If you’re looking for a small batch treat to celebrate St. Patrick’s Day, this little chocolate Guinness loaf is for you. It’s rich and deep with just the barest hint of Irish stout and is absolutely perfect on it’s own or along side a pint.
Even though this is technically a post to celebrate St. Patrick’s Day and it has nothing to do with British people, I wanted to mention that I just love the way British people describe sweets. Or food in general. One of my all time favorite things to do in winter is watch Nigella Lawson while I’m doing Christmas baking. She has a whole series of Christmas specials and they always feel that way: special. I think it’s something in the way she talks about food. Everything is luscious and magnificent. Flavors are resonant and gorgeous. It really makes me want to improve my lexicon and branch out from just exclaiming that everything is awesome.
But, speaking of awesome, this little cake definitely is. It’s a Nigella recipe, naturally, and it’s all of the over the top adjectives. I third-ed the recipe and it just about fit in my little loaf pan – you may want to hold back a 1/4 cup batter and make an extra cupcake on the side because my just spilled over the top. It has an awkward egg measurement, but if you have a kitchen scale (if you’re into small batch baking at all, I hope you do!) it’s no big deal to whisk up an egg then measure it out. I truly love using my scale to bake, especially when doing small batch recipes. It just makes the math so much more easy.
Even though I topped the cake with a bit of creme fraiche frosting – it’s supposed to kind of look like a glass of stout – I loved the cake without. And, as Nigella says: it is perfectly acceptable to leave the cake un-iced: in fact, it tastes gorgeous plain.
Happy baking!
Small Batch Chocolate Guinness Cake Loaf
makes 1 small loaf
- 1/3 cup guinness
- 1/3 cup (83 grams) butter
- 1/4 cup (25 grams) cocoa
- 2/3 cup (133 grams) sugar
- 3 tablespoons sour cream
- 35 grams egg, about 1 tablespoon plus 2.5 teaspoons
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 2/3 cup (90 grams) flour
- 3/4 teaspoon baking soda
via Nigella Lawson
Heat the oven to 350°F and butter and line your mini loaf pan (6×3 inches or a pan that fits 2 cups liquid).
In a small pot, over medium heat, combine the Guinness and butter. When the butter is melted, remove from the heat. Whisk in the cocoa, then the sugar.
In a small bowl or liquid measuring cup, whisk together the sour cream, egg, and vanilla. Whisk into the beer mix. Whisk in the flour and baking soda until smooth.
Pour the batter into the prepared pan and bake for 40-45 minutes, or until the top springs back when pressed and a skewer inserted into the center comes out clean.
Let cool in the pan on a wire rack for 30 minutes, remove from the pan and let cool completely on the wire rack. Enjoy!
Thank you so much! Yesterday I made Nigella Lawson’s 9″-inch springform pan version of this recipe. It is delicious! But there is a lot of cake for just the two of us. Now you’ve done the math for me. I look forward to making your version and enjoying all of the deliciousness knowing I won’t have twelve portions to feel guilty about.
This looks absolutely delicious!. Love it!
Oh my goodness this cake looks amazing! That texture ♥♥♥
Mmmmmmm. That look so tender and chocolaty.
Yum! It’s looks delicious. Thanks for sharing this recipe
I love chocolate so this looks amazing! I cant wait to try it later!
This looks insanely delicious! That’s why I tried to make it myself immediately. It turned out pretty well actually, It’s not that hard and it tastes delicious too. I still thought it was a large amount of cake for only myself. That’s why I went to my parents and shared my cake with them. It was a really nice experience to make this. I will definitely try this again soon!
Hi ur frosting/icing looks delish too! Did u use the same cream cheese recipe as Nigella or did you make a different frosting? Thanks!
hi felicia,
i used a different frosting: the frosting that’s on this post but made with creme fraiche instead of heavy cream.