The first time I came into contact with the a chocolate stout cake was when I was in new York in the summer of 2015, wondering around the streets of Brooklyn, where I ventured to Ovenly, a new-ish bakery that’s now become renowned with multiple locations. They were known for their decadent Brooklyn Blackout cake that features stout beer and lots of chocolate. it was nutty, decadent and so indulgent, and from then all my chocolate cakes ended up with stout in their somehow. It was a wonderfully selfish way to always be picking up some Guiness for the house.

The chocolate stout cake traces its roots back to Irish and British baking traditions, where incorporating beer, particularly stout, in cakes emerged as a clever way to deepen flavour profiles and add moistness without overpowering sweetness. Stout, known for its rich, roasted malt character and hints of coffee and chocolate, brings a unique complexity to chocolate cakes.

When you add stout to chocolate cake batter, the beer's bitter and slightly sweet notes interact with the cocoa, enhancing the chocolate's natural bitterness and richness. The carbonation in stout also helps to aerate the batter, resulting in a lighter, moister crumb. The roasted flavours in stout amplify the chocolate's depth, creating a more intense and multi layered taste experience. It's like chocolate on steroids, bold, robust, and utterly luscious. This unexpected pairing turns a simple cake into a celebration of flavours.