This Chocolate Stout Bundt Cake with chocolate ganache is incredibly moist, tender, rich, and intensely chocolatey. It's the perfect addition to your St. Patrick's Day menu!

If you're looking for a special dessert to celebrate St-Patrick's Day, and want something with some serious dark chocolate flavor then this is the cake for you!
This Chocolate Stout Bundt Cake is as chocolatey as they come. You might think beer is an odd ingredient in a cake, but in fact, the toasty chocolate and coffee undertones of stout (such as Guinness) make it an excellent choice for incorporating into chocolate flavored baked goods.
After your first couple of bites, you'll most likely detect a hint of bitterness from the stout and the dark chocolate. These ingredients balance the flavors beautifully and ensure that this chocolate cake is indulgent without being excessively sweet.
Topped with ganache, this stout spiked bundt cake becomes a decadent treat that is sure to impress at any gathering.
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How to Make Chocolate Stout Cake
Here's an overview of the ingredients needed for this chocolate bundt cake. You will find the amounts and detailed steps in the recipe card at the end of this post.
Ingredients Overview
Here are the ingredients you'll need to make this cake:
- Stout, I used Guinness. Beer works as a gentle leavening agent. The carbonation in the beer helps cakes, quick breads, and muffins rise high.
- Molasses
- Semisweet chocolate, both for the cake and the ganache.
- All-purpose flour
- Cocoa, not Dutch-processed.
- Baking powder, baking soda and salt
- Unsalted butter
- Light brown sugar
- Eggs
- Heavy cream for the chocolate ganache
Steps Overview
For the cake:
- Position a rack in the center of the oven and pre-heat oven. Grease and lightly dust a large bundt pan.
- in a small saucepan, combine the stout and molasses and bring to a simmer over medium heat. Take the saucepan off the heat, add the chopped chocolate, stir to combine and set aside.
- Into a medium bowl, sift the dry ingredients together: flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda and salt.
- Using the paddle attachment on a stand mixer, beat the butter on medium speed until creamy and smooth. Add the brown sugar and beat on medium speed until light and fluffy. Beat in the eggs one at a time.
- With the mixer on low speed, alternate adding the flour mixture and stout mixture, beginning and ending with the flour.
- Pour batter into the prepared bundt pan, run a knife through the batter to eliminate air pockets.
- Bake cake until a wooden skewer or cake tester inserted in the center comes out with only a few moist crumbs.
- Set the pan on cooling rack for 20 minutes and then invert the cake onto wire rack and let cool until it's just slightly warm.
For the Chocolate ganache:
- Pour the heavy cream into small saucepan and bring to a boil over high heat.
- Remove the saucepan from the heat and add the chopped chocolate.
- Let the mixture stand for 1 minute and then stir until the chocolate is melted and smooth.
- Let the ganache cool slightly and slowly pour the warm ganache over the cake. Let the cake cool to room temperature before serving.
Serving Suggestions
Serve this moist chocolate cake with a scoop of vanilla ice cream for the ultimate treat. If you have any leftovers, I recommend serving the cake slightly warmed. A few seconds in the microwave should do it.
Storage Instructions
This cake can be stored loosely covered at room temperature for a couple of days. For longer storage, store in the refrigerator in an airtight container for up to 5 days.
If you wish to make this cake ahead of time and freeze it, you can do so without the ganache. Bake the cake, let it cool entirely and then wrap it well in plastic wrap and then again with aluminum foil. Freeze for up to three months. To serve, remove the cake from freezer and thaw one day ahead of serving. Bring cake to room temperature, prepare the ganache and let it cool slightly before slowly pouring it onto the chocolate cake.
If you're looking for more recipes to celebrate St-Patrick's Day, here's a flavorful recipe for Irish Soda Bread and another for Irish Scones. Happy St-Patrick's Day!
Chocolate Stout Bundt Cake
Ingredients
For the cake
- 1-¼ cups stout I used Guinness (don’t include the foam when measuring)
- ⅓ cup dark molasses
- 6 oz. semisweet chocolate very finely chopped
- 1 - ⅔ cups all-purpose flour
- ¾ cup unsweetened cocoa powder ; more for the pan not Dutch-processed
- 1-½ teaspoons baking powder
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1-¼ cups unsalted butter softened at room temperature; more for buttering the pan
- 1-½ cups packed light brown sugar
- 3 large eggs at room temperature
For the chocolate ganache:
- ⅔ cup heavy cream
- 6 oz. semisweet chocolate
Instructions
- Position a rack in the center of the oven and pre-heat oven to 350°F.
