Chocolate stout cake with peanut butter frosting

Stout, maybe black beer, I'm not sure what else you would call it, but it is a dark heavy black beer, with a strong yeasty, beer taste.  This recipe from the Donna Hay 50th Issue Birthday edition tempted me from the get go.  I went and bought the bottle of stout, it isn't a regular drink in our household.  In fact I have never drunk stout, I am not a beer drinker at all, and Adrian is not a black beer drinker, but it is worth buying for this cake alone.

A totally decadent, rich and delicious cake and not like any I had before.  Very beery scent when it is cooking and even to the taste it is beery, but not all a deterent to a non beer drinker.

We were all a little apprehensive so many different tastes in one cake.  Stout, chocolate, peanut butter, not what we would normally put together, but PLEASE give it a go and see what you think.

Delicious, really delicious!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

We ate this cake, cool from the bench and warmed with the left over frosting and oh boy either way this is so yummy!!!!!!!!!!!!

Recipe:

1 cup (250 ml beer)

225gram butter, chopped

1/4 cup, 75 gram cocoa, sifted

2 eggs

2/3 cup, (160 gram) sour cream

2 cups, (300 gram) plain (all purpose) flour sifted

1/2 teaspoon bicarbonate of (baking) soda, sifted

2 cups (440 grams)  caster super fine sugar

Peanut Butter Frosting

1 cup (160gram) icing sugar mixture

1 cup (280 grams) smooth peanut butter

80 grams butter, softened

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/3 cup (80ml) single (pouring) cream

Pre heat oven to 160 deg C (325 deg F)

Place the stout and butter in a saucepan over medium heat and stir to dissolve butter.

Remove from heat and whisk in cocoa.

Set aside.

Whisk together the eggs and sour cream.

Add the stout mixture with the flour, bicarbonate of soda and sugar and whisk to combine.

Pour into a lightly greased 21cm x 10cm x 7cm loaf tin lined with non stick baking paper.

Bake for an hour twenty or until cooked when tested with a skewer.

Allow to cool in the tin for 10 minutes.

Turn onto a wire rack to cool completely.

To make the Peanut butter frosting, place the sugar, peanut butter, butter and vanilla in an electric mixer and beat for 6 minutes or until light and fluffy.  Add the cream and beat for a further 2 minutes.  Spread the peanut butter frosting over the cake to serve. 

(Serves 6-8)

We ate some slices cold and heated some in the microwave.  Either way delicious, see what you think.