Guinness Cake (inside and out)

Last night we had a going away party for a friend who is going to study in Ireland. I decided to make a Guinness cake for the celebration. When researching photos online of cakes shaped like a Guinness glass, I found a recipe for chocolate cake made with Guinness! Here is the recipe I used:

2 c. guinness
2 c. (4 sticks) butter
1 1/2 c. unsweetened cocoa powder
4 c. flour
4 c. sugar
1 tbsp. baking soda
1 1/2 tsp. salt
4 eggs
1 1/3 c. sour cream

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Bring stout and butter to a simmer in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add  coco powder and whisk until smooth. Cool Slightly. Wisk flour, sugar, baking soda and salt in a large bowl to blend. Using a mixer, beat eggs and sour cream in another large bowl. Add stout-chocolate mixture to the eggs and beat to combine. Add flour mixture and beat briefly on slow speed. Bake about 35 min.

This recipe is supposed to make 3 8-inch round pans. I used a 9x13 pan, and needed to up the baking time. I also had a lot of extra batter, so I made a small 6-inch round pan with the extra, which my husband took to work! If I did this again, I would half the recipe and use a 9x13 pan.

For frosting, I made Wilton's chocolate butter-cream. I also made a batch of non-chocolate butter-cream for decorating.

I couldn't be happier with the end result, I think it looked like a Guinness glass, and the cake tasted very delicious and moist!