Chocolate Stout Pound Cake

There isn’t a brownie recipe on this site – yet – but I found the perfect pound cake to give her everything that she wants in the best brownie. It’s my Chocolate Stout Pound Cake and it is impossibly moist, deeply chocolate, and perfect for any occasion. It’s also so easy to make that you can feel like a kitchen boss, no matter your baking level, so if you have a serious love for chocolate, this cake is absolute perfection for you.

In this post, I’ll give you the recipe and show you how to execute it to perfection. Read on to make this one-of-a-kind dessert!

In this Post:

The Recipe

Chocolate Stout Pound Cake

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This decadently moist chocolate stout pound cake delivers an impossibly fudgy texture and deep dark chocolate notes, all crowned with Bailey’s white chocolate ganache and a delicious chocolate syrup.

• Total Time: 5-7 hours
• Yield: 18 servings 1x

Ingredients

Scale 1x2x3x

For the Cake:

• 192 g (1 1/2 c) all-purpose flour
• 110 g (1 box) dry chocolate pudding
• 63 g (2/3 c) natural cocoa powder
• 1 tsp kosher salt
• 227 g (1 c) unsalted butter, room temperature
• 500 g (2 1/2 c) granulated sugar
• 5 eggs, room temperature
• 1 tbsp pure vanilla extract
• 236 g (1 c) stout beer, room temperature (make sure to go by weight instead of volume, as the frothy collar will prevent you from having enough beer in the recipe)

For the Chocolate Simple Syrup/Chocolate Sauce

• 125 g (1/2 c) water
• 100 g (1/2 c) granulated sugar
• 1 tbsp plus 1 tsp cocoa powder (I use natural cocoa powder, but you can use whatever you like)
• 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
• 1/4 tsp salt

For the Bailey’s White Chocolate Ganache

• 252 g (1.5 c) white chocolate chips
• 50 g (.25 c) heavy cream
• 2 tbsp Bailey’s Irish Cream (the salted caramel version works very well in this cake!)

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Instructions

To Make the Cake:

1. Set oven to a true 325°. An oven thermometer will help you determine whether your oven is actually the correct temperature. Temperature is an important ingredient in this cake!
2. Sift together the all-purpose flour, chocolate pudding, cocoa powder, and kosher salt in a large bowl. Set aside.
3. Place the butter into a large bowl, or the bowl of your stand mixer. Mix on medium speed until the butter is completely smooth.
4. Add the granulated sugar and cream the mixture until light and fluffy. (psst…don’t know what it means to “cream until light and fluffy”? Take a look at this article!) Scrape the sides and bottom of the bowl as necessary to ensure even mixing.
5. Add eggs, one at a time. Mix each egg until it’s fully incorporated before adding the next egg. Scrape the sides and bottom of the bowl as necessary to ensure even mixing.
6. Add pure vanilla extract and mix until fully combined.
7. Add half of the flour/cocoa mixture and mix on low speed until nearly combined. Scrape the sides and bottom of the bowl as necessary.
8. Add all of the stout beer and mix on low speed until nearly combined.
9. Add the second half of the flour/cocoa mixture and mix on low speed until nearly combined. Scrape the sides and bottom of bowl the with a stiff spatula, and fold the batter until it is smooth and combined.
10. Prepare a 10- or 12-cup bundt pan as you normally would and place the batter into the pan. Bake at 325° for 65-75 minutes, or until the internal temperature of the cake reaches 212°F.
11. Remove the pan from the oven. After ten minutes, remove the cake from the pan by inverting the pan onto a cooling rack. Allow to cool completely.

To Make the Chocolate Simple Syrup/Chocolate Sauce:

1. Place granulated sugar, water, cocoa powder, and salt in a small saucepan. Bring to a boil.
2. Remove from the heat and add pure vanilla extract.
3. Immediately place about ⅔ of the hot mixture into a heat-proof jar. This will be your simple syrup.
4. Place the rest of the mixture back on the stove. Simmer over medium heat for about 3-4 more minutes, or until it has reduced by half and has a syrupy texture. Remove from the heat into a second heat-proof jar. This will be your chocolate sauce.
5. Once the cake is fully cooled, brush with the fully cooled chocolate simple syrup.

To Make the Bailey’s White Chocolate Ganache:

1. Place the white chocolate chips in a heat-proof bowl. Add the heavy cream and Bailey’s and stir with a small spoon.
2. Microwave on high for 30 seconds. Stir with a small spoon to distribute the liquid into the chocolate chips.
3. Microwave on high for an additional 15 seconds. Stir once again with a spoon.
4. Microwave on high for 15 seconds. Once the chips are soft, start stirring with a small whisk. If necessary, microwave for additional 10-second bursts and stir with the whisk.
5. The ganache is done when the it is completely smooth and thick.
6. Allow to set aside for 10 minutes, then pour over the cake with a spoon, spouted measuring cup, or a squeeze bottle.
7. Wait a few minutes, the add the chocolate sauce to the top of the ganache.
8. Enjoy! This cake is amazing with vanilla gelato.

Notes

To help you reach full pound cake proficiency (it’s a thing 😂), I’ve curated some of my favorite resources below! From my top tips for achieving the perfect pound cake texture to troubleshooting common baking issues, these articles will help you become a more confident baker. Keep reading to elevate your baking game!