- Combine the stout and molasses in a small saucepan, place over medium-high heat and bring the stout and molasses to a simmer. Take the saucepan off the heat, add the chopped chocolate, stir the mixture and reserve.
- Into a medium bowl, sift together the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.
- Using the paddle attachment on a stand mixer, beat the butter on medium speed until creamy and smooth, about 1 minute.
- Add the brown sugar and beat on medium speed until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Stop to scrape the sides and bottom of the bowl as needed.
- Beat in the eggs one at a time, stopping to scrape the bowl after each egg.
- With the mixer on low speed, alternate adding the flour and stout mixtures, beginning and ending with the flour. Make sure to stop the mixer to scrape the sides of the bowl and then beat at medium speed until the batter is smooth, about 30 seconds.
- Pour the batter into the prepared bundt pan, and run a knife through the batter to eliminate air pockets.
- Bake cake until a wooden skewer inserted in the center comes out with only a few crumbs, 40 to 45 minutes.
- Set the pan on a wire rack to cool for 20 minutes.
- Invert the cake onto the rack and remove the pan. Let the cake cool until it's just slightly warm.
To make the ganache:
- Pour the heavy cream into small saucepan and bring to a boil over high heat.
- Remove the saucepan from the heat and add the chopped chocolate.
- Let the mixture stand for 1 minute and then stir until the chocolate is melted and smooth.
- Let the ganache cool for 2-3 minutes.
- Slowly pour the warm ganache over the cake. Let cool to room temperature before serving.
Notes
- This cake can be made ahead, wrapped in plastic without the ganache and stored in the freezer for up to a month.
- Store cake loosely covered at room temperature for a couple of days. For longer storage, store in the refrigerator for up to 5 days.
Nutrition
Angie says
That looks amazing!! Well now I want some chocolate 😀
Sweet and Savoury Pursuits says
Thank you Angie!
apuginthekitchen says
I have to make a guiness chocolate cake for St Patricks day. I love a good moist chocolate cake and this looks incredibly delciious.
Sweet and Savoury Pursuits says
Thanks Suzanne, I would definitely recommend you give it a try, it was really moist and stayed that way for a few days!
J Seaton says
This looks amazing! So moist and so full of chocolate. Love it!
Sweet and Savoury Pursuits says
Thank you, definitely one of the most intense chocolatey cake I've made!
Hilda says
With those ingredients, it has to be as delicious as it looks!
Sweet and Savoury Pursuits says
Thank you Hilda, I have to say it's hard to go wrong with all that chocolate!
Sabrina says
This cake looks incredible!! I was actually just reading a chocolate stout cake recipe from the NYTimes today. I think it's a sign I have to make something like this too!!
Sweet and Savoury Pursuits says
Oh, I'll have to take a look at the recipe, I like to compare recipes and see how they differ, sometimes a different ingredient can really change the flavour and texture of a cake!
Jhuls says
I think I died and went to heaven. 😀 This cake is absolutely gorgeous and looks al decadent. That ganache is killing me! So so good!!
Sweet and Savoury Pursuits says
Ah thank you, yes ganache does that to me too 🙂
apsara says
Wow, that is a gorgeous Bundt cake. The addition of molasses must have made it very moist! Thanks for sharing at FF!
Sweet and Savoury Pursuits says
Thank you Apsara, this is definitely a very moist cake, I think it's a combination of the beer, molasses and brown sugar.
Kathleen | HapaNomNom says
Omg, seriously?! I have had this intense chocolate craving the past few days and I have resisted.... this may be the straw that breaks the camels back! Just look at how moist and rich that cake is!!! I need this in my life, now!
Sweet and Savoury Pursuits says
Thanks Kathleen! I've learned that I can only resist cravings for so long, at some point I need to satisfy it, and anyways since dark chocolate is good for you why resist something that's ultimately good for us 😉
Nancy says
This bundt looks absolutely perfect... perfect to eat all year long and not just for St Patrick's Day! I love the combination of beer and chocolate and this cake is the perfect avenue to pair them.
Sweet and Savoury Pursuits says
Thank you Nancy! I agree, this cake is too good to limit to just St-Patrick's Day!
nancyc says
Yum! This looks and sounds like the ultimate dessert for St. Pat's day–what a special treat! 🙂
Sweet and Savoury Pursuits says
Thanks so much Nancy!