Chocolate Guinness cake with peanut butter frosting

Chocolate Guinness cake with peanut butter frosting, topped with Reese's Cups!
Chocolate Guinness cake with peanut butter frosting, topped with Reese’s Cups!
Chocolate Guinness cake with peanut butter frosting, topped with Reese's Cups!
Chocolate Guinness cake with peanut butter frosting, topped with Reese’s Cups!

Hello darlings! Sorry I’ve not blogged in a while – the wedding is taking over my free time, work’s been crazy, we recently acquired two kittens (photo at the bottom of this post)… there are plenty of excuses. But I couldn’t not blog this bad boy – it is CRYING OUT to be loved. WHAT a cake. I was inspired by my friend Cottle, who made a cake a bit like this for my hen do (side note – my sister organised a GBBO style Bake Off and I had to play Mary Berry and it was AMAZING). Her cake was absolutely delicious and I knew I had to make my own version. As fate would have it, one of my colleagues was leaving and given beer and peanut butter are two of his favourite things, I finally had my opportunity to make it.

I adapted Nigella’s Guinness cake along with the cream cheese peanut butter frosting from this Channel 4 recipe, and I added a shed load of Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups on top. Have I mentioned yet how thrilled I am that Reese’s is now readily available in London? It’s VERY exciting for this slightly-Canadian, mostly-British baker.

I made my cake in an 8″ loose bottom square tin but I think I’d go for a deep 8″ or 9″ round tin next time round. Best to go loose bottom or springform with this one.

You will need:

For the cake

  • 250 ml Guinness
  • 250 g butter
  • 75 g cocoa powder
  • 375 g caster sugar
  • 170 ml sour cream
  • 2 large eggs
  • 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
  • 250 grams plain flour
  • 2 ½ tsp baking soda

For the icing

  • 175g cream cheese
  • 100g smooth peanut butter (Whole Earth or similar – ideally one without any added sugars or oils)
  • 450g icing sugar
  • 3 tsp vanilla
  • 100g butter
  • 4-5 packets of peanut butter cups (the ones that have three cups each)
  1. Start by putting your peanut butter cups in the fridge or freezer. It makes them easier to chop.
  2. Preheat the oven to 170°C and grease your tin, lining the bottom with baking parchment.
  3. Measure out the Guinness and pour into a large saucepan.
  4. Add the butter and warm it on a medium heat until it’s all melted together.
  5. Sift your cocoa into the pan and whisk until smooth.
  6. Add the sugar and beat in.
  7. In a separate bowl, beat together your sour cream, eggs, and vanilla, and pour the mix into the pan. Sift in the flower and baking powder and whisk until smooth.
  8. Pour the cake mix into your prepared tin and bake for 40-50 mins.
  9. While the cake is baking, make the frosting. Using an electric mixer (handheld or standmixer – your choice!) beat the cream cheese, butter, vanilla, and peanut butter together until smooth and well combined. Sift the icing sugar into the bowl and beat on a low speed until it comes together, then turn the speed up and beat for a couple of minutes until it’s light and fluffy. Set aside.
  10. Cool in the tin on a cooling rack and remove carefully when cold. It’s quite delicate so handle it carefully!
  11. Chop the peanut butter cups roughly and return them to the fridge.
  12. When the cake is cold, spread the frosting on top and sprinkle the Reese’s Cups over the top. Serve!

The cake is best eaten on the day or day after you make it. If it’s warm inside your home, you might want to store it in an airtight container in the fridge.

Enjoy!

Chocolate Guinness cake with peanut butter frosting, topped with Reese's Cups!
Chocolate Guinness cake with peanut butter frosting, topped with Reese’s Cups!

And now for something completely different…

Our kittens, Arya and Snow
Our kittens, Arya and Snow

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