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A moist and fudgy Guinness chocolate cake with Irish whiskey glaze is the perfect St. Patrick’s Day dessert. And since it starts with a box of cake mix, you can enjoy this easy treat any night of the week — no holiday necessary!
Table of Contents
- Why You’ll Love this Easy Guinness Cake Recipe
- Why Bake with Guinness
- What’s Special about a Bundt Cake
- The Best Bundt Pans
- Ingredients
- How to Make Guinness Chocolate Cake
- Serving Suggestions
- Preparation and Storage Tips
- Recipe Variations
- Tips for the Best Guinness Chocolate Cake Recipe
- Guinness Chocolate Cake with Cake Mix Recipe
If you’re looking for other festive St. Patrick’s Day dessert recipes, you might like this Irish Whiskey Cake, a green pistachio cake, and this Watergate cake, too!
Why You’ll Love this Easy Guinness Cake Recipe
- Easy. Yes, you can add Guinness to chocolate cake mix for a shortcut, easy Guinness chocolate cake that tastes like it comes from a professional bakery!
- Moist. Sour cream and instant pudding mix in the batter keep this cake exceptionally moist with a tender crumb.
- Rich Flavor. Both the Guinness and the instant coffee granules or espresso powder intensify the flavor of the chocolate in the cake. That means that the cake doesn’t actually taste like beer, but instead has a richer, more decadent chocolate flavor. It’s divine!
- Make Ahead. Whether you’re hosting a St. Patrick’s Day party or just serving a special dessert for your family, it’s more convenient to prep ahead so that you’re not stressing or fussing in the kitchen at the last minute. This is one of those great cakes that stays moist and delicious — even after a couple of days on the counter.
Why Bake with Guinness
Adding Guinness to chocolate cake mix does not result in a cake that tastes like beer! Instead, the roast coffee and caramel undertones of the Guinness serve to amplify the natural flavor of the chocolate. Include some espresso powder or instant coffee granules as well and you’ve got a decadent, fudgy chocolate cake with a more complex flavor than your average boxed mix.
Can kids eat Guinness chocolate cake?
Absolutely! As I mentioned above, this dessert just tastes like an exceptionally delicious chocolate cake. It doesn’t actually taste like beer, and your children will not get drunk from a slice.
What’s Special about a Bundt Cake
The Bundt cake pan was invented by H. David Dalquist, the owner of Minnesota’s Nordic Ware company, in 1950. The unique ring-shaped pan allows more of the cake to be in contact with the edges of the pan, and therefore the heat is transferred more evenly. This allows the inside of the cake to cook through without burning the outside, creating a crisp, golden brown crust on each slice.
Unlike more traditional sheet cakes or layer cakes that are baked in shallow pans, a Bundt pan has decorative sides and tops that range from ridges to fruit, or other still life scenes. It is typically used for pound cake, coffee cake, and other dense, moist cakes. Since more of the cake’s surface is exposed to high heat in a Bundt pan, you achieve a nice brown crust on the outside of the cake, while keeping the inside perfectly moist.
The Best Bundt Pans
If you’re in the market for a new Bundt pan, be sure to check out our roundup of the best Bundt pans on the market (including a couple that I own and love). My top pick is the Nordic Ware Anniversary Bundt pan with a 12-cup capacity, which is available on Amazon for $35.96, at Walmart for $36, and at Target for $44.
Ingredients
This is just a quick overview of the ingredients that you’ll need for a chocolate Guinness cake. As always, specific measurements and step-by-step instructions are included in the printable recipe box at the bottom of the post.
- Devil’s Food cake mix: I like the super-rich, chocolatey Duncan Hines Devil’s food cake mix, but any similar variety will work. You can even substitute with a regular chocolate cake mix.
- Espresso powder or instant coffee granules: enhances the natural flavor of the chocolate.
- Sour cream: an important ingredient, thanks to its high fat content and its acidity. The sour cream adds moisture without thinning the batter, adds fat for creaminess, helps to control the browning, and activates the leavening agents.
- Instant chocolate pudding mix: the gelatin component in the instant pudding mix makes the cake super moist. It’s the secret ingredient to make your cake more fluffy, too! When baking a cake in a Bundt pan, a very moist batter is necessary so that the cake doesn’t dry out. Don’t omit the pudding, which is a key ingredient.
- Guinness stout: amplifies the natural flavor of the chocolate, thanks to its roasty malt character with slight cocoa, chocolate, and coffee flavor.
- Oil: keeps the cake super-moist. I use vegetable oil, but any neutral oil (such as canola oil) will work.
- Eggs: give the cake structure.
- Salted butter, light brown sugar, heavy cream, Irish whiskey, salt, and confectioner’s sugar: come together to make the easy and flavorful Irish whiskey glaze.
How to Make Guinness Chocolate Cake
This cake is adapted from my mom’s chocolate Bundt cake recipe, which she got from her friend Claudia almost 40 years ago. Everyone loves this dessert — even my husband and boys who claim that they don’t like cake! You’ll find detailed directions in the recipe card below, but here’s the quick version:
- Mix together the batter in a large mixing bowl with a handheld electric mixer or stand mixer.
- Pour the mixture into a Bundt pan.
