This Guinness Chocolate Cake is rich, dark, and unbelievably moist with the best subtle touch of malty Guinness. Frosted with a sweet and creamy Bailey’s buttercream, it’s the perfect St. Patrick’s Day dessert!
It’s just not St. Patrick’s Day without this Guinness Chocolate Cake! Adding Guinness stout to my favorite chocolate cake recipe enhances the cocoa flavor and also creates a tender crumb that stays moist for days. A thick layer of Baileys Irish Cream buttercream is frosted on top, adding just the right creamy sweetness to balance every bite. You can make this cake in a single layer, or double the recipe for an impressive layered cake. Either way, it’s surprisingly simple to make!
“I made this chocolate Guinness cake for St. Patrick’s Day and my Guinness-loving husband declared it to be his new favorite cake – and it wasn’t just the green beer talking! It turned out dense, moist, and very decadent. I added more Bailey’s to my buttercream so we could really taste it. Other than that, I followed the recipe exactly and it was perfect.” — Victoria, home cook with a love for comfort food.
Key Ingredients Needed
Find the full printable recipe with specific measurements below.
- Flour: Spoon the flour into a measuring cup and level it with the back of a butter knife. If you dunk the cup into a packed bag of flour, you’ll end up with too much flour and an overly dense cake.
- Dark Chocolate: Try to get your hands on a good quality dark chocolate bar with at least 60–70% cocoa. The better the quality, the better the flavor of the cake will be.
- Cocoa Powder: Use regular unsweetened cocoa powder for baking, not Dutch-processed.
- Guinness: Use regular Guinness stout, not flavored or extra stout versions.
- Bailey’s Irish Cream: The key ingredient for the icing! If you have another Irish cream you like more, feel free to use it instead.
How to Make Guinness Chocolate Cake
Visit the printable recipe card below for full directions.
Sift the dry ingredients together into a bowl. This prevents any clumps of flour or cocoa powder, but also evenly distributes the baking powder and baking soda.
Let the melted chocolate mixture cool slightly. That 5-minute cooling time is important. If the mixture is too hot, it can scramble the egg when you whisk it in.
Want to save this recipe?
Email this recipe to yourself for easy access later!
Don’t over mix the batter. After adding the dry ingredients, stir just until everything comes together. Over mixing can lead to a tougher cake.
Grease and line the baking pan. This is especially important for dark, moist cakes like this to ensures the cake releases cleanly without the base sticking. I like to use Baker’s Joy along with a parchment paper circle placed on the bottom.
Don’t over bake. Start checking at 25 minutes, a few moist crumbs on the toothpick are perfect. Over baking will quickly dry out this small cake.
Whip the buttercream long enough. Give the frosting at least 3 to 5 minutes in the mixer to get light and fluffy. This creates that creamy, cloud-like texture.
Cool completely before frosting. The Baileys buttercream is soft and dreamy. Applying it to a warm cake will cause it to melt and slide right off!
Chill before slicing for clean cuts. A quick chill in the fridge helps firm the buttercream, so your slices come out sharp and bakery-style.
Variations to Try
- Jameson Glaze: Want to make it extra boozy? Add a whiskey glaze! Just melt 4 tablespoons butter in the microwave and then whisk in 1 1/2 cups powdered sugar, 2 tablespoons Jameson Whiskey, and a splash of vanilla extract. Then drizzle away!
- Two Tiered Cake: If you are serving a large group of people, this recipe is easily doubled to make a tiered cake or a 9×13 sheet cake. Make sure to also double the frosting!
- Enhance the Chocolate Flavor: Add a teaspoon of espresso powder to the batter to intensify the chocolate notes even more.
- Salted Caramel Drizzle: For an extra layer of indulgence, drizzle salted caramel sauce over the finished cake. The salty-sweet contrast is incredible!
This Guinness Chocolate Cake actually tastes even better the next day, as the stout deepens the chocolate flavor as it sits!
Just be sure to store it in an airtight container to keep it from drying out. You can store it at room temperature, or in the fridge if you prefer. Just let it sit at room temperature for 30 minutes before serving for the best texture.
Guinness Chocolate Cake
Ingredients
GUINNESS CHOCOLATE CAKE
- 1 cup all purpose flour
- 2 tablespoons cocoa powder
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 4 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 3 oz dark chocolate, chopped
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 1 cup Guinness
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 large egg
BAILEYS BUTTERCREAM
- 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
- 3 cups powdered sugar
- 3 tablespoons Baileys Irish Cream
Want to save this recipe?
Email this recipe to yourself for easy access later!
Instructions
GUINNESS CHOCOLATE CAKE
- Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease one 8-inch round cake pan. Set aside.
