Chocolate Guinness Cake
Published Mar 09, 2023•Updated Feb 21, 2025
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If you have one bowl, a few pantry staples, and Guinness beer, you can make a Chocolate Guinness Cake for dessert tonight. Guinness Stout adds rich, malty flavor to this incredibly simple, moist chocolate cake. No one will believe that it doesn’t include butter or eggs! Serve it with just a dusting of powdered sugar or add Irish Cream frosting on top.
Chocolate Guinness Cake probably needs very little explanation. A great chocolate cake is a great chocolate cake. But it’s always a bit better if that chocolate cake takes only a few minutes to make, in one bowl, with no mixer, and is the sort of thing you could just throw together on a weeknight. So today, I bring you that chocolate cake.
And with St. Patrick’s Day on the horizon, I wanted to take one of my favorite cake recipes – One-Bowl Chocolate Cake – and give it an Irish twist with Guinness stout beer. This cake is light and tender, moist enough to be just fine (possibly even better) if made a day or two ahead, and sure to be the best dessert to pair with your St. Patrick’s Day meal.
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Pin It NowHow to Make Chocolate Guinness Cake
So fast, so easy! Want a printable recipe card? Just scroll to the bottom of the post.
- In one large mixing bowl, combine dry ingredients (flour, sugar, natural cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt). (Tip – I’ve provided all of the dry ingredient measurements by weight, so just put the bowl on your kitchen scale and measure that way. You’ll have almost zero dishes to wash!)
- Pour liquid ingredients over dry (vegetable oil, Guinness stout beer, and vanilla extract). Stir to combine.
- Pour in a greased 9-inch cake pan.
- Bake at 350 degrees F until the center is set – 27 to 30 minutes.
- Top however you’d like (see below for ideas).
- Slice and serve!
Ingredients
- Flour – All-Purpose Flour is the best bet here. I’ve also tested with White Whole Wheat flour with great results. (I’d guess that a gluten-free blend / sub would also work really well in this simple recipe, though I haven’t tried it.)
- Unsweetened Natural Cocoa Powder – Look for natural unsweetened cocoa powder, not cocoa powder labeled Dutch-process. I use this Hershey’s Special Dark for this cake. (I love that super dark cocoa powder! It’s also used in my Salted Caramel Stuffed Chocolate Cookies.)
- Vegetable Oil – I keep vegetable oil on hand for baking, and it has a neutral flavor that lets the other recipes shine.
- Guinness Stout Beer – You’ll need slightly less than a full single can or bottle of Guinness Stout which is a very dark Irish beer. The cans are often labeled as “Guinness Draught Stout”. Either the can or bottled beer will work fine.
- Sugar, Pure Vanilla Extract, Baking Soda, Salt – Standard baking ingredients.
Optional Topping – Bailey’s Irish Cream Frosting
For even more boozy Irish flavor, top this One-Bowl Chocolate Guinness Cake with Bailey’s Irish Cream Frosting! The recipe includes my favorite Light and Fluffy Vanilla Frosting with the addition of Bailey’s Irish Cream.
While most of the alcohol in the cake should cook off during baking, keep in mind that the Bailey’s is never heated, so it will retain all of its alcohol when served.
Guinness Cupcakes
Want to make chocolate Guinness cupcakes instead of cake? I’ve modified this recipe to work well as cupcakes. Just jump over to my Easy Chocolate Cupcake Recipe. Follow the directions given, but substitute Guinness Stout for the water in the recipe.
More Topping Ideas
If you want to skip the Bailey’s Irish Cream Frosting, try these toppings instead:
- A dusting of powdered sugar (this is so easy and always my favorite for a weeknight dessert)
- Creamy Chocolate Frosting (this recipe makes just the right amount for this 8-inch cake)
- Nutella Frosting
- Whipped Cream + Chocolate Shavings
- Sprinkles (shamrocks or other green sprinkles would be fun for St. Patrick’s Day!)
FAQs
If you’re not a big beer drinker (or not a big Guinness Stout drinker), you might be wondering if an Irish Guinness Cake tastes like beer. The answer is…not really. In fact, the flavors in Guinness pair so well with chocolate that it really just enhances the chocolate flavor of the cake and gives it a slightly smoky, malty flavor. If you’re at all on the fence about using Guinness in the cake, just use water instead of Guinness (as with the One Bowl Chocolate Cake this recipe is adapted from).
Yes! Bake the cake and let it cool completely. Wrap tightly and freeze for up to 6 months.
This is a great cake for making ahead. The cake will last up to five days. I find it’s best stored in the fridge in an air-tight container or wrapped tightly with plastic wrap. It gets a rich, fudgy texture when cold.
Just use water in place of the Guinness for a rich, delicious, chocolate cake.
Use natural, not Dutch-process cocoa powder for this cake.
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Chocolate Guinness Cake Recipe
Equipment
- 9-inch round or 8-inch square pan
- Mixing Bowl
Ingredients
Chocolate Guinness Cake
- 1 1/4 cup all-purpose flour (150 grams)
- 1 cup sugar, granulated (200 grams)
- 3/4 cup unsweetened natural cocoa powder (not Dutch-process cocoa)
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 cup vegetable oil
- 1 1/4 cup Guinness Stout (can or bottle)
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
Vanilla Frosting (with optional Bailey’s Irish Cream)
- 3 ounces cream cheese, softened
- 1/3 cup powdered sugar
- 1 cup heavy / whipping cream, chilled
- 2 ounces Bailey’s Irish cream (optional)
Instructions
For cake:
- Heat oven to 350 degrees F.
- Spray a 9-inch round or 8-inch square cake pan with nonstick cooking spray. (Note: If you have a pan that tends to stick, line the bottom with parchment.)
- In a large mixing bowl whisk together flour, sugar, cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt.
- Add oil, Guinness, and vanilla extract all at once and stir just until everything is combined and no dry spots remain.
- Pour batter into prepared cake pan.
- Bake until the cake is set in the middle, 27 to 30 minutes. (Note: In a thicker pan made of glass or ceramic, the cake may take up to an extra 5 minutes to cook all the way through.)
- Allow cake to cool completely.
For frosting:
- Combine cream cheese and powdered sugar in the bowl of a standing mixer. Turn the mixer on medium and beat until evenly combined.
- Turn the mixer down to medium-low speed and slowly pour the heavy cream and then Bailey’s (if using) down the side of the bowl with the mixer running.
- When all of the cream has been added, increase speed to medium-high until stiff peaks form (this could take 3 to 4 minutes; you are making whipped cream, so the frosting won't set up until it has been beat for sufficiently long).
- At this point, frosting can be refrigerated up to 1 day.
- Spread frosting on cake just before serving (after the cake has cooled completely).
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
What would be the difference in cook time if I wanted to make cupcakes with this recipe?
These work great as cupcakes! I’ve actually modified the recipe to be cupcakes here – https://inquiringchef.com/vegan-chocolate-cupcakes/. Bake them for 15 to 17 minutes.
Will it set up after baking?
Hi Barbara, the cake should be cooked all the way through before you take it out of the oven. A tester should come out totally clean or with a few moist crumbs when the cake is done cooking. It’s a tender cake but should be fully set when removed from the oven. Hope that helps!