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Chocolate Beer Bundt Cake

Published: Last Updated: by 1017 words. | About 6 minutes to read this article.

Chocolate beer cake is one of the most memorable recipes you'll ever make! The sweetness of the chocolate and the slight bitter bite of the beer make for a blue ribbon worthy bundt cake that melts in your mouth.
Total time 1 hour 20 minutes
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Black lager or stout beer can be used in this easy recipe. Find more amazing chocolate cake recipes here!

Close up of a slice of black lager chocolate cake being removed from a cake plate with a flowered, china cake server.
Bundt cakes are probably my favorite type - there are no layers to fill or fussy details to consider!

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❤️ Why you'll love this recipe

The dark beer gives this recipe a deep, roasty flavor and a dense velvety texture. If I had to describe it in one word that word would be, intense.

Your fork just sort of glides through this almost black dessert and each bite fills your mouth with decadent chocolate cake and silky-smooth ganache.

In fact, this chocolate beer cake is so dense and chocolatey that it works best as a bundt cake. Stout would work just as well.

🧾 Ingredients

For this chocolate beer cake recipe you'll need:

  • butter
  • sugar
  • dark brown sugar
  • eggs
  • vanilla
  • extra dark cocoa
  • bittersweet chocolate
  • all-purpose flour
  • salt
  • baking soda
  • sour cream
  • black lager or stout beer
  • heavy cream

🔪 Instructions

Note: This is an overview of the instructions. The full instructions are in the green recipe card below.

  1. Beat butter until fluffy - about 5 minutes.
  2. Slowly add both sugars.
  3. Beat until light and fluffy.
  4. Add eggs.
  5. Add vanilla and chocolate.
  6. Beat on low.
  7. Mix flour, cocoa, baking soda, and salt.
  8. In a large bowl whisk the sour cream and the beer until smooth.
  9. Add the flour mixture to the butter in three batches, alternating with the sour cream mixture.
  10. Spoon into prepared bundt pan.
  11. Bake for 60 to 70 minutes.
  12. Let cool 10 minutes in pan.
  13. Loosen with knife and turn out from pan.

Ganache

  1. Heat the cream until bubbles form around the edges.
  2. Stir in the chocolate until smooth
  3. Pour warm beer it into the ganache.
  4. Mix until smooth and then spoon over the finished cake.

🥫 Storage

Bundt cakes are moist and tend to last longer than other types. This keeps well at room temperature, tightly covered, for up to 5 days.

For longer storage, freeze up to 3 months.

A serving of chocolate cake being removed from the cake plate.
Use black lager or stout in this chocolate beer bundt cake.

💭 Tips for success

Expert Tip - Guinness works well in this recipe but so do many others. Choose what you like best or have available to you.

  • If you don't have, or can't find, extra dark cocoa powder you can use the regular cocoa powder. I use Hershey's Special Dark.
  • This cake does NOT taste like beer! It tastes like the best chocolate cake you ever ate.
  • There is a scant amount of residual alcohol in it - most is baked out or cooked out in the ganache.
  • IF you prefer not to use beer you can use a good ginger ale or try this chocolate sheet cake.
  • A light sprinkle of Fleur de Sel is an amazing garnish for this!

👩🏻‍🍳 Frequently asked questions

Here are the most commonly asked questions about this recipe. If you don't find the answer to yours here leave a comment below or email me - I'll get back to you as soon as I can!


What can I substitute for a stout in a cake?

Another type of beer, coffee or ginger ale.

What does beer do to cake?

The carbonation gives it an extra boost and the flavors deepen the flavor of chocolate.

What's the difference between stout and black lager?

Stout is darker and has coffee and chocolate flavors. The lager had a malty flavor with caramel flavors and a little bitter aftertaste that keeps this cake from being too sweet.

Whole black lager chocolate cake with chocolate ganache dripping down the sides

It's really weird but dark beers like stouts and black lagers have a bittersweet flavor that just goes really well with chocolate and seems to coax even more yumminess out of that magical ingredient.

This is an easy chocolate bundt cake that you'll make again and again! I love it for St. Patrick's Day, especially.

An ad for cake supplies at the Restless Chipotle shop on Amazon.

If you click on the number of servings in the recipe card you can adjust the measurements up or down for the exact number of servings you need. Don't forget that you can click on "add to collection" to save it to your own, private recipe box!

