VEGAN STOUT CHOCOLATE CAKE WITH IRISH CREAM FROSTING

If you’re looking for some St.-Patrick’s-Day-themed baking that doesn’t involve green food colouring, we’ve got you covered. But before you have your cake and eat it too, do you have a solid understanding of what St. Patrick’s Day actually celebrates?

Though the festivities today may make it seem like just another opportunity for shamrock-shaped party glasses and dressing up as a leprechaun, the holiday’s creation actually goes all the way to the 17th century. Way back when, ol’ Saint Patrick, a missionary who converted many of Ireland’s inhabitants to Christianity in the 5th century, died. His death date was March 17th, but his legacy clearly lives and is celebrated all over the world annually.

The public holiday is celebrated in the Republic of Ireland, Northern Ireland, Newfoundland and Labrador in Canada, as well as by the Irish diaspora all around the globe. Today, this day is more notoriously known as a holiday to celebrate Irish culture and heritage in general, and people do so by being able to break ‘Lent’, participating in parades, decorating with and wearing the festive ‘green’ Irish colours, and of course, indulging in some traditional Irish food and drinks.

And though there are a ton of Irish delicacies out there, what can we say. An opportunity to share a vegan stout cake with boozy icing seemed too good an opportunity to pass up. But who can resist a good Irish stew with fresh soda bread? Mmm…

Nevertheless, this cake utilizes Irish flavours in a way that no one will forget. This vegan chocolate cake is infused with rich dark stout beer (pick your favourite) that adds a whole new element of richness to what would normally be an already delicious cake. Match that with a thick and creamy, and also vegan, Irish ‘butter cream’ frosting? Now that’s a cake. And the best part is that you can have this thing ready to go in less than an hour.

Happy St. Patrick’s Day!

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Vegan Stout Chocolate Cake with Irish Cream Frosting

INGREDIENTS

For the Chocolate Stout cake

• 2 cups plain flour
• 1 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
• 2 tsp baking soda
• 1 cup caster sugar
• ½ cup light brown sugar
• ½ tsp salt
• 2 cups dark stout beer
• ½ cup vegetable oil
• 1 tsp vanilla extract

For the Irish Cream Frosting

• 1 cup vegan butter
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 5 cups icing sugar
• 2-3 tbsp Irish Whiskey
• ½ tsp cocoa powder
• ½ tsp very strongly brewed coffee

Ingredients:

1. Preheat oven to 350F. Grease two 8-inch cake tins.
2. In a medium bowl, mix flour, baking soda, cocoa powder, salt, and sugars together. Dig a well in the centre of the bowl, bringing the ingredients up towards the sides. Pour the beer, oil, and vanilla in the the well. Whisk until the batter is smooth.
3. Pour batter into the greased tins, and bake for 25-30 minutes. Test that the cake is baked through by pricking a knife in that comes out clean.
4. Let cakes cool for 15-20 minutes inside of their tins before transferring to a cooling rack.
5. To mix the buttercream frosting, cream the vegan butter and vanilla extract together in a stand mixer. Add the icing sugar bit by bit until well-mixed. Slowly add the whiskey, cocoa powder, and brewed coffee. Taste and adjust quantities if desired.
6. Once the cake has cooled completely (this may take several hours), spread the frosting on top of one layer. Place the second layer on top of the first, then spread icing over top the entire cake.
7. Serve. Cake will last in the fridge if covered for up to three days.