Let's kick this Monday off right, with a delicious Irish-themed cake, perfect for Saint Patrick's Day. This chocolate cake makes a perfect after-dinner dessert, birthday cake or even something to whip up for your next girls’ night in. Whatever the occasion, you’re bound to receive endless compliments.

Chocolate and Guinness are two flavors that are just meant to be together, and boy do they come together in this delectable cake. I think what will be surprising to most people is that the Guinness (yes, Guinness beer) makes for an incredibly moist cake! Honestly I really think it’s one of the best chocolate cake recipes out there. And when you make it vegan, it is almost as guilt-free as you can get and still have such grand taste. I like to call it guilt-free indulgence for the days when I'm really craving something sweet!

Some people might wonder why I have so many "vegan" recipes to share; well, the truth is, I was vegan for a few years, and in many cases prefer the vegan versions for some recipes. This recipe is delicious made whole, or made vegan - so today I'm giving you BOTH versions. When I really want to razzle-dazzle my husband I make it with all the whole ingredients (real butter, real cream cheese, and so on). When I'm looking for something a little lighter, I choose to make a vegan version. I've brought BOTH versions to numerous parties and no matter what version I've served, this cake always... well, takes the cake! Learn how to master your own Guinness cake by following my easy recipe below…whether you choose to make it vegan or as-is, you won't be sorry.

Let’s get baking…

vegan Guinness chocolate cake

active time: 30 minutes

total time: 2 hours

cake ingredients*

*denotes vegan substitute

1 c. + 2 tbsp unsalted butter* (vegan: 1 c. + 2 tbsp earth balance butter)
1 c. Guinness
3/4 c. Dutch process cocoa
2 + 1/4 c. all purpose flour
2 tsp. baking soda
2 c. sugar
2 medium eggs* (vegan: 3 tsp Enger-G egg replacer)
2/3 c. sour cream* (vegan: 2/3 c. toffuti sour cream)
1 tbsp. vanilla extract

frosting ingredients

1 + 1/3 c. cream cheese* (vegan: 1 + 1/3 c. toffuti cream cheese)
1 + 1/2 c. powdered sugar
2/3 c. cream, whipped* (vegan whip cream recipe)

make-it

Preheat oven to 180C/350F.

1. Add butter, cocoa and Guinness to a saucepan. Warm over a medium heat and stir until melted. Set aside for 5 to 10 minutes to cool slightly.

2. Add flour, baking soda and sugar to a large mixing bowl and mix together well. Pour in the Guinness/cocoa/butter mixture, lightly combine, add the vanilla, eggs and sour cream and beat everything together until well combined. The batter should be thick and dark chocolate in color.

3. Pour into a greased and lined 10″ angel food pan (get your 'how to line a cake pan' tutorial here) and cook in the oven for 45 minutes to 1 hour, or until a skewer comes out clean from the centre of the cake. This cake is very moist inside, so use your judgment regarding the skewer test. Do not leave in the oven until the cake has totally dried out — cook long enough so there is no uncooked cake on the skewer but there may be a few moist crumbs sticking to it after an hour of cooking. (I cooked my cake for 1 hour, and you can see in some of the photos where I've cut into the cake, that the sides are just a tad drier than the inside. I probably could have removed my cake at 55 minutes, but baking merged with bedtime at my house for the little ones!).

4. Leave cake in the pan to cool for 10 to 15 minutes on a wire rack. Then carefully remove cake from the cake pan and place directly on a wire wrack to cool completely.

frosting instructions

1. Place the cream cheese into a medium size mixing bowl and beat on low-medium speed until the cheese is smooth and there are no lumps remaining.

2. Gradually add in the powdered sugar and beat gently to combine (about 2 to 3 minutes), until lump free.

3. Gently fold in the whipped cream, mixing to fully combine.

4. Place the cooled cake onto a cake stand and add the frosting, spreading out to the edge of the cake. In essence, the cake should resemble a pint of Guinness... but I think it just looks like a lovely chocolate cake.

5. Voila! A mouthwatering: Guinness Chocolate Cake - sometimes vegan, sometimes not. Serve as is, or for the full effect, with a glass of creamy Guinness.

Enjoy! PS: This cake is safe for kids and the whole family alike. The Guinness' alcoholic properties cook off, so don't fret about serving this up to the kiddos. It's literally my son's favorite cake!

Will you be recreating this delectable dessert?

Let me know in the comments!

XO Kassy