If you love this recipe please give it 5 stars! ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

📖 Recipe

Closeup of a chocolate stout cake slice.
4.67 from 3 votes

Chocolate Beer Cake

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Chocolate beer cake is one of the most memorable recipes you'll ever make! The sweetness of the chocolate and the slight bitter bite of the beer make for a blue ribbon worthy bundt cake that melts in your mouth.
Course Dessert - Cake
Cuisine American - Southern
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 1 hour 10 minutes
Total Time: 1 hour 20 minutes
Servings:16 servings
Calories:487
Author:Marye Audet-White
As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

Equipment Needed

Ingredients

  • 1 cup butter, room temperature
  • 1  cup sugar
  • 1 cup dark brown sugar
  • 2  eggs
  • 1  teaspoon  vanilla
  • 4  ounces  bittersweet chocolate, melted
  • 2  cups  all-purpose flour
  • 1  cup  dark cocoa powder
  • 1-¼  teaspoons  baking soda
  • ½  teaspoon  salt
  • ¾ cup  sour cream
  • ¾  cup  black lager or stout

Ganache

  • ½  cup  heavy cream
  • 4  ounces  bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped
  • 2  tablespoons  black lager or stout

Instructions

Cake

  • Preheat oven to 325F
  • Butter and flour a bundt pan. If you use cocoa to flour the pan your cake will not have white streaks.
  • Beat butter until fluffy - about 5 minutes.
  • Slowly add both sugars.
  • Beat until the sugar is dissolved and the mixture is light and fluffy.
  • Add eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition.
  • Add vanilla and cooled chocolate.
  • Beat on low until evenly mixed.
  • In a large bowl mix flour, cocoa, baking soda, and salt.
  • In a large bowl whisk the sour cream and the beer until smooth.
  • Add the flour mixture in three batches, alternating with the sour cream mixture.
  • Spoon into prepared bundt pan.
  • Bake for 60 to 70 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean.
  • Let cool 10 to 15 minutes.
  • Loosen with knife and turn out from pan, carefully.

Ganache

  • Heat the cream up until bubbles form around the edges and the cream begins to steam.
  • Remove from heat and stir in the chocolate until smooth
  • Heat the beer in the microwave until it is just warm. Pour it into the ganache.
  • Mix until smooth and then spoon over cake.

Notes

Expert Tip - Guinness works well in this recipe but so do many others. Choose what you like best or have available to you.
  • If you don't have, or can't find, extra dark cocoa powder you can use the regular cocoa powder. I use Hershey's Special Dark.
  • This cake does NOT taste like beer! It tastes like the best chocolate cake you ever ate.
  • There is a scant amount of residual alcohol in it most is baked out or cooked out in the ganache.
  • IF you prefer not to use beer you can use a good ginger ale or try this chocolate sheet cake.
  • A light sprinkle of Fleur de Sel is an amazing garnish for this!

Nutrition

Calories: 487kcal | Carbohydrates: 65g | Protein: 8g | Fat: 24g | Saturated Fat: 14g | Cholesterol: 67mg | Sodium: 211mg | Potassium: 390mg | Fiber: 6g | Sugar: 31g | Vitamin A: 570IU | Vitamin C: 0.1mg | Calcium: 67mg | Iron: 4.5mg

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    Originally published May 2010. Last updated January 18 to improve instructions and user experience.

    About Marye

    With a 40 year focus on the importance of family and a passion for southern comfort food, Marye Audet-White is an expert in melding the two together effortlessly. Marye's a NY Times Bestselling author with 10 cookbooks under her belt and her recipes have been featured in Good Housekeeping, Country Living, Today, House Beautiful, Texas Living, Food & Wine, and many more.

    Reader Interactions

    Comments

    1. S

      Can you make it almost keto with almond or coconut flour, brown sugar erythritol and half the amount of beer?

      Reply

      • Marye

        I think the coconut flour would be too heavy and it would make a dense cake almost too wet.

    2. Karen

      That dense chocolate cake is calling my name. OMG! Woah.

      Reply

    3. Cori @ Sweet Coralice

      This looks fantastic Mary! There’s something about cakes with beer/lager that make them extra special! Love this ??

      Reply

      • Marye Audet

        Thank you Cori! I totally agree!

    4. Ashley @ My Southern Sweet Tooth

      5 stars
      I've never used lager in dessert before, but I'm seriously thinking about trying it! This cake turned out amazing.

      Reply

      • Marye Audet

        Oh it is SO good... and I am not a fan of beer usually.

    5. Wendy

      That is a deep beautiful cake there. I would love to try a piece.

      Reply

      • Marye Audet

        Thanks! It really does come out so dark and tender!

    6. Liz

      Your black lager chocolate cake looks so rich and delectable! I'd definitely volunteer to be a taste tester!

      Reply

    7. P~

      I want all of that. Every. Single. Slice! Black Lager and Chocolate are a PERFECT combination! Great recipe! P~

      Reply

      • Marye Audet

        Thank you so much!!

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