- Bake for about 55 minutes.
- Cool completely.
- Drizzle glaze over top.
- Slice and serve!
Serving Suggestions
Serve the cake on its own, or top each slice with freshly whipped cream, fresh berries, or a scoop of vanilla ice cream. A sprig of fresh mint would be a nice touch, too!
Preparation and Storage Tips
- Covered loosely, this cake will keep at room temperature for about 2-3 days.
- To extend the life of your cake, store it in the refrigerator for up to 1 week.
- You can also freeze this cake. Allow the cake to cool completely, wrap tightly with plastic wrap and aluminum foil. Store in the freezer for up to 3 months. Just know that the glaze won’t look quite as nice after wrapping and freezing, so you might want to wait to add the glaze until you’re ready to serve.
Recipe Variations
- If you don’t want to bake with alcohol, substitute brewed coffee for the Guinness.
- Add 1 ½ cups of miniature chocolate chips to the batter for texture and more rich chocolate flavor.
- Instead of the whiskey glaze, finish the cake with a dusting of powdered sugar, vanilla glaze, or chocolate ganache glaze.
- Loaf Cakes: If you don’t have a Bundt pan, you can bake this cake in two loaf pans. The cooking time will be about the same or slightly shorter, typically 45-50 minutes in a 350°F oven.
- If you don’t have a box of Devil’s Food cake mix, use a box of regular chocolate cake mix.
Tips for the Best Guinness Chocolate Cake Recipe
- Grease the Bundt pan really well by coating with butter and then dusting with flour. Alternatively, you can use a cooking spray that’s specifically made for baking (like this one). These options will ensure that your cake pops right out of the pan when it’s done!
- Let the sour cream and eggs come to room temperature. They will mix smoother into your cake batter.
- Use full-fat sour cream for the best flavor and texture.
- Do not over-bake the cake or it can become dry. Start checking for doneness by the 50-minute mark. Total baking times will vary depending on your personal oven and on the type and color of Bundt pan that you use.
- Don’t leave the cake in the pan for too long after baking — about 10-15 minutes is plenty. After that, condensation will start to form and the moisture will negatively impact the crust.
- The cake gets better as it sits, so this is a nice dessert option to prepare the day before.
More Chocolate Cake Recipes to Try
One Bowl Buttermilk Chocolate Cake
3 hours hrs 5 minutes mins
Italian Love Cake
9 hours hrs 20 minutes mins
Chocolate Pound Cake
3 hours hrs 55 minutes mins
Guinness Chocolate Cake with Cake Mix
Ingredients
- 1 (15.25 ounce) box Devil’s Food chocolate cake mix (or sub with regular chocolate cake mix)
- 2 teaspoons espresso powder or instant coffee granules
- 1 cup (8 ounces) sour cream, at room temperature
- 1 (3.9 ounce) box instant chocolate pudding mix (just the dry mix — do not prepare pudding according to package directions)
- ½ cup Guinness beer
- ½ cup vegetable oil
- 4 large eggs, at room temperature
Irish Whiskey Glaze
- ¼ cup (½ of a stick) salted butter
- ½ cup packed light brown sugar
- ¼ cup heavy cream
- 2 tablespoons Irish whiskey (I use Jameson)
- Pinch of salt
- 1 cup confectioners' sugar (powdered sugar), sifted
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease and flour a Bundt pan; set aside.
- In a large bowl, use an electric mixer on medium-high speed to beat together the cake mix, espresso powder or instant coffee, sour cream, dry pudding mix, Guinness, oil, and eggs for about 2 minutes.
- Pour the batter into the prepared pan; tap on the counter once or twice to release air bubbles.
- Bake for 50 minutes – 1 hour, or until a toothpick or cake tester inserted in the center of the cake comes out clean. My cake is always done in 55 minutes, but the total baking time will vary. Let cake stand for 10 minutes. Invert on a cooling rack and remove cake from pan. Once cake is completely cool, drizzle with Irish Whiskey Glaze.
Irish Whiskey Glaze
- Once the cake is cool, prepare the glaze. Place the butter, brown sugar, cream, and salt in a small saucepan. Bring to a boil over medium heat, stirring constantly. Remove from the heat; whisk in the whiskey. Let cool for 5-10 minutes, stirring frequently as it cools slightly. Gradually whisk in the confectioners’ sugar until smooth. Add extra confectioners’ sugar, if necessary, to thicken the glaze until it reaches the desired consistency. Drizzle over the cake.
Notes
- If you don’t want to bake with alcohol, substitute brewed coffee for the Guinness.
- Add 1 ½ cups of miniature chocolate chips to the batter for a bit of texture and even more rich chocolate flavor.
- Instead of the whiskey glaze, finish the cake with a dusting of powdered sugar, vanilla glaze, or chocolate ganache glaze.
- Loaf Cakes: If you don’t have a Bundt pan, you can bake this cake in two loaf pans. The cooking time will be about the same or slightly shorter, typically 45-50 minutes in a 350°F oven.
Where are the measurements?
Hi, Jo! There’s a full recipe box (with a print option) at the bottom of the post, which includes all of the measurements and the specific directions. Let me know if you have any questions!