• Author: Shani
• Prep Time: 1 hour (active)
• Cook Time: 65-75 minutes
• Category: Dessert

Chocolate Stout Pound Cake Ingredients

Recipe tinkerers, unite! By reading this section, you’ll learn some of the important baking science in this recipe, which will help understand how to personalize this recipe to a degree. While I don’t recommend wholesale changes to an existing recipe, there are always fun touches that you can add to make it your own! Read on to learn more!

All-Purpose Flour: This trusty kitchen staple is responsible for giving your pound cake its pleasantly plump, satisfying texture. While cake flour might seem fancy, it actually won’t give you the same impressive lift and structure you’re looking for in a proper pound cake. The specific amount here is calibrated to achieve that perfect pound cake texture without becoming too heavy or bread-like.

Chocolate Pudding Mix: Chocolate pudding mix is a secret weapon in this cake! The modified starches and extra cocoa solids in pudding mix help keep your cake incredibly moist for days after baking. The chocolate in the pudding also really enhances the chocolate flavor.

Natural Cocoa Powder: The cocoa powder creates a chemical reaction with the carbonated beer to help your cake rise. When these two ingredients meet, they create extra bubbles of carbon dioxide that give your cake an even better lift.

Kosher Salt: The kosher salt is absolutely crucial here; it not only balances the sweetness from both sugars but also helps to amplify the chocolate flavor in this cake. Remember, if using table salt, reduce the amount by half!

Unsalted Butter: The butter in this Chocolate Stout Pound Cake provides essential flavor and helps create air pockets during creaming. This ingredient, combined with the granulated sugar, helps create cake rise in a cake that doesn’t have any chemical leavening!

Granulated Sugar: The granulated sugar in this cake helps create those crucial air pockets during creaming. It also helps with caramelization, and of course adds sweet sweetness to this cake!

Eggs: Five whole eggs provide structure, richness, and stability to this rich cake. The proteins in the egg whites help create structure, while the fat-rich yolks add tenderness and contribute to the cake’s fudgy texture.

Vanilla Extract: A full tablespoon might seem generous, but is the perfect amount to balance the deep chocolate notes. We need this amount to ensure that this chocolate cake is utterly perfect.

Beer (Stout): Your stout isn’t just there for flavor – though it definitely brings amazing roasted, malty notes that complement chocolate perfectly. The carbonation in beer provides extra leavening power, while the proteins and sugars contribute to both flavor and texture. Plus, the alcohol helps intensify all the other flavors in your cake. For this cake, I’m a big fan of Guinness Stout.

Techniques for the Best Cakes

One of the absolute best things about this Chocolate Stout Pound Cake is the deeply rich, fudgy texture, and the wonderfully balanced cake. However, there are some techniques that will help you execute this cake perfectly, and I have included some links for them here! 

These resources cover so many fun techniques that will take your baking to the next level, and will allow your confidence to soar to new heights!

• My Favorite Bundt Pans
• Sifting: Quick Technique, Huge Impact
• Meet Your Kitchen BFF–Your Digital Kitchen Scale!
• Technique Tips for the Best Pound Cakes
• How to Cream Butter and Sugar (With New Video!)
• Baking 101: How to Measure Ingredients
• How to Grease a Bundt Pan
• The Best Tools for Perfect Pound Cakes
• Knowing When to Stop a Technique
• Begin with Butter Home Baking Academy | Perfect Pound Cakes Class!

These resources are super helpful to help you build consistency and confidence on your baking journey. Happy reading!

But wait! There’s more! Grab your coffee or a glass of wine and get ready to check out my favorite equipment!

Important Tools

Guess what? Begin with Butter has its own Amazon Storefront, where you can find all of the amazing equipment that I used in this Pineapple Carrot Pound Cake! Want even more specific product recommendations? Check out the product links, below.

I do get paid a commission when you purchase, but these are the tools that I use all the time in my own kitchen.

If you have these tools already, great! Think of this as a checklist to help you build the confidence that you’ll need to execute this cake!

• Taylor Oven Thermometer
• ThermoWorks Square Dot Thermometer
• Ozeri Pronto Digital Food Scale
• OXO Digital Food Scale
• KitchenAid Hand Mixer
• KitchenAid Stand Mixer 
• Stainless Steel Mixing Bowl Set
• Deli Containers for Prep
• OXO Spatula Set
• Sifter
• My Absolute Favorite Pound Cake Pans

Conclusion: This Chocolate Cake is The One.

This Chocolate Stout Pound Cake is so fudgy and rich, it borders on being a brownie’s sophisticated cousin. Each slice reveals a deep, dark crumb that’s so rich, with an intense chocolate flavor that’s perfectly balanced by the stout beer. The texture is absolute luxury: dense enough to feel decadent but still impossibly tender, with a tight crumb that practically melts on your tongue. 

But the real show-stopper? It’s dressed to impress with rivers of Bailey’s-spiked white chocolate ganache cascading down the sides, creating a striking contrast against the dark cake. A final drizzle of delicious chocolate sauce makes this cake so sinfully decadent. It’s the kind of dessert that makes people fall in love at the first bite, and also make them lick their plates to get all of the crumbs. 😊

For an absolutely over-the-top experience, serve each slice with a scoop of vanilla bean gelato – the cold, creamy gelato contrasting all of that chocolate is pure dessert magic that cannot be topped. Just be prepared to take an empty cake plate home!

I am so excited for you to make this cake! When you make this one, make sure to tag me on Instagram @beginwithbutter so that I can shout out your success!

See you tomorrow for Day 7 of the Twelve Days of Pound Cake!

Check out the Other Posts from the Twelve Days of Pound Cake