Chocolate Guinness Magic Cake

I had never heard of this cake until Diane and Todd from White On Rice Couple posted this version of it recently. Of course it looked stunning, they're pretty good at making that happen. But if you read the post carefully Diane makes this cake sound sooo good. After reading about it I knew I had to make it! I love bars- the square brownie kind -although I do like the loud beer versions too, and as if the first magic cake wasn't good enough Todd and Diane came up with a chocolate version!

Your probably thinking why it's called a magic cake? The magic is in the baking. As you work your way through the steps you'll do a lot of second guessing and checking the ingredients. It starts out thick and really hard to beat and turns into a watery, curdled looking sludge. Hang in there, once it gets in the oven the batter separates producing a really rich and creamy base with a fluffy cakey top.

I always like to come up with a twist on a recipe rather than a straight copy from another blog or cook book. Nothing against anyone who does but I just like the challenge. Sometimes this can be a pain, pushing posts back if there's no creativity in the noggin'. My first thoughts for the magic cake was to make a citrus version, which I'd still love to do but with so many Irish recipes around right now the Guinness seemed like a solid choice. I had tried a few Guinness chocolate cake recipes lately and was really disappointed with the flavor, or lack of it. If I'm going to taste a cake laced with Guinness I sure as heck want to taste the beer! This magic cake delivered that taste. I didn't really have my doubts as I added a whole bottle of the beer, I even thought it might be too much but the taste is totally there without getting weird. The recipe calls for two and a half cups of milk which I cut to one cup and replaced the rest with the Guinness.

Eat it as is, or plop a dollop of whipped cream on top. This is a keeper for the St Patrick's parties...

Recipe for Guinness Chocolate Magic Cake: Adapted from White On Rice Couple

Prep Time- 25 minutes    Bake Time- 55-60 minutes    Yield- 9 two inch squares

1/2 cup unsalted butter
1 cup milk
1 1/2 cups Guinness draught ( 1 whole 11.2 fl oz bottle)
1 cup flour
1/2 cup cocoa powder
4 eggs separated
1/8 teaspoon white vinegar
1 3/4 cups confectioners sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Extra cocoa powder for dusting on top

1. Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F. Grease an 8 x 8 baking tray and set aside.
2. Melt the butter and let cool slightly. Combine the milk and the beer in a saucepan until lukewarm.
3. Mix the flour and the cocoa together in a bowl and set aside. Using a stand mixer whip the egg whites and the vinegar until you reach stiff peaks. Set aside.
4. In a large bowl beat the egg yolks with the confectioners sugar until it turns smooth and light in color, about five minutes. It'll be really stiff at first but will loosen up as you continue to whisk.
5. Add the melted butter and whisk gently until combined. Add the flour mixture and mix until smooth.
6. Gently pour in the milk/beer mixture and whisk until smooth.
7. Add the egg whites a little at a time whisking gently. This is where things look a little funky but as long as you break down the large lumps of egg white, then it'll be fine.
8. Pour the mixture into the prepared baking tray until about a half inch from the top. Place it on a larger baking tray and put it in the oven. Bake for about 50 minutes and the middle is wobbly but firm looking. 
9. The cake will be much easier to cut and serve when left to cool. I cooled mine for 24 hours which was really hard (I sooo wanted to taste it) You could cut into it after an hour or two in the fridge. Dust with cocoa powder and serve with whipped cream or on it's own.