Nigella Lawson's chocolate Guinness cake | Recipes

Ingredients

For the cake

• 250ml Guinness
• 250g Unsalted butter
• 75g Cocoa powder
• 400g Caster sugar
• 150ml Sour cream
• 2 large free range eggs
• 1 tbsp vanilla extract
• 275g Plain flour
• 2½ tsp Bicarbonate of soda

For the icing

• 300g Cream cheese
• 150g Icing sugar
• 2 tsp Cornflour
• 125ml Double cream (or whipping cream)

How to prepare chocolate Guinness cake

1. Preheat the oven to gas mark 4/180°C/160°C Fan/350ºF, and line a 23cm /9-inch springform tin.
2. Pour the Guinness into a large saucepan, add the butter and heat until melted, then whisk in the cocoa and sugar.
3. Beat the sour cream with the eggs and vanilla and then pour into the pan and finally whisk in the flour and bicarbonate of soda.
4. Pour the cake batter into the greased and lined tin and bake for 45 minutes to an hour. Leave to cool completely in the tin on a cooling rack.
5. For the icing, whip the cream cheese until smooth, sieve over the icing sugar and cornflour and then beat to combine.
6. If using double cream, add it and beat until you have a spreadable consistency. If using whipping cream, whisk into soft peaks, then add roughly a quarter into the cream cheese mixture and once this is combined, fold in the rest.
7. Ice the top of the cake and voila, you have a showstopper Guinness cake for your guests to enjoy.

Copyright © Nigella Lawson 2004. From FEAST: FOOD THAT CELEBRATES LIFE by Nigella Lawson, published by Chatto & Windus at £30