Chocolate Guinness cake

THIS is our take on a classic recipe by Nigella Lawson. We made a few alterations and love the end result.

● 210ml (7½fl oz) Guinness

● 210g (7½oz) unsalted butter, cubed

● 235g (½lb) plain flour

● 1½ tsp bicarbonate of soda

● 60g (2oz) cocoa

● 2 eggs

● 100ml (3½fl oz) crème fraîche

● 330g (¾lb) caster sugar

● ¾ tsp vanilla extract

FOR THE ICING

● 160g (5½oz) cream cheese

● 90g (3oz) icing sugar

● 60g (2oz) cream

PREHEAT the oven to 170C (325F, gas 3) and then grease and line a 23cm (9in) round baking tin.

Place the Guinness and cubed butter into a bowl and melt in the microwave. Heat in 30-second blasts, being sure to stir well between them. Once melted, set aside to cool slightly.

Put the flour, bicarbonate of soda and cocoa into a bowl and set aside.

In a mixing bowl, weigh out the eggs, crème fraiche, caster sugar and vanilla.

Using a free standing or hand held mixer, beat on a medium speed until foamy, making sure to scrape the bottom halfway through to ensure there is no sugar sticking to the bowl.

Sift in the dry ingredients and add roughly half of the beer and butter mixture. Beat on a medium speed for about 30 seconds. Scrape the sides and bottom of the bowl and add the rest of the beer mixture. Start mixing the batter on slow, then switch to higher speed. Again, do not overbeat – only for about one minute.

Pour into the prepared tin and bake for 50 to 60 minutes. An inserted skewer will not come out totally clean, and should be a little gooey and sticky.

To make the icing, beat the cream cheese and icing sugar until smooth. Add the cream and beat until smooth and thick. At first it looks runny, but if you keep beating, the double cream stiffens up. Spread over the top of the cake to look like a pint of Guinness.