Ingredients
For the cake
- 150ml/5fl oz stout
- 75g/2½oz good-quality dark chocolate (minimum 70% cocoa solids), broken into pieces
- 100g/3½oz unsalted butter, softened, plus extra for greasing
- 275g/10oz soft light-brown sugar
- 2 free-range eggs, lightly beaten
- 175g/6oz self-raising flour
For the icing
- 100g/3½oz milk chocolate, broken into pieces
- 50g/2oz unsalted butter
- 2 tbsp stout
- 100g/3½oz icing sugar
- 50g/2oz chopped roasted hazelnuts, to decorate
Method
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Preheat the oven to 180C/350F/Gas 4. Grease a 20cm/8in cake tin with butter.
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For the cake, bring a little water to the boil in a pan. Reduce the heat until the water is simmering, then suspend a heatproof bowl over the water, making sure that the bottom of the bowl does not touch the water.
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Add the stout and dark chocolate pieces to the heatproof bowl and heat gently until melted. Once melted, remove the bowl from the heat and set aside to cool.
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In a separate bowl, beat together the butter and sugar until light, fluffy and well combined, using either a food processor or electric whisk.
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Add the eggs one at a time, beating well between each addition.
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Pour in the cooled chocolate-and-stout mixture and beat until well combined. Fold in the flour.
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Spoon the cake mixture into the prepared tin and bake in the middle of the oven for 30-35 minutes, or until a skewer inserted into the centre of the cake comes out clean.
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Remove the cake from the oven and set aside to cool in the tin for a few minutes, then remove from the tin and set aside to cool completely on a wire rack.
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Meanwhile, for the icing, repeat the process of bringing a little water to the boil in a pan. Reduce the heat until the water is simmering, then suspend a heatproof bowl over the water, making sure that the bottom of the bowl does not touch the water.
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Add the chocolate, butter and stout to the bowl, stirring until just melted. Remove the bowl from the heat and set the mixture aside to cool slightly.
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When the melted chocolate mixture has cooled, transfer it to a food processor, add the icing sugar and pulse until smooth and well combined. (Alternatively, whisk in the icing sugar using a hand-held electric mixer.)
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When the cake has completely cooled, spread the icing evenly over the top and sides, then sprinkle over the chopped hazelnuts. When the icing has dried, serve.