It s chocolate cake time again!

Ingredients:

• 1 cup dark beer (stout is preferred, but any ale works too, Guinness is perfect)
• 1 cup butter
• 3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder, sifted
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 cups sugar
• 1 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 3/4 tsp salt
• 2 eggs
• 2/3 cup sour cream (the thicker the better—use full fat!)

Method: 

Preheat oven to 350 F / 180 C. In a small saucepan, combine and heat beer and butter until just beginning to simmer. (Careful, it might boil over if you leave it unattended!) Whisk in the sifted cocoa powder until the mixture is smooth. Let cool while you combine the dry ingredients in a separate bowl. In another large bowl, combine eggs and sour cream until smooth; slowly mix in beer and butter mixture until mostly combined. Add dry ingredients and mix well.

Grease a bundt cake tin and dust lightly with cocoa powder (it’s like flouring, but chocolatey!). Pour in batter, and bake for about 35 minutes, until cake pulls slightly away from the sides of the pan. Allow to cool completely before turning cake out of the pan onto plate. Alternately: Divide batter between two round cake tins and bake for about 25-30 minutes, checking in the last 10-15 minutes of baking to see when cake begins to pull away from the sides of the tin. Cake is ready when a skewer or knife inserted into the thickest part comes out clean.

To make the ganache: Melt 1 tbsp butter and 1 tbsp milk or cream in saucepan over low heat. Slowly add about 1/2 cup very good quality chocolate chips, or equivalent in finely chopped semisweet baker’s chocolate. Stir constantly just until chocolate is melted and combined with butter and milk; add a flavouring if you so desire (1/2 tsp instant coffee granules, 1 tbsp brandy, a few drops of almond extract, pinch of cinnamon, whatever you like!). Allow to cool slightly, and drizzle over cake. Serve immediately!