guinness chocolate cake with brown butter frosting

This rich Guinness Chocolate Cake is made incredibly flavorful thanks to a combo of Guinness and brown butter. It’s topped with the creamiest brown butter Guinness frosting. This easy cake recipe is perfect for any celebration – especially St. Patrick’s Day!

This recipe was originally published in March of 2019 but I’ve just updated it in March of 2023 with new photos, more tips & tricks, a way to prevent the cake layers from sticking, and a few slight tweaks to the recipe.

Even if you don’t like beer, you’re sure to love this cake! The Guinness adds a depth of flavor and enhances the chocolate flavor. Although the cake looks impressive, it’s relatively simple to make – and the frosting is too. Let’s make it!

Why you’ll love this recipe:

• Rich Chocolate Guinness Cake – This cake is full of rich chocolate flavor, and is almost fudgy – and not dry in the slightest!
• Double the Brown Butter – We’ve got this magic elixir in both the cake and the frosting, which amps up the flavor so much!
• Guinness & Chocolate Pairing – Chocolate and Guinness are the perfect pairing, as the notes of coffee & chocolate in Guinness enhance the chocolate flavor of this cake.

Ingredient Overview

• Butter – I always use salted buter for the best flavor, but feel free to use unsalted butter if you prefer. We’re using this instead of vegetable oil in this cake to add extra richness!
• Guinness – Use a fresh bottle of Guinness.
• Sour Cream – Use full fat sour cream at room temperature for best results.
• All-purpose flour – Spoon & level your flour for best results, or use a scale. Scooping the measuring cup directly in will lead to too much flour.
• Eggs – Use large eggs, at room temperature.

Ingredient Substitutions:

• Dairy-free – Use your favorite dairy-free products to make this recipe dairy-free.
• Gluten-free – I haven’t tested a gluten-free version of this recipe, but let me know if you do try it!
• Other Beers – Any dark stout with a similar flavor to Guinness will work in this recipe.
• Greek Yogurt – This will work in place of the sour cream in a pinch.

How to Make this Recipe Step-by-Step:

Step 1: Brown the Butter. This is an easy step that only takes a few extra minutes. Melt your butter in a saucepan on the stovetop over medium heat, and stir until it gets bubbly, then foamy, then starts to turn golden brown.

Step 2: Make the Cake Batter. Whisk the Guinness into the brown butter, then whisk in the remaining wet ingredients, and then the dry ingredients. It’s that easy to make this batter!

Step 3: Bake the Cake Layers. Divide the batter between your two prepared pans and bake as directed in the recipe card below. Let cake layers cool completely on a wire rack.

Step 4: Make the Frosting & Frost the Cake. Brown the butter for the frosting, then beat it with the cream cheese, powdered sugar, vanilla extract, salt, and guinness. Use about 1 and 2/3 cups of frosting between cake layers, and on top.

Serving + Storing this Recipe:

Once the cake is frosted, slice and enjoy! If the frosting seems weepy, stick the cake in the fridge for about 20-30 minutes to set things up a bit so it slices nicely. Store leftover cake in an airtight container, with plastic wrap pressed over the sliced areas to keep them from drying out, in the fridge for 3-4 days.

Expert Success Tips:

• Don’t Over Bake – As always, follow the doneness cues given in the recipe card below for best results. An oven thermometer also helps ensure a successful bake – not all ovens are calibrated correctly, and they can become off over time.
• Don’t Over Mix – Whisk the dry ingredients in just until they’re combined and the batter smoothes out.

FAQs:

• Can I double this recipe? I’d recommend multiplying it by 1 and 1/3 instead of by 2x, so you get a 3 layer cake. If you really want a four layer cake you could double it to yield four, 9-inch rounds.
• Can I halve this recipe? Yes, you can halve it to make one 9-inch round cake layer.
• Can I make this as cupcakes? I tried making these as cupcakes once a number of years ago and I remember it going poorly. I haven’t tried it again since then, but if you want cupcakes I would recommend my Guinness Chocolate Cupcakes with Chocolate Frosting instead.
• Can I make this as a bundt cake? I fear that it’s so moist it would stick in the bundt pan.
• Does this cake taste like beer? You can taste hints of guinness, but no the cake doesn’t just taste like straight beer. It enhances the chocolate flavor and even non-beer drinkers have raved over this cake!
• Can I make this cake without alcohol? Yes, you could substitute milk (try 2%) for the guinness in the same quantity in the cake. You can simply leave the guinness out of the frosting, or swap in heavy cream.
• Can I freeze this cake? Yes, you can freeze the baked, cooled cake layers. Wrap tightly in saran wrap and freeze for 1-2 months. Defrost in the fridge overnight before frosting and serving.

Recipe Variations:

• Chocolate Frosting – A chocolate cream cheese frosting or your favorite chocolate buttercream frosting would be delicious if you decide to skip the brown butter. Use the frosting from my Guinness Chocolate Cupcakes.

Special Tools:

• Cake Pans – These are my absolute favorite 9-inch cake pans! I’ve had them for 6+ years and use them for every cake recipe, and they are still in great shape.
• Offset Spatula – Offset spatulas make frosting a cake so easy! They can also be used for spreading cake and brownie batters evenly.
• Cake Turntable – If you make at least a few cakes a year, a cake turntable makes the frosting process a breeze!

More St. Patrick’s Day Recipes to Love:

• Beer Braised Short Ribs with Cheddar Mashed Potatoes
• Bacon Cheddar Chive Scones
• Mom’s Irish Stew
• Guinness Chocolate Cupcakes
• Baileys Irish Cream Cheesecake with Chocolate Ganache
• Guinness Lamb Stew
• Skillet Irish Soda Bread
• Classic Beer Bread

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