Chocolate Stout Cake with Chocolate Peanut Butter Frosting
This Chocolate Stout Cake with Chocolate Peanut Butter Frosting is moist, dense, and chocolatey! This sheet cake uses a 9x13 baking pan and is topped with rich, chocolate peanut butter buttercream frosting.
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Why You'll Love This Recipe
It's so moist, dense, and chocolatey. The chocolate peanut butter frosting is almost like a marshmallow goodness. Let's dig into this chocolate stout cake recipe.
Recipe Ingredients
See the recipe card at the bottom of the post for all ingredients and quantities.
- Butter - I used salted butter for this recipe, but you can use unsalted butter and add ½ teaspoon of salt.
- Stout Beer - Use your favorite stout beer. The most popular kind is Guinness.
- Sour Cream - This helps make the cake dense and moist.
- Powdered Coffee Creamer - Use regular or vanilla coffee creamer.
Substitutions and Variations
- You can make this cake into a 8 inch 2 layered cake instead of a 9x13 sheet cake.
- You can substitute the full-fat sour cream for plain greek yogurt.
- You can leave out the powdered coffee creamer and reduce the heavy whipping cream by 1 - 2 tablespoons.
NOTE: This recipe has not been tested with other substitutions or variations
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How to Make Chocolate Stout Cake
Step 1: Melt the butter in a saucepan with the stout beer.
Step 2: Pour into a mixing bowl and whisk in cocoa powder.
Step 3: Whisk in the eggs, vanilla extract, and sour cream until well combined.
Step 4: In a separate bowl, add in the flour, sugar, baking soda, and salt. Whisk until combine.
Step 5: Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingrediets. Whisk until well combined and smooth.
Step 6: Pour the batter in a greased 9x13 baking dish.
Step 7: Bake the cake in the preheated oven for 40 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center of the cake comes out clean or with moist crumbs.
Step 8: Once the cake is completely cooled, frost with the chocolate peanut butter frosting.
If you have leftover stout beer to use up, you can also whip up this Chocolate Guinness and Baileys Cheesecake Cake, Chocolate Stout Cupcakes with Salted Caramel Buttercream, or this Instant Pot Chocolate Stout Bundt Cake.
How to Store/Freeze
You can store your stout cake covered or in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 5 to 7 days.
If you want to freeze this cake, first let it cool completely. Frost it and wrap it tightly with 2 layers plastic wrap, a single layer of aluminum foil, and if you're not keeping it in a cake pan, I would recommend popping it in a freezer-safe container. It will last up to 3 months in the freezer.
Thaw the cake by placing it in the fridge overnight. This will allow the thawing process to happen slower than just sitting it out at room temperature. A slower thawing time will mean less condensation.
Recipe FAQs
Yes! I have a Peanut Butter Frosting (with no chocolate) and Chocolate Frosting (with no peanut butter). I also have used a Baileys Cream Cheese Frosting.
If you're a party pooper, you can substitute the stout beer for the same amount of coffee or water.
The alcohol is baked off in the cake so I think it's fine to feed your kids. I would skip the Baileys Frosting suggestion that I gave above though. Of course, it's whatever you feel comfortable with feeding your kids.
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Chocolate Stout Cake with Chocolate Peanut Butter Frosting
Ingredients
Cake
- 1 cup butter cubed
- 1 cup stout beer
- ¾ cup unsweetened cocoa powder
- 2 large eggs
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ⅔ cup full-fat sour cream
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 ½ teaspoons baking soda
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 2 cups granulated sugar
Frosting
- ½ cup salted butter room temperature
- ½ cup unsweetened cocoa powder
- ¼ cup powdered coffee creamer not flavored or vanilla flavored
- 1 cup creamy peanut butter
- 7 to 8 tablespoons heavy whipping cream
- 3 cups powdered sugar
Instructions
Cake
- Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F. Grease a 9x13 pan with nonstick baking spray.
- In a medium saucepan, add butter and stout beer. Place over medium heat until the butter is melted. Remove from heat.
- Pour the hot mixture into a medium mixing bowl and add the cocoa powder. Whisk thoroughly until smooth.
- Add the eggs, vanilla, and sour cream into the bowl with the melted butter/beer mixture. Whisk until combined.
- In a separate bowl, add the flour, baking soda, salt, and sugar. Whisk until the ingredients are evenly distributed.
- Pour the wet ingredients into the bowl of dry ingredients. Whisk until incorporated.
- Pour into the prepared baking pan. Place in the preheated oven and bake for 38 to 43 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center of the cake comes out clean or with moist crumbs. Let the cake cool to room temperature before frosting it.
Frosting
- In a large bowl, add the butter and peanut butter. Beat on medium speed with a hand mixer until smooth and creamy.
- Add the cocoa powder and powdered coffee creamer to the butter mixture. Beat on medium speed until combined.
- Add 3 tablespoons of heavy cream and 1 cup of powdered sugar. Mix on low speed until combined.
- Add another 3 tablespoons of heavy cream and 1 cup of powdered sugar. Beat on low speed unti the powdered sugar is combined.
- Add the remaining powdered sugar and 1 tablespoon of heavy cream. Beat until the mixture comes together. Turn the mixer on medium and beat until fluffy. If the frosting is still thick, add the additional 1 tablespoon of heavy cream or more until you reach your desired consistency.
- Add the frosting in dollops to the top of the cooled cake. Spread out evenly to the edges with an angled spatula.
- Store in a cake container at room temperature for up to 5 days.
Notes
Nutrition
(Nutrition facts are an estimate and not guaranteed to be accurate. Please see a registered dietitian for special diet advice.)
Is the coffee creamer powder or liquid?
Liquid. You can also use heavy cream, half & half, or milk.