Chocolate Guinness Cake with Irish Cream Caramel Sauce

By nperry1006

Ingredients

• For caramel sauce:
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 3/4 unsweetened cocoa powder (not Dutch process) plus additional for dusting
• 1 1/4 tsp baking soda
• 3/4 tsp kosher salt
• 2 sticks unsalted butter, softened
• 1 1/2 cup packed dark brown sugar
• 2 large eggs
• 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
• 1 1/3 cups room-temperature Guinness or other stout beer
• Lightly sweetened whipped cream
• 1 cup sugar
• 2 tbsp water
• 1/3 cup Irish whiskey such as Jameson or Bushmills (I also use Bailey's Irish Cream)
• 1/2 cup heavy cream
• 2 tbsp unsalted butter

Preparation

Step 1

Cake:
Preheat oven to 350 with rack in the middle. Butter and flour an 8" square cake pan (2" deep).
Whisk together flour, cocoa powder, baking soda and salt.
Beat together butter and brown sugar with an electric mixer until pale and fluffy. Add eggs one at a time, beating well, then beat in vanilla. Add flour mixture and beer alternately in batches, beginning and ending with the flour mixture and mixing until just combined.
Pour batter into cake pan and smooth top, then bake until a wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean, 40-45 minutes.
Cool in a pan on a wire rack 1 hour. Transfer cake to a cake plate.

Sauce:
Heat sugar and water in a 10" heavy skillet over medium heat, and cook, swirling skillet occasionally so sugar melts evenly, until it is a dark amber. Add whiskey and carefully cook, swirling skillet occasionally so sugar melts evenly, until it is a dark amber. Add whiskey and carefully ignite with a kitchen match (use caution: whiskey will ignite in a ball of flame). (skip igniting flame if using Bailey's. When flame dies out stir in cream and bring to a boil (don't worry if the caramel seizes - just stir until the sauce is recombined). Boil until liquid is reduced by 1/3, then remove from heat and whisk in butter. Remove from heat and keep warm, covered.

Serve cake with caramel sauce and whipped cream.