A Birthday Cake àlà Beer?

The genesis of this cake starts with a boy. Very sweetly, he has been talking up my cake baking skills to his friends and offered that I make a birthday cake for his friend visiting Seattle this weekend. (It’s pretty nice to be talked up. I like to brag about the boy’s much-improved towel hanging ability, but that is another story. Seriously, he is kind of amazing dishwasher among other things.)

I don’t claim to have professional baking skills. I classify myself as a more of an amateur experimenter who just kind of loves to bake. My mom advised this might not be the best time to try something new so of course I wanted to… sorry, Mom.  I  scoured the web for comments on what others said made good cakes for someone from out of town, that you have never met, that apparently is the nicest person in the world, that really deservers something special for their birthday. No pressure… Whew. Thank God for Al Gore inventing the Internet.

I read a great article about a stout chocolate cake from the Barrington Brewery in Massachusetts. I used this recipe as a basis for the cake, then added my “Seattle touch” with a filling based on Starbucks Italian Roast.

* Ingredients *
For the cake...
2 cups butter
2 cups stout beer
1 1/2 cups Dutch process cocoa powder
4 cups sugar
4 cups flour
1 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon baking soda
1 1/3 cup sour cream
4 eggs

For the filling...

2 ounces unsweetened bakers chocolate, chopped
1/2 cup butter
6 tablespoons whole milk
3 1/2 cups powdered sugar
1 packet Starbucks VIA instant espresso powder

For the frosting...
2 cups heavy whipping cream
5 tablespoons granulated sugar
1/2 cup Dutch process cocoa powder
2 teaspoons vanilla 
Dark chocolate shavings for a topping.

* Instructions *
For the cake...
1.  Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease three 10 inch cake pans.
2.  Bring butter and stout beer to a simmer in a large saucepan. Whisk in cocoa and stir until well-combined.
3.  Sift sugar, flour, salt and baking soda.
4.  In an electric mixer, beat sour cream and eggs together. Pour in cocoa mixture. Slowly mix in flour mixture.
5.  Divide batter between 3 pans evenly. Bake for 40 minutes. Cool in pans for 10 minutes and then turn out on wire racks until completely cool.

For the filling…
1.  Combine butter, chocolate and milk in small saucepan. Heat over low heat until butter and chocolate are melted, stirring constantly.
2.  In large bowl, beat powdered sugar, espresso and chocolate mixture with an electric mixer until smooth.
3.  Spread evenly between layers of cake. Refrigerate overnight. (Thanks to my sister for the tip!)

For the frosting…
1. Chill metal bowl and whisk attachments for an electric mixer in the freezer for 30 minutes.
2. Remove bowl from freezer. Combine all ingredients. Beat with an electric mixer until stiff peaks form.
3. Frost cake and top with chocolate shavings.