Chocolate Guinness Cake With Salted Caramel Sauce

Despite living in close proximity to Ireland for a third of my life, and despite my many tries, I’ve never quite found a taste for Guinness. Something about its deep earthy taste reminds me of blood. Appetizing, no? Maybe that’s why they say its so good for anemia. Who knows? But I can tell you that I’ve offended a lot of people with my distaste for the beverage, and I keep trying to find a way to make it delicious.

One St Patrick’s Day not so long ago, as I was with a very young baby Dexter searching for rainbows and leprechauns in the English countryside, we worked up quite a hunger together. We decided to meet daddy at the local pub and have dinner together in the early spring sunshine. When we arrived, it was my least favorite barman – the mean Irish one who was constantly threatening to throw me out every time I ordered a lager rather than a traditional stout. I can’t count the number of times I heard, “It’ll help yer milk come in, love. Give it a go!” If I refused, he’d grumble and curse under his breath. He was charming.

Anyway, since it was the Irish holiday of choice, I decided to preempt him and ordered myself a Guinness. He seemed overly chuffed with my decision and went about pouring me a whole pint (I’d asked for half) of the thick liquid and said it was “on the house.” Brilliant. Now I would have to drink the whole thing. He stood there drunkenly beaming at me as I closed my eyes, smiled tightly and tipped up my glass. I wound up with a mouth full of foam and started to choke. His smile quickly disappeared, and he started grumbling. “Ah, yeh toite floosie! Quit acting the maggot! Yeh make me head roar!” Right then.

I went back to my table with my tail between my legs and never ordered a Guinness again.

So what does this story have to do with the cake? Well, nothing, really. I just thought it was funny. Ahem.

Anyway, I eventually found a recipe for Chocolate Guinness Cake online, and I thought it sounded worth a try. I’ve kind of mixed and matched until I found what works for me, and it’s a pretty rad chocolate cake. And at least now I can say there’s ONE way I’ll take my Guinness.

Here’s what you’ll need for the cake.

2 C Guinness
4 sticks Butter
1 1/2 C Unsweetened Cocoa Powder
2 C Flour
2 C Sugar
1 Tbsp Baking Soda
1 ½ tsp Salt
4 large Eggs
¾ C Sour Cream
1 tsp Vanilla Extract

Preheat your oven to 350°.  Spray or butter a bundt pan and set aside.

In a medium saucepan over medium heat, bring to a light boil the Guinness and butter. Add in the cocoa powder and whisk until smooth. Remove from the heat and then set aside.

In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, baking soda and salt.  In another bowl, beat together the eggs, sour cream and vanilla.

Add the butter/Guinness mixture to the sour cream and then mix on medium speed for about 1 – 2 minutes until full combined. Slowly add in the flour mix and beat until just combined. Use a rubber spatula to lightly fold the batter and make sure there are no flour lumps.

Pour the whole mix into your bundt pan and bake for about an hour until a toothpick  stuck in the center of the cake comes out clear. Cool in the pan for 10 minutes and then remove from the bundt and cool on a rack.

Now you can make the Salted Caramel Sauce. Here’s what you’ll need.

5 Tbsp Butter
½ C packed Dark Brown Sugar
⅓ C Heavy Cream
Pinch Salt
¼ tsp Vanilla Extract
⅔ C Powdered Sugar,sifted

In a medium saucepan, add the butter, brown sugar, heavy cream and salt and bring to a boil, stirring constantly. Keep boiling for exactly one minute.

Remove from heat and stir in the vanilla extract. Then add in about 1/2 C powdered sugar and whisk until smooth. Keep whisking in the powdered sugar little by little until it reaches your desired consistency.

Finally, simply drizzle the sauce over the top of the cake until it looks pretty. It’s now ready to serve.

How amazing does that look? Next time someone asks if you like Guinness, you can tell them you like Chocolate Guinness Cake!

Katie Reed

Katie Reed is a passionate writer and mother of four vivacious boys from Salt Lake City, Utah. Drawing from her own journey through TTC, pregnancy, and the joys of raising children, she offers a wealth of insight into the world of motherhood. Beyond her heartfelt tales, Katie delights her readers with family-friendly recipes, engaging crafts, and a curated library of printables for both kids and adults. When she’s not penning her experiences, you’ll find her crafting memories with her husband and sons—Dexter, Daniel, Chester, and Wilder.