- In a medium bowl, sift together flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Set aside.
- In a medium saucepan over medium-high heat, melt butter and chopped chocolate. Once melted, stir in sugar. Remove from heat and let cool for 5 minutes.
- Whisk in Guinness and vanilla extract until smooth. Quickly beat in egg until combined. Whisk in dry ingredients until smooth.
- Pour batter into prepared pan and bake for 25 to 30 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean or with a few moist crumbs attached. Let cake cool in pan until completely cool, then transfer to cake plate and frost. You can speed up the cooling process by placing the cake in the fridge (uncovered) for about 20 minutes.
BAILEYS BUTTERCREAM
- Using a stand mixer or hand mixer, beat the butter on high until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Add Baileys Irish Cream and beat until combined.
- Add powdered sugar, 1 cup at a time, mixing thoroughly after each addition. After all sugar has been added, give it a taste and decide if you would like a little more Baileys. If yes, add 1 teaspoon at a time until desired flavor is achieved. Pipe or spread the frosting on top of the cooled cake.
⭐️ Tried this recipe? Leave a comment and rating! It only takes a minute and helps support our family-run blog. ❤️
Notes
Nutrition
Categories:
More of the Best St. Patrick’s Day Recipes
- Irish Soda Bread – Made without yeast and a few pantry staples.
- Mint Chocolate Pie – With a cool mint filling and chocolate crust.
- Lucky Charms Rice Krispie Treats – With rainbow marshmallows!
- Mint Brownies – Dress up boxed brownies with mint Oreos.
Post may contain affiliate links. Read my disclosure policy.
What kind/brand of dark chocolate, please? Unsweetened, sweet? Thanks
Any chocolate between 60% to 80% will work well in this recipe!
Can this be baked in 2 6 inch cake pans?
Sure, the layers will just be thinner than the 8-inch. Keep an eye on them, they will cook a little quicker divided into two smaller pans!
I’ve made this recipe a couple of times, and each time it has overflowed all over the place. The flavors are amazing, but I think a deep springform pan is needed in order for the recipe to be a success. I only saw one other post with this issue. Did you receive any other comments about it? Maybe there’s too much leavening?
Any feedback is appreciated.
May I ask where you purchased the Bailey’s? I can’t find it anywhere!
You can find it at any liquor store!
Gotta love it. Beer and Baileys with dessert. My wife an I definitely need to try this cake.
The photos are beautiful. This is an incredible recipe that I’m dying to try!
Oh my gosh! I made this for St. Patrick’s Day and I just can’t say enough! Absolutely DIVINE! I’ll definitely be making it again!!
Jessica, sorry I can’t figure out how to directly reply, I just checked, and pan was 1.5 inches deep. It’s a Wilton but was cheap, now I know why! I can’t wait to get a new one. BTW I was able to save most of the batter and cooked it on a pan on the stove. Best tasting cake ever!! Ate the cake blobs with ice cream and it was so yummy!
Jessica, this looks awesome! I tried to make dark chocolate guinness cookies and they totally failed, because they became so bready- so a cake would be perfect. Thanks for the recipe!
You had me at Guinness! YUM!
I made this Wednesday (same day you posted)…actually doubled it and gave my aunt and uncle one for their 20th wedding anniversary…Hands down, the best chocolate cake I have ever made! I’m making it tomorrow for card club, but the Dixie Crystals site is down! Is this posted somewhere else?
Wow! Thanks Vicki! I am so happy to here it! 🙂
And no, since I developed the recipe for Dixie Crystals – the recipe is only posted on their site. However the website is back up and running!
Wow… Made this tonight and it was perfect; moist and with a wonderful deep chocolate flavor. My husband doesn’t like chocolate cake but he said this may beat his favorite of white cake with white frosting. Thank you for another amazing recipe!
A non chocolate cake lover that actually loved the cake? Now that is awesome! 🙂
When you made this how deep was your cake pan? I used an 8 inch but mine ended up overflowing in the oven.
My cake pan is about 2 1/2 inches deep. A few people below made it with great success – how deep was your pan?
I made this last night and it was SO good! Thanks for the recipe!
Oh gosh. WANT. Anything with the words “dark chocolate” in the title is a win in my books.
This cake looks incredible…would seriously love a slice or three right now. OMG…I may have to go bake it!
Whoa…. this is my craving of the day!
Dark rich chocolate with beer?! How can you go wrong? And while the glaze sounds heavenly, I’m a frosting gal myself.
It’s the grown-up version of a carbomb cupcake! Hehe, awesome!
Umm…YES! Love this idea Jess. That frosting speaks to me.