Recipe for the day ~ Perfect St. Patrick's Day Cake

Perfect St. Patrick's Day Cake

(Courtesy of All Recipes)

Ingredients:

1 cup Irish stout beer ~ such as Guinness

1 cup butter, cut into pieces

3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder

2 eggs

2/3 cup sour cream

2 cups all purpose flour

2 cups white sugar

1 1/2 tspn baking soda

3/4 tspn salt

3 cups confectioners' sugar, or as needed

1/2 cup butter at room temperature

3 Tbspn Irish cream liquor ~ such as Bailey's, or as needed

8 oz bittersweet chocolate, coarsely chopped

2/3 cups heavy cream

2 Tbspn butter at room temperature

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350

Line 2 9-inch cake pans with parchment paper and spray with cooking spray

Pour the beer into a saucepan, add butter and bring to a simmer over medium-low heat

Remove from heat and whisk in the cocoa powder until the mixture is smooth

Allow the mixture to cool

In a bowl, beat eggs and sour cream together until smooth with an electric mixer

Stir in the stout mixture to make a smooth, thick liquid

In a large bowl, mix together the flour, sugar, baking soda and salt

Pour the stout mixture into the flour bowl and gently combine with a spatula

Pour the batter into the prepared pans

Bake for about 30 minutes or when a toothpick comes out clean from the center of cake pan

Remove and cool in pans for about 5 minutes before inverting to wired racks to cool

Mix together the confectioners' sugar, butter and Irish cream liquor until smooth and spreadable as a frosting (you may add more sugar or liquor as needed to create the desired consistency)

Spread half the frosting on top of each cake

Place the chopped chocolate into a heatproof bowl

Bring cream to almost boiling in a small saucepan and pour over the chocolate

Stir in the butter and stir the mixture until the chocolate melts and the mixture is very smooth

Allow to cool until the mixture is pourable but not thin or overly runny (10-15 minutes)

Stack a cake gently on top of the other, frosting sides uppermost and carefully drizzle the chocolate mixture over the cake, allowing decorative drips to run down the side