Do you like dark, deep, rich chocolate? A moist, heavy and delicious cake, with notes of coffee and cocoa topped with a dreamy buttercream. Say hello to Chocolate Guinness Cake with Irish Buttercream.
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Anna said, “Made this long ago and it was okay. Came back and made it again on St. Patrick’s Day and my kids acted like I’ve been holding out on them. Turned out fantastic. Definitely recommend!!! I live at 5008 ft. and only had a tiny depression in the middle that couldn’t be seen after flipping onto a plate.”
Updated for 2026: Originally published in 2020, this recipe has been refreshed with improved instructions, helpful tips, and updated photos to make baking this rich chocolate Guinness cake even easier.
Obviously, you can make this for St. Patrick’s day, but really, do you need an excuse to make a dark, rich chocolate cake? Nope! So be bold and brave and make this any ol’ time of year!
I’ve had this recipe for ages, the one note I should have made on it years ago, was the recipe recommends using a 9-inch springform pan, 10-inch would be better as the recipe tends to rise quickly, then sink. That extra inch of real estate would allow for it to rise without oozing over the sides of the pan.
But even if it does ooze, it’s still the best, dense, chocolatey cake ever! And don’t be worried, recipes like Guinness brownies or Guinness Brown Bread don’t taste like beer, it just enhances the overall taste of the cake.
Why You Will Love this Guinness Cake
- Easy – Made all in one pot, yes, pot, you make the fudgy batter, much like you would a brownie batter.
- Rich – You will impress your friends and family with this rich, fudgy, tasty chocolate cake.
Why you should bake with beer
- Baking with beer starts with flavor and moves into science. Because of its carbonation, beer assists in leavening baked goods, which is why Beer Bread is so darned tasty!
- When used as the liquid in a recipe, it gives extra lift and tender texture to breads and cakes.
- If you’re new to baking with beer; porters and stouts are the best place to begin. Because they’re brewed with dark roasted malt, they lend flavor notes of cocoa and coffee, ideal for chocolate desserts!
- Porter leans more toward chocolate and malted flavors with less bitterness. Stouts offer a more intense bitter coffee flavor and are often higher in alcohol. This is a great post from King Arthur Flour
Simple Ingredients for Guinness Cake
- Guinness stout or stout beers, room temperature
- Butter – I used Kerrygold Irish butter, because it’s an Irish cake! I used salted butter, if using unsalted butter, add a ⅛-¼ teaspoon additional salt to the batter.
- Cocoa powder – Add’s classic chocolate flavor; I used organic Dutch processed cocoa
- Sugar – I used all natural cane sugar, regular granulated sugar or superfine sugar should all work, it adds the right amount of sweetness.
- Sour cream – full fat – see note on baking with beer
- Eggs – I always use large eggs at room temperature in my baking
- Vanilla extract – try my bourbon vanilla extract
- All purpose flour – my flour is always unbleached, usually organic all-purpose flour
- Baking Soda – Be sure your baking soda is fresh
- Guinness stout or stout beers, room temperature
- Butter – I used Kerrygold Irish butter, because it’s an Irish cake! I used salted butter, if using unsalted butter, add a ⅛-¼ teaspoon additional salt to the batter.
- Cocoa powder – Add’s classic chocolate flavor; I used organic Dutch processed cocoa
- Sugar – I used all natural cane sugar, superfine or regular granulated sugar should all work, it adds the right amount of sweetness.
- Sour cream – full fat – see note on baking with beer
- Eggs – I always use large eggs at room temperature in my baking
- Vanilla extract – Use pure vanilla, adds vanilla understones, also try my bourbon vanilla extract
- All purpose flour – my flour is always unbleached, usually organic all-purpose flour
- Baking Soda – Be sure your baking soda is fresh
Bailey’s Frosting
- Butter – Room temperature so it blends smoothly. I used salted, but you may use unsalted.
- Powdered Sugar – Also called confectioner’s sugar or icing sugar, adds sweetness and volume.
- Vanilla Extract – again, for the flavor, use pure vanilla.
- Pinch of salt
- Bailey’s Irish Cream – Adds that touch of creamy Irish flavor! May substitute with more heavy cream or an Irish Cream syrup.
- Optional: Add 1 teaspoon espresso powder, it will make you swoon, I promise!
Get the full recipe in the recipe card below.
What Can I Substitute for Guinness in Cooking
- If you are still talking beer, any porter or stout will still work. Try a Vanilla Porter, Chocolate Milk Stout, or your favorite!
