Bad beer, good cake.

I seem to be an expert in using up leftover beer.

Viz, today's cake.

This cake is not the result, as that pork linked to above was (and I highly recommend that you check that out because it was fantastic), of a stray, almost-full bottle of beer, the aftermath of a party. Well, it's an aftermath sort of thing, but in the sense that someone -- with the best of intentions -- brought us a six-pack of beer that was completely and utterly rejected by the guys here. The females wouldn't even have tried it, on account of the bizarre label, but the male is a less discerning creature. Try it he must.

Howsoever that may be, the beer was rejected -- I think on account of the raspberry, mainly.

Just for the record, the guest brought a second six-pack of a kind deemed quite acceptable.

You know about Guinness cake, right? But the problem is that the men don't want you to bake with the Guinness. They want to drink it. Thus the rejection of the odd bottle of beer is a boon in the dessert department, and I assure you I took full advantage by whipping out my Smitten Kitchen Chocolate Stout Cake recipe. Now, I will categorically state that you do not need to hew closely to the stout requirement -- important news when the men are throwing their bodies in front of the Guinness to protect it.

Any beer will do, and raspberry wheat ale is just fine.


 

The recipe is below. It's Smitten Kitchen's with my remarks (in pink). I do recommend that site. Her pictures are beautiful and the food is inspiring. You will be able to print the recipe out easier if you go over there.

Meanwhile, it was also my birthday the other day. I got plenty of birthday love of just the sort I like -- good food and fun! Some nice gifts, including this:

Before you judge, realize that it's been raining and cold here for ever since it hasn't actually been under three feet of snow.

Mind, this sweet representation of a raised bed (approx. 4" x 8" I guess) wasn't sent to me in that FedEx envelope.

It was wrapped in it.

This is what we call WDD -- Wrapping Deficit Disorder. Embraced.

Back to cake.

Awesome cake of moist deliciousness, lightly redolent of raspberries. I should have served it with a little garnish of fresh raspberries, but I didn't have them. Never mind, it's just wonderful cake.

Like Mother, Like Daughter Raspberry Wheat Ale Cake, via Smitten Kitchen Chocolate Stout Cake

1 cup stout (such as Guinness) -- Any beer will do, the stronger flavored the better. Since a beer is more than a cup, I use what's left in the ganache frosting, and that is a big change to this recipe. (See the ganache frosting recipe below).
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter -- I did happen to have unsalted butter, but don't be a slave to this direction
3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder (preferably Dutch-process)
2 cups all purpose flour
2 cups sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
3/4 teaspoon salt
2 large eggs
2/3 cup sour cream


Cake:

Preheat oven to 350°F. Butter or spray a bundt pan well; make sure you get in all of the nooks and crannies. (Some people even go so far as to brush the inside of their bundt pans with melted butter–you cannot be too careful!).

I agree with this direction. Getting the cake out of the pan is a source of great anxiety for me. I have taken to lining cake layer pans with wax paper without fail, and in the case of bundts, you will find me obsessively buttering and flouring. I don't actually care for the official bundt look or subsequent size of the serving. It seems a little small when the cake is this good.  I would prefer to use this tube pan:

 

But the anxiety is sometimes too much.

Now, choose a saucepan big enough (2 qt. would be fine) for the following so that you can ultimately add the sour cream and eggs to the cooled butter/beer mixture, saving yourself a bowl: Bring 1 cup stout and 1 cup butter to simmer in heavy large saucepan over medium heat. Add cocoa powder and whisk until mixture is smooth. Cool slightly.

Whisk the sour cream and eggs into the butter and beer.

Whisk flour, sugar, baking soda, and 3/4 teaspoon salt in large bowl to blend. 

Mix the dry ingredients in your stand mixer bowl (or large mixing bowl). Add the wet ingredients, beating on low until just mixed.

Using rubber spatula, fold batter until completely combined. The batter will be thin for a cake batter. Pour batter into prepared pan. Bake cake until tester inserted into center comes out clean, about 35 minutes. Mine took just about 45 minutes, and I have a convection oven.


 

Transfer cake to rack; cool completely in the pan, then put it on your serving platter.

{I do find that cooling the cake in the pan longer than the 10 minutes usually recommended does help in getting it out without mishap, and SK has a little discussion about this as well. We agree.}

Ganache Frosting

6 ounces good semisweet chocolate chips
6 tablespoons heavy cream or the leftover beer and a little cream -- ganache is a very simple idea and you don't have to fret about exact proportions. If you like your glaze a bit harder, add less liquid proportionately. If you like it soft, more. And any leftover will keep nicely for the next cake.
3/4 teaspoon instant coffee granules -- or a little leftover coffee in place of some more of the cream, or, in the case of raspberry beer, just leave out because you don't want an actual riot in your mouth at the end.

Ganache:

For the ganache, I don't worry about a double boiler. If you put the liquids and the chocolate in a good heavy saucepan (you can use the one you used above, rinsed out), and heat on low while the cake is baking and cooling, you should have no problem with it. Stir it as it melts and let it sit on the warm burner.

Drizzle over the top of cooled cake.