CHOCOLATE STOUT CAKE WITH COFFEE GLAZE

Chocolate Stout Cake With Coffee Glaze image

This dark chocolate cake relies on stout beer to add malted notes. Coffee helps enhance the chocolate flavor, and sour cream keeps the cake moist for days. A spiked coffee glaze studded with cacao nibs lends crunch and a nice bitter edge. This recipe calls for natural-process cocoa powder, which, along with other acidic ingredients like dark brown sugar, coffee, beer and sour cream, reacts with baking soda to make the cake rise. Dutch-process cocoa is chemically neutral and should not be substituted here, as it may cause your cake to rise unevenly and could produce an unpleasant flavor. Available from speciality baking supply stores and online, black cocoa powder is also used in this recipe to enhance the dark cocoa color and flavor, but feel free to substitute more natural cocoa powder.

Provided by Laurie Ellen Pellicano

Time 4h

Yield 1 (10-inch) Bundt cake

Number Of Ingredients 19

Ingredients

3 cups/384 grams unbleached all-purpose flour, plus 1 tablespoon for dusting the pan
1/2 cup/50 grams natural process cocoa powder, plus 1 tablespoon for dusting the pan
3/4 cup/171 grams unsalted butter (1 1/2 sticks), plus more for greasing the pan
1 tablespoon baking soda
1/4 cup/25 grams black cocoa powder (or substitute additional natural process cocoa powder)
2 packed cups/440 grams dark brown sugar
2 teaspoons to 1 tablespoon fine sea salt (depending on your preference)
1/3 cup/80 milliliters grapeseed or other neutral oil
1 cup/240 milliliters stout beer
1/2 cup/120 milliliters cold-brew or strong brewed coffee
1 cup/240 grams sour cream
3 large eggs
1 tablespoon whiskey
1 3/4 cups/228 grams confectioners' sugar
1 1/2 tablespoons sour cream
1 tablespoon whiskey
1/4 teaspoon fine sea salt
1 to 2 tablespoons cold-brew or strong brewed coffee
1 to 2 tablespoons cacao nibs

Steps:

Place a rack in the lower third of the oven and heat to 350 degrees.
In a small bowl, stir together 1 tablespoon flour with 1 tablespoon natural process cocoa powder. Grease the inside of a 12-cup Bundt pan with butter and dust with this mixture, taking care to coat the pan entirely.
In a medium bowl, whisk the remaining flour with the baking soda. In a large bowl, stir together remaining cocoa powders with the brown sugar and salt. (Mixture will be lumpy.)
In a small saucepan over medium heat, melt the butter with the oil, beer and coffee, whisking occasionally. When the butter is fully melted and the mixture is hot, pour this mixture into the large bowl with the cocoa powder mixture, and whisk well to combine. Let this mixture cool slightly.
Meanwhile, in a large liquid measuring cup or bowl, whisk together the sour cream, eggs and whiskey. Pour this mixture into the cocoa mixture, whisking as you go, until well combined.
Add the flour in two to three additions, whisking between each addition, until smooth and no clumps remain. (The batter will be a tad thin.)
Pour batter into the prepared Bundt pan and bake for 40 to 50 minutes, until a skewer inserted into the center comes out clean, rotating your pan at 30 minutes to ensure even cooking.
Remove from the oven and cool for 10 minutes, then invert and release onto a wire rack to cool completely.
Make the glaze while Bundt is cooling: In a medium bowl, whisk together the confectioners' sugar, sour cream, whiskey, salt and 1 tablespoon of coffee until smooth. The glaze should make slowly disappearing ribbons when you lift the whisk, similar to the texture of molasses or honey. Add more coffee 1 teaspoon at a time as needed. (To test the glaze, drizzle some on an inverted coffee cup or bowl; it should be a little thick and travel slowly down the sides.)
Once the Bundt has cooled completely, use a piping bag, spatula or spoon to glaze your cake. While the glaze is still wet, sprinkle cacao nibs over the surface, pressing lightly to adhere, and let the glaze set until firm, about 30 minutes to 1 hour.