- If you are looking to replace beer with a non-alcoholic liquid, these are my suggestions, based on some research, though I have never tried them. There are some sites that suggest substituting with cola or Dr. Pepper style of soda, but soda has sooo much more sugar than Guinness does, so please do not substitute with a full sugar soda.
- Instead, if you must, use a sugar free darker soda, my suggestion would be a natural soda that is sugar free, such as Zevia or Blue Sky.
- You may also use seltzer water or soda water.
Tips for baking with beer
- Freshly opened, room-temperature beer is best. Pour it out and let it sit for 5 minutes before adding to the recipe. This lets the foam dissipate and releases some of the carbonation.
- Beer works better with full-fat dairy. It’s acidic and can curdle lower-fat ingredients.
- Beer desserts are best when fresh. Beer can alter the flavors of the baked good over time, so if possible, bake and serve on the same day. Or keep unfrosted baked goods in airtight container for 5 days, refrigerate and bring to room temperature if frosted.
How to Make Guinness Chocolate Cake
While this recipe might seem complex, it’s really very simple, no creaming of butter; instead, it’s melting, stirring, a bit of whisking, and pouring pretty much in one pan. You can do this!
Step 1 | Prep Pan and Oven
Preheat oven to 350°F (176° C) and butter and line a 10″ springform baking pan with parchment paper (invert pan onto sheet of parchment, trace a circle, cut it out, then spray and dust pan with cocoa powder for best release.
Step 2 | Make Cake Base
Pour the Guinness (or other dark beer) into a large saucepan, adding the butter cut into slices. Heat until the butter is melted. Once melted, whisk in cocoa powder and sugar, whisking gently until incorporated and dissolved.
Step 3 | Finish Chocolate Guinness Cake Batter
Beat the sour cream, eggs, and vanilla in a small bowl until creamy and smooth. Pour into the Guinness mixture, whisking until smooth.
In a separate bowl, whisk the flour and baking soda to combine. Then whisk or fold in the flour mixture into the wet ingredients. DO NOT OVERMIX. Mix until combined; there might be a few lumps, and that’s okay.
Step 4 | Bake Guinness chocolate cake
Pour batter into greased and lined springform pan; if the pan is really full, place it on a half-sheet pan to protect the oven from spillage. Bake on the center rack in the middle of the oven for 45 minutes to 1 hour. Remove once the toothpick inserted comes out with only moist crumbs, your bake time can vary based on altitude.
Allow cooling completely in the spring form pan on a cooling rack; once cooled, the cake may be wrapped and frozen until ready to frost.
Expert Tips
- Use a 10-inch springform pan to prevent overflow and give the cake room to rise.
- Let the beer sit out for 5 minutes before using. This settles the foam and gives better texture.
- Stick with full-fat sour cream. Lower fat can curdle with the beer and affect the crumb.
- Mix just until combined. A few lumps are fine. Overmixing is what makes a dense cake tough instead of tender.
- Bake in the center of the oven and resist peeking. That oven door is not your friend here.
- If the cake sinks slightly, don’t sweat it. Level it off and call it rustic. Still tastes like a dream.
Making Irish Buttercream
If you choose to frost your Guinness cake, be sure to cool the cake completely in the springform pan before frosting. PS. This would be delicious just dressed in a little whipped cream or with a dusting of powdered sugar, like this Easy Chocolate Loaf cake.
Cream butter in the bowl of a stand mixer fitting with the paddle attachment for 1-2 minutes. Slowly add powdered sugar with the mixer on low, alternating with a bit of Bailey’s Irish cream, vanilla, espresso powder and salt. Once the powdered sugar is incorporated, scrape the sides of the bowl and turn the mixer on medium-high speed, beating buttercream for 3-4 minutes, until light and fluffy.
Common Mistakes in Baking Guinness Chocolate Cake
Sometimes cakes sink! It’s a fact of life, especially for those of us living at high altitude! Here are a few tips to help prevent sinking cake syndrome.
- Make sure your oven is at the correct temperature, ovens vary a lot! Mine runs a bit cool, invest in a decent oven thermometer.
- For baking soda, if it’s past the best-by date, it is still good and won’t hurt you, though it will lose some potency over time. I write the open date on the lids for my baking powder and baking soda and typically toss it if I haven’t used it within 6 months (or use to clean a drain).
- Be sure to scoop and level your dry ingredients properly.
- Avoid over-mixing the batter, especially the eggs.
- Bake the batter soon after mixing.
- Bake in the center of your oven and don’t open the oven door unnecessarily.
