Toast the New Year

Cook’s notes: Ordinarily I would toast the New Year by serving this rich, decadent and oh, so good dessert chocolate mouse with a bubbly glass of champagne. 

The mousse is served in small demitasse-like cups and makes 5-6 small servings. Recipe link below. Note I did not skip the champagne toast part :) 
 http://sockfairies.blogspot.com/2015/12/a-toast-to-new-year.html
But this year I decided to change things up a bit by trying a recipe from this cookbook, a recent gift from daughter. 

She requested the Guinness cake. I did make some adaptations. The suggested cream cheese frosting was waived by the group in favor for a bittersweet chocolate icing.  The cake can be described as dark , moist and flavorful with the Guinness adding wonderful richness. The piece de resistance was the bittersweet chocolate icing. You don't need a March holiday to enjoy this cake.  

Guinness Cake
Cook's Notes: I baked the cake in a 13 x 9 pan but using 2- 8 or 9 inch cake pans would work adjusting baking time by 10 minutes. 
Cake Ingredients: 

• 2 sticks of butter (1 cup)
• 1-1/4 cups Guinness at room temperature-measure beer not the foam 
• 1 cup unsweetened cocoa powder (sifted)
• 2 large eggs
• 2 cups sugar plus 2 TB. sugar
• 2 tsp. vanilla extract
• 3/4 cup buttermilk
• 2-1/2 cups flour 
• 1/2 tsp.salt
• 1/2 tsp. Saigon cinnamon
• 2 tsp. baking soda
• 1 tsp. baking powder
• optional 1/2 tsp. espresso powder

Bittersweet or Dark Chocolate Icing:

• 3/4 cup heavy cream 
• 6 oz. Bittersweet Chocolate or Dark Chocolate chips
• 1 tsp. vanilla
• 2 TB. confectioners sugar 
• 1 TB. Kahlua 

Cake Directions:

• Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Grease baking pan.
• Heat butter in a saucepan over medium heat. Stir in Guinness slowly, remove from heat and whisk in cocoa.  
• In a large mixing bowl, beat eggs,sugar, vanilla and buttermilk and slowly mix in Guinness mixture.  
• Sift together flour, salt, cinnamon, baking soda, baking powder and espresso powder.  
• Slowly mix wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and keep beating until well combined. 
• Pour mixture into baking pan and check at 30 minutes. Insert a toothpick into the center of cake if comes out clean cake is cooked. 
• Cool cake on a wire rack. 

Icing Directions: 

• Bring the cream to a boil in a saucepan. 
• Remove from heat and add in chocolate chips, vanilla, confectioners sugar and Kahlua. 
• Whisk to mix well. Add more cream if needed. Pour over a cooled cake. 

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