A rich vegan chocolate cake with stout, iced with a Baileys-inspired dairy-free frosting
It's my Dad's birthday and this is his birthday cake! I've been planning it for a while and I'm so pleased with how delicious it turned out.
It's an intense chocolate-y and stout-y cake with an amazing "Baileys" buttercream frosting.
The frosting was inspired by my vegan Irish Cream Ice Cream which uses Irish whiskey, a little bit of cocoa powder and a little bit of coffee to recreate the flavour of Baileys.
You wouldn't know the difference! And the cake itself is slightly adapted from a recipe I found over at Fat Girl Trapped in a Skinny Body.
At the time of creating this recipe, the only vegan Guinness option was Foreign Extra Guinness.
It's a lot stronger and more bitter but I think it works better in this cake as the flavour comes through a lot more.
However, I'm very very pleased to say that all forms of Guinness is now vegan-friendly.
More vegan Guinness and "Baileys" recipes:
Guinness Triple Chocolate Vegan Brownies
📖 Recipe
Vegan Guinness Chocolate Cake with "Baileys" Buttercream
A seriously indulgent vegan cake - Strong chocolate and stout flavour, with sweet Irish cream frosting. Great for birthdays or St Patrick's day celebrations.
Ingredients
For the Chocolate Guinness cake
- 250 g / 2 cups plain flour
- 120 g / 1 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
- 2 tsp baking soda
- 220 g / 1 cup caster sugar
- 100 g / ½ cup light brown sugar
- ½ tsp salt
- 480 ml / 2 cups Guinness
- 120 ml / ½ cup mild-flavoured vegetable oil
- 2 tsp white vinegar or apple cider vinegar
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
For the "Baileys" buttercream frosting
- 250 g / 1 cup vegan butter, such as Naturli block
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 600 g / 5 cups icing sugar
- 2-3 tbsp Irish Whiskey, I used Jamesons
- ½ tsp cocoa powder
- ½ tsp very strongly brewed coffee
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 170c / 350f. Grease and line two 8 inch sandwich tins.
- In a bowl sift the flour, baking soda, cocoa powder, salt and sugars. Make a well in the centre, pour in the beer, oil and vanilla. Whisk until there are no lumps.
- Pour into the prepared tins and bake for 25-30 minutes, until a cake tester comes out clean.
- Once baked, let them cool for 15-20 minutes in their tins before transferring them onto a cooling rack.
- To make the buttercream, cream the vegan butter and vanilla extract together in a stand mixer. Add the icing sugar in a large tbsp at a time until well mixed.
- Beat in the whiskey, cocoa powder and brewed coffee. Taste and adjust quantities if needed until it tastes just like Baileys! Refrigerate for at least an hour before decorating, to make it easier to spread.
- Once the cake has completely cooled (I recommend freezing it or keeping in the fridge overnight before decorating) spread the chilled frosting on top of one layer, sandwich the two layers together and then top the cake with the rest of the frosting.
- Serve and enjoy! It will keep in the fridge for up to 3 days, covered.
Notes
The cake is adapted from Fat Girl Trapped in a Skinny Body
Kate says
This looks lovely - am going to try to make it tonight as a friend has requested this combo... (will be using a chocolate stout, not Guinness). Is it baking powder or soda? The ingredient list says powder, but instructions say soda. Thanks!
Aimee says
Hi Kate, thanks for pointing that out - just changing it now! It should be baking soda. Hope your friend enjoys it, please let me know how it turns out :-)
Kate says
Thanks, huge hit-- dark, delicious, and b oozy. Thank you! I put a photo on my instagram: https://instagram.com/dearmisskate
Aimee says
So glad it was enjoyed! Thanks for letting me know, looks beautiful :-)
Monica says
What a great cake for your dad! He must have been very happy. Hope you're having a great holiday season.
Lisa | Sweet 2 Eat Baking says
Hi Aimee, I thought I'd stopped by your blog before, but it was Ala (WallFLOUR Girl)'s site instead. And yay for discovering another UK baker. :)
Absolutely love your Guiness cake. It looks amazing, and love the pairing of the Irish 'Baileys' Cream frosting too. I think I'd run to the corner and I'd snaffle this cake alone.
Kate - Gluten Free Alchemist says
Looks beautifully dark and delicious Aimee. Shame I can't eat Guinness!!
Kelly says
Happy happy birthday to your dad, Aimee! This cake looks amazing and is the perfect celebration cake! The guinness just makes this so much more special - love it!