- Lastly, don’t underbake or over bake the cake. A cake tester or toothpick should come out clean!
How to Fix a Sunken Cake
In fact, this cake DID sink, but instead of re-baking the perfect cake, I wanted to show how easy it is to fix a “sunken” cake.
This is an extremely moist and rich cake recipe, so if your cake does sink slightly in the center don’t worry. It’s definitely not ruined! Simply use a serrated knife to level off the cake for a flat layer, save those sliced-off pieces. Give them to your family to enjoy or freeze and crumble over ice cream!
You can get all fancy and pipe or frost the entire cake, I chose instead to frost the top of the cake; resembling the black and tan look of a pint of Guinness with the foam on top.
High Altitude Adjustments
Since I bake at about 5600 feet above sea level, this recipe has been tested by recipe testers across the country:
- Add 2 tablespoons of additional flour; reduce baking soda to 2 ¼ teaspoons; if above 7,000 feet, decrease the baking soda to 2 teaspoons and add 1-2 teaspoons of water to the batter.
- Decrease sugar to 1 ¾ cups
- Increase oven temperature to 375°F (190°C)and start checking for doneness around 35 minutes. Remove when moist crumbs coat a toothpick. Cool 15 minutes in the pan, then remove and cool completely on wire rack.
What to Serve with Guinness Chocolate Cake
Try it with my baked corned beef, this crockpot corned beef, bangers and mash or this steak and ale pie!
And be sure to check out all of my comfort food recipes that will make this chocolate Guinness cake with Bailey’s frosting shine. Traditional Irish Coffee is a must!
More St. Patrick’s Day Recipes You’ll Enjoy
Whether you host a St. Paddy’s day party, or just want to enjoy some delicious food from the Emerald Isle, I’ve got numerous from main dishes, desserts, sides and drinks for you! Check out my St. Patrick’s Day Recipes post.
More Chocolate Recipes You Need to Try
- Chocolate Chocolate Chip Bundt Cake
- Crumbl Chocolate Chip Cookie Recipe
- Best White Chocolate Raspberry Bundt Cake
Related Recipes You Might Like
Like this recipe?
Don’t forget to give it a ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ star rating and leave a comment below the recipe!
Originally published in 2020 and updated in 2023 and 2026 with improved instructions and fresh photos.
Video
Ingredients
- 1 cup Guinness or dark stout, porter, room temperature
- 17 tablespoons butter I used Kerrygold Irish butter, that's 2 sticks (8 oz) plus one tablespoon
- ¾ cup unsweetened cocoa powder I used organic Dutch processed cocoa
- 2 cups sugar I used all natural cane sugar, superfine or regular ok (reduce to 1 ¾ cups for high altitude)
- ⅔ cup sour cream full fat – see note on baking with beer
- 2 large eggs at room temperature
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract try my bourbon vanilla extract
- 2 cups all purpose flour I used unbleached
- 2 ½ teaspoons baking soda reduce for high altitude, see notes
Irish Cream Buttercream
- 1 stick butter (4 ounces) I used salted butter, softened.
- 1 ½ cups powdered sugar sifted if lumpy
- pinch kosher salt
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 tablespoons Irish Cream liqueur or if desired, replace with heavy cream, whole milk or half & half
- 1 teaspoon espresso powder optional, but yummy
Instructions
- Pour the Guinness (or other dark beer) into a large saucepan, adding the butter cut into slices. Heat until butter is melted. Once melted, remove from heat and whisk in cocoa powder and sugar, whisking gently until incorporated and dissolved.1 cup Guinness, 17 tablespoons butter, ¾ cup unsweetened cocoa powder, 2 cups sugar
- Whisk the sour cream, eggs and vanilla in a small bowl until creamy and smooth. Pour into the buttery beer batter, whisking until smooth. Finally, whisk in flour and baking soda. DO NOT OVERMIX, mix until combined, might be a few lumps and that's okay.⅔ cup sour cream, 2 large eggs, 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
- Whisk in flour and baking soda in a bowl, then add to the batter, folding or whisking just until no flour streaks remain. DO NOT OVERMIX, mix until combined, might be a few lumps and that's okay.2 cups all purpose flour, 2 ½ teaspoons baking soda
- Pour batter into greased and lined springform pan, if pan is really full, place on half sheet pan to protect the oven from spillage (see post for details). Bake on center rack in middle of oven for 45 minutes to 1 hour. Remove once toothpick inserted comes out without crumbs.
