​

For the cake:

Preheat oven to 190C/374F and grease two 20cm diameter round baking tins.

 

​Combine and sift flour, baking powder and cocoa powder. Using an electric mixer with whisk attachment, cream butter and sugar together, until the sugar is completely broken down.

Tip: You can use muscovado sugar instead of the soft dark brown sugar.

​

Add the whisked eggs and stout little by little whisking constantly. The mixture will begin to curdle - that’s ok. Add a few tablespoons of the sifted dry mix ingredients until the batter becomes smooth again. Add remaining egg and a little more flour, enough to whisk the cake batter to smoothness again.

​

Put the mixer away and fold the rest of of the dry mix and the stout manually. This will prevent overheating and removing too much air out of the batter. Divide the cake batter between the baking tins evenly and bake for 30min, or until a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean.

 

When the sponges have finished baking, cool them completely on a cooling rack.

​

Black Garlic Buttercream

While the cake is baking whisk together sugar, butter, black garlic paste and cocoa powder. When the sugar is fully broken down whisk in the stout.

​

Chocolate ganache

Melt the ganache ingredients together into a smooth and creamy mixture in a glass or metal bowl set over a saucepan containing a little of barely simmering water on the bottom.

Put it all together

​

Spread the buttercream on the top of one of the sponges, place the other sponge on the top and coat the cake in the ganache.

​

Place the cake in the refrigerator to help the ganache to set quicker. The cake tastes best the following day.

 

Tip: You can gently warm individual servings of the cake in a microwave (10 seconds will be plenty enough!)

Serve the cake with a splash of pouring cream or vanilla ice-cream if desired.

​

This recipe was created for us by Justyna of Garlic Matters. For more delicious ideas please visit her blog here.