Irish apple cake.

Storage and leftovers

Frosted cake: the topping contains cream cheese and cream, so keep the cake covered in the fridge and take it out a little before serving. Unfrosted cake: keeps well wrapped in an airtight tin for a couple of days.

If it goes wrong

Problem	Likely cause	Fix
Sunk badly in the middle	Underbaked or oven door opened early	Bake until a skewer comes out clean, and leave the door closed for the first 40 minutes
Frosting runny	Overbeaten, or cake still warm	Chill the frosting for 20 minutes and only frost a cold cake
Cake stuck to the tin	Tin not greased and lined	Line the base and run a knife round the edge before releasing

Frequently asked questions

Can you taste the stout?

Not as beer. It deepens the chocolate flavour and adds a slight bitterness that balances the sugar.

Is there alcohol in the cake?

Some alcohol can remain after baking, so bear that in mind when serving children or anyone avoiding alcohol.

Can I freeze chocolate stout cake?

Freeze it unfrosted, well wrapped, then defrost and frost on the day.

Guides for this recipe

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Stacked cream-coloured ceramic mixing bowls

Buying guide

Mixing Bowls: Glass, Steel or Ceramic?

Buying guide

Whisks: Balloon, Flat or Silicone?

Copper pans and a kettle on an old kitchen range

Kitchen design

Copper Pans in the Kitchen: Cooking, Display and Care

A small stainless steel saucepan with a lid

Buying guide

Saucepans: Stainless, Non-Stick or Copper?

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Card photos: Stacked cream-coloured ceramic mixing bowls, RLiverpool2021 via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0, cropped; Balloon, spiral and ball whisks, Marie-Lan Nguyen via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 2.5, cropped; Copper pans and a kettle on an old kitchen range, Silar via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0, cropped; A small stainless steel saucepan with a lid, Cooks & Kitchens from Darlington, UK via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 2.0, cropped; Sliced boiled bacon with cabbage and a creamy white sauce, Miss Ayumi via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 2.0, cropped; A barmbrack cut open to show the dried fruit inside, Solo Beckett via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0, cropped; A bowl of Irish beef stew with potatoes, beside a pint of Guinness, User:Jpatokal via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0, cropped. All credits: image credits.