Cocoa-Stout Cake with Malted Buttercream
Chocolate, stout and malt are a match made in heaven in this strikingly tall two-layer cake. Rich and dark with soft carbonation, stouts can range from sweet to dry with big roasty-toasty notes. Expect notes of chocolate, sweet caramel or bitter coffee—all of which work beautifully with the cocoa powder and malted milk in our layer cake. If needed, you can use 9-inch (23-cm) cake pans, trimming a few minutes from the bake time.
Ingredients
For the cake:
- 1 1/2 cups (12 fl. oz./375 ml) stout or porter beer
- 12 Tbs. (1 1/2 sticks) (6 oz./180 g) unsalted butter
- 2 1/4 cups (14 1/2 oz./450 g) sugar
- 1 cup (3 oz./90 g) unsweetened cocoa powder
- 2 1/2 cups (10 oz./315 g) all-purpose flour
- 2 tsp. baking powder
- 1 tsp. baking soda
- 1 tsp. kosher salt
- 3/4 cup (6 oz./180 g) sour cream
- 3 eggs
- 1 Tbs. vanilla extract
For the malted buttercream:
- 8 Tbs. (1 stick) (4 oz./125 g) unsalted butter, softened
- 1/3 cup (1 1/2 oz./45 g) malted milk powder
- 1/4 tsp. kosher salt
- 4 cups (1 lb./480 g) confectioners’ sugar
- 4 to 5 Tbs. (2 to 2 1/2 fl. oz./60 to 75 ml) stout beer
Directions
Preheat an oven to 350°F (180°C). Spray two 8-inch (20-cm) tall-sided round cake pans with baking spray with flour.
In a large saucepan over medium-low heat, warm the beer and butter together until the butter is melted. Remove from the heat, then whisk in the sugar and cocoa powder.
In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Set aside.
In a medium bowl, whisk together the sour cream, eggs and vanilla until combined. Add the sour cream mixture to the beer mixture and whisk until combined.
Add the beer–sour cream mixture to the flour mixture and whisk until smooth.
Divide the batter evenly between the prepared pans. Bake until a wooden toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean, 32 to 36 minutes. Transfer the pans to wire racks and let cool for 10 minutes. Turn the cakes out on the wire racks and let cool completely before frosting.
To make the malted buttercream, in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the flat beater, beat the butter, malted milk powder and salt on medium speed until combined. Beat in the confectioners’ sugar 1 cup (4 oz./120 g) at a time, alternating with the beer and beating until smooth after each addition, adding just enough beer to make the buttercream a spreadable consistency.
To assemble the cake, place 1 cake layer on a serving platter or cake stand and spread some of the buttercream on the top. Place the second layer on top of the first and spread some of the frosting on top. Spread the remaining frosting in a thin layer on the sides of the cake. Cut into slices and serve. Makes one 8-inch (20-cm) cake; serves 8.
Recipe credit: Hoffman Media
