CHOCOLATE STOUT CAKE

I made this delicious cake on my visit to Northern Ireland for the road trip and I was shown around the area by my old friend and local chef, Paul Rankin. Serves 10

200g (7oz) butter

150g (5½oz) dark chocolate, broken into smaller pieces

300ml (10fl oz) stout

4 eggs

500g (1lb 2oz) soft light brown sugar 350g (12oz) self-raising flour

For the icing

400g (14oz) full-fat cream cheese

25ml (¾fl oz) stout

200g (7oz) icing sugar

A couple of squares of dark or milk chocolate, to decorate

Preheat the oven to 160°C/fan 140°C/ gas 3. Line a 27cm, deep-sided cake tin with baking parchment. Put the butter, dark chocolate and stout into a large heatproof bowl and rest over a pan of justsimmering water, making sure the base doesn’t touch the water, until the butter and chocolate have melted. Lift the bowl out of the pan and leave to cool slightly. Add the eggs and sugar then whisk together well. Fold in the self-raising flour until the mixture is smooth. Pour the cake batter into the prepared tin and bake for 1 hour. Leave the cake to cool in the tin and then turn out onto a plate or stand.

For the icing, whisk the cream cheese, stout and icing sugar together until smooth. Spoon the mixture on top of the cake and spread all over to cover. Grate the chocolate over the top of the cake and serve in slices.