I have been searching for this recipe for years. Although I’ve yet to find the handwritten one we created the evening my daughter and I baked it, I did find the original post! (Shared below.)

April 14, 2014

Happy People Celebrate!

Celebrations are an acknowledgment, a show of appreciation for the good things in life. They help us to slow down, bond and move away from the tediousness of day to day life. The time we spend anticipating, planning, and preparing can become heightened moments, bringing as much pleasure as the event.

Often, however, we forget to rejoice in the little things that mean so much. Commemorations should not be reserved for grand events and holidays –as sometimes, honestly, these are hectic and stressful.

So, today, think on something you are grateful for and celebrate!

Isaac, my oldest son, and I recently returned from his senior trip to London, Wales and Ireland. While we were in Kerry, he and I could not resist trying Irish Chocolate Cake. We were shocked to find it denser and less sweet than American cakes (meaning I could probably have eaten more than one slice). So with that and the exquisite memory of our visit to the Guinness Brewery in mind, I’ve decided to make an Irish Stout Cake for the family.

I found three irresistible recipes online. Two were somewhat similar recipes for an Irish Stout Cake; the other a Chocolate Irish Potato Cake. Unable to choose, I have combined them and added a little here and there.

IRISH STOUT POTATO CAKE

¼ cup unsweetened cocoa powder and 2 ounces shaved baker’s chocolate

1/3 cup Guinness Extra Stout

1/3 teaspoon coffee granules

1 cup all-purpose flour

¾ teaspoon baking soda

¼ teaspoon baking powder

1/8 teaspoon salt

1/3 cup butter, softened

1 cup sugar

2 large eggs

½ cup cold mashed/sieved potato

½ teaspoon vanilla extract

1/3 cup whole fat buttermilk

*This is a small cake, which is common in many European countries. It will make one 8 or 9 inch cake. And, if you choose to add the shaved chocolate to the batter, expect a very gooey cake.

Prepare cake pan with parchment, butter and dust with a combination of cocoa powder and flour.

Preheat oven to 350. In a small saucepan, combine cocoa powder, stout and coffee granules. Warm and set aside to cool (I put mine in the fridge, covered). In a medium bowl sift together flour, baking soda, salt and baking powder; set aside. In mixing bowl beat butter, slowly adding sugar until smooth. Beat in eggs and vanilla.

Stir cold buttermilk into cooled stout mixture. To the creamed butter, slowly add 1/3 of the stout mixture until fully incorporated. Add the flour in small increments, alternating with the stout mixture and shaved chocolate. The batter will not be as thin as American cake batter.

Pour batter into prepared pan and bake 25-35 minutes (check time beginning at 20 minutes). Cake will pull away from the sides of the pan; check center with toothpick. Remove to a wire rack and allow to cool in pan for ten minutes. Slide knife around the edge of the pan and invert onto rack. When cool, transfer to cake plate. Do not allow cake to remain exposed to air after cooled.

GANACHE

3 ounces of a good semisweet chocolate

3T heavy cream

1 pat of butter

Melt in double boiler, stirring constantly. Remove from heat, add butter and continue stirring until it reaches desired consistency. Add cream slowly until it reaches desired consistency.

*A creamier version:

4 oz. chocolate to ½ cup heavy cream, 1 pat of butter

Warm the milk, poor over chocolate and let it sit until melted. Stir in butter and drizzle over cake. If the ganache gets too stiff to poor, just warm it over a double boiler.

A huge thank you to my daughter, Anderson, for helping in the kitchen tonight. It would not have been the same without you!

• The first warm piece was very rich. So we stuck it in the fridge & had a piece the next morning for breakfast. It was even better cold!

#ElizabethMozleyPartridge

#WeShareTheSameSky #AlabamaAuthor #Guinness #IrishStoutCake #IrishPotatoCake #family #baking