With St. Patrick’s Day just around the corner, I thought I’d try something with both Bailey’s and Guinness. Bailey’s Irish Cream and Guinness Extra Stout Beer, that is.

I’ve made the Guinness Stout chocolate cake a few times before, and it’s really better the next day, but this time I just couldn’t wait to try it with the Bailey’s Irish cream butterscotch sauce! I think it turned out really well, although I snuck in a scoop of vanilla ice cream as well, which goes with both the cake and the sauce!

And…if you really don’t want to make the mini bundt cakes, or don’t have the mini bundt pan molds, don’t fret! You can just pour the batter into a greased and lined 9-inch round springform or round cake pan, and to bake it for about an hour, or until the center is no longer soft and wet.

The cake really does taste better the next day, with the chocolate or cocoa flavor much more pronounced, and the texture and mouth feel seems much more improved, too!

I don’t really celebrate most holidays, but this seems like a good way to celebrate this one. It certainly beats trying to pinch someone who isn’t wearing green, or drinking beer with green dye in some dive bar, huh?

Guinness Stout Mini Bundt Cakes (based on this)

ingredients

4 fluid ounces (or 1/2 cup) Guinness Extra Stout beer

4 ounces (8 Tablespoons) unsalted butter

3/8 cup cocoa, preferably Dutch-process

1 cup all-purpose flour, preferably unbleached

1 cup granulated sugar

3/4 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon sea salt

1 egg

1/4 cup + 1 Tablespoon sour cream, room temperature

method

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. If using a springform pan, grease and line bottoms and sides with parchment paper, set aside. If you are using a 6-cup capacity mini bundt cakes pan, simply spray with baking butter spray with flour.

Sift into a bowl the flour, sugar, baking soda and salt. Stir with a whisk to mix thoroughly. Set aside.

In a small sauce pan, add the beer and butter, heat on stove top on medium, just until the butter is melted. Cool slightly, then add the cocoa, and whisk until thoroughly incorporated.

In a small bowl, whisk thoroughly the sour cream and egg. Add to the cocoa/beer/butter mixture. Set aside.

In three parts, add the flour/sugar mixture. Whisk thoroughly until batter with thick and smooth. Add to pan, or mini bundt molds. If using mini-bundt molds, about 1/2 cup of batter per mini bundt would suffice. Do not fill all the way to capacity since the cake batter will rise.

Bake for 20 minutes if making mini bundt cakes. Bake for an hour if using a springform pan.

Cool about 10 minutes before carefully unmolding or turning unto a wire rack.

 

Bailey’s Irish Cream Butterscotch Sauce (based on this)

ingredients

4 ounces unsalted butter

1 cup packed brown sugar

2 Tablespoons corn syrup (next time I’ll try to find some malt syrup)

1/4 cup heavy whipping cream

pinch salt

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/2 cup Bailey’s Irish cream

method

Place all ingredients in a small sauce pan and heat until gently boiling, stirring occasionally, for about 15 minutes, until thickened enough to coat the back of a wooden spoon. Remove from heat. If grainy, whisk in a little bit (like a tablespoon) of whipping cream and/or strain into a bowl to remove solids. These are likely to be milk solids from the butter. Refrigerate if making ahead, and just reheat gently and whisk and/or strain to make smooth again. Enjoy!