Chocolate-Blueberry Stout Cake

The secret to a good relationship is butter.

Four sticks of butter, specifically...baked into a birthday cake that also happens to include chocolate and blueberry-flavored beer. That, my friends, is love.

Chocolate-Blueberry Stout Cake

Adapted from Epicurious.com

Cake:

-2 cups Shipyard Smashed Blueberry (or any chocolate and blueberry-flavored beer)
-2 cups (4 sticks) unsalted butter
-1 1/2 cups unsweetened cocoa powder
-4 cups all purpose flour
-4 cups sugar
-1 tablespoon baking soda
-1 1/2 teaspoons salt
-4 large eggs
-1 1/3 cups sour cream

Chocolate Ganache Icing:

Recipe from AllRecipes.com

-9 oz. bittersweet chocolate, chopped

-2 cups heavy cream

Directions:

For cake:

1.) Preheat oven to 350°F. Butter and flour three 8-inch round cake pans with 2-inch-high sides. Bring the beer and butter to simmer in large saucepan over medium heat. Add cocoa powder and whisk until mixture is smooth. Cool slightly.
2.) Mix flour, sugar, baking soda, and 1 1/2 teaspoons salt in large bowl to blend. Using electric mixer, beat eggs and sour cream in another large bowl to blend. Add beer-chocolate mixture to egg mixture and beat just to combine. Add flour mixture and beat briefly on slow speed. Using rubber spatula, fold batter until completely combined. 

3.) Divide batter equally among prepared pans. Bake cakes until toothpick inserted into center of cakes comes out clean, about 35-40 minutes. Transfer cakes to rack; cool 10 minutes. Turn cakes out onto rack and cool completely
.
For icing:

1.) Place the chocolate into a medium bowl. Heat the cream in a small saucepan over medium heat. Bring just to a boil, watching very carefully because if it boils for a few seconds, it will boil out of the pot. When the cream has come to a boil, pour over the chopped chocolate, and whisk until smooth.
2.) Allow the ganache to cool slightly before spreading between cake layers and pouring over the top cake layer. (I put the ganache in the fridge to let it cool faster, and whisked it again before spreading on to the cake). Garnish top of cake with fresh blueberries. (Since it was so humid outside, I also put the cake in the fridge until we were ready to eat it).

The end result was a massive chocolate cake that's texture was super moist, rich and full of chocolate-blueberry flavor. The birthday boy was a big fan, as was the other chocolate lovers at his birthday party.

What's your ideal birthday cake/dessert? 

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