- Allow to cool completely in the spring form pan on a cooling rack, once cooled, cake may be wrapped and frozen until ready to frost.
Irish Cream Buttercream
- Add softened butter to bowl of a stand mixer (or hand mixer) fitted with a paddle or whisk attachment. Beat on medium-high speed for 2-3 minutes, until light and fluffy. With mixer on low or stir, slowly add powdered sugar, beat on low speed until mixed into butter, then increase speed to medium-high and beat for 1 minute, scrape down sides.1 stick butter, 1 ½ cups powdered sugar
- Add in salt, vanilla and Irish Cream or Bourbon Cream (substitute with heavy cream, milk or half and half and try a teaspoon of espresso powder), beating on low speed until combined, then increase speed to high and beat until light and fluffy, about 3-4 minutes, stop and scrape down sides once or twice. Frost cooled cake, if not eating right away. Store covered in fridge until ready to eat, bring to room temperature before serving.pinch kosher salt, 1 teaspoon vanilla extract, 2 tablespoons Irish Cream liqueur, 1 teaspoon espresso powder
Notes
Tested at ~5,600 ft with additional testing at sea level. Add 2 tablespoons flour and reduce sugar to 1 ¾ cups, reduce baking soda to 2 ¼ teaspoons. For elevations above 7,000 ft, reduce baking soda to 2 teaspoons and add 1–2 teaspoons water to the batter. Bake at 375°F (190°C), checking around 35 minutes; remove when a toothpick shows moist crumbs. Cool 15 minutes in pan, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely. Storage Store on the counter, covered for up to 3 days. Or in the fridge, for up to one week in an airtight container. Cake may be frozen when wrapped tightly in plastic wrap, then placed in an airtight baggie up to 3 months. Frosted or unfrosted. If freezing a frosted cake, place it on a baking sheet in the freezer for one hour, then wrap it well and store it in a baggie. Allow thawing on the counter until softened. For more detailed instructions, high altitude tips, FAQs, and expert guidance, be sure to read the full post.
Nutrition
Anna
Made this long ago and it was okay. Came back and made it again on St. Patrick’s Day and my kids acted like I’ve been holding out on them. There is one place above that referenced baking powder. While the ingredients list says baking soda. I used baking soda. Turned out fantastic. Definitely recommend!!! I live at 5008 ft. and only had a tiny depression in the middle that couldn’t be seen after flipping onto a plate.
First thank you for letting me know about the misstep on the leavening I will go in and change that. So glad it turned out so well!
Sara Welch
This was everything a gourmet dessert should be and then some! Turned out perfectly fluffy, rich and delicious; easily, a new favorite recipe!
Thanks so much, Sara!
Rachna
I have to source some Guinness and will try out this decadent cake soon. I love the combination of dark chocolate and coffee. I can bet that this tastes like a bomb.
It really does!!
Whitney
I do agree, adding beer will completely change the recipe and it’s worth it! This is a perfect dessert for St. Patrick’s Day too!
Absolutely! Thanks so much!!
Quynh
I just made this, and it turned out great! The chocolate cake was moist and the Irish cream buttercream tasted amazing!
Glad you loved it, Quynh!
Seema Sriram
What is not to like in this chocolate guinness cake! wow and that butter cream was a huge hit.
So happy you enjoyed it!
Kookie
It looks amazing on the outside. I would love to try it, but I would like to see the cake after it is sliced. Then, I can see how moist it is. I read the reviews, but no one had actually made it, so that didn’t help. I will save the recipe.
Hi Kookie, sent you an email, it’s an older recipe (still delish) but I need to update the photos. This is a dense, moist and heavy cake.
Brenda
I love your entire site, from start to finish! The Guinness cake will be cooking in my oven here in Canada on March 17th. Looking forward to trying more of your recipes but for now, I just raided my cupboard for something chocolate. Your photos made me do it! 🙂
Haha Brenda, I love it and you made my month! Thank you for your very kind words! I know you are going to love this cake!
Lynn Spencer
You are so right! Resistance is FUTILE! Sounds delightful. Hubby would LOVE this. Pinning it for Father’s Day.
Perfect for Father’s day Lynn! THank you!!
Tasia ~ two sugar bugs
I got such a good giggle out of your email with this one Kathleen! I am FULLY on board for Moms Against Time Change!! This cake and buttercream look like the perfect solution for all the crankiness of the time change to come this weekend. Pinned!!
HAHA! I love it Tasia, thank you for pinning and agreeing with my Moms Against Time Change!! Maybe I still can make a chance! LOL!