CHOCOLATE STOUT MINI-BUNDT CAKES
It’s March and St. Patrick’s Day is upon us!
This may be a little bit controversial, but when it comes to festive St. Patty’s Day foods, I say you can keep all your minty, green-dyed things. I prefer to go the more authentic Irish route. I mean, I’m all for a few green sprinkles and maybe even a little green icing, but how can we ignore all the delicious foods that have come out of Ireland, like corned beef, colcannon, soda bread and scones, and let’s not forget about Irish whiskey, and an expertly poured pint of stout!
Did you know that stout beer and chocolate are best buddies? It might seem a little strange to think about baking beer into your cake, but I promise you, the flavor is incredible. Those malty, roasted overtones just bring out all the best in chocolate. If you’ve ever added coffee to your cake batter, you know just how far a little bitter richness can go to enhance the flavor of chocolate. A good Irish stout works in just the same way.
These sweet little cakes are moist and light as can be. The chocolate flavor is so rich and prominent, and the addition of Irish stout beer is subtle, but such a fun way to celebrate your Irish roots!
I love to use my KitchenAid® Stand Mixer whenever I make cakes or cupcakes. It makes the process so easy and with this recipe, everything happens in just one bowl. So cleanup is a snap!
Start by combining all the dry ingredients in the bowl of your Stand Mixer, and just give them a quick whisk to combine. Then, add in the butter and mix it on medium-low speed until the mixture resembles damp sand.
At that point you can mix in the eggs, taking care to scrape the bottom and sides of the bowl after each addition. The Flex Edge Beater is a really useful tool and such a timesaver too!
Now for the fun part! Pour in that rich, dark, toasty Irish stout. Mix it on low speed, along with the vanilla extract, for about a minute or so, just to aerate the batter and develop the structure of the cake. It’s that simple!
Now just fill your KitchenAid® Professional-Grade Nonstick Mini Angel Food Cake Pan with the prepared batter. This pan is so heavy and sturdy–you’ll love how evenly it bakes. And the cakes bake up so generously; one mini-bundt is perfect for sharing with someone special.
While those cool, you can whip up a batch of this easy-peasy Irish Whiskey Hard Sauce. It’s a great accompaniment to the cakelets, and it really brings home the authentic Irish flavor.
Combine the sugar, cornstarch, and salt in a KitchenAid® Copper Core 1.5-Quart Saucepan and whisk to combine. Slowly drizzle in the cream, while continuing to whisk. It’s up to you how boozy you want this sauce, you can add in the spirits now so the alcohol cooks out, or you can add it in last, off the heat, to really get the whiskey buzz. I also stirred in a little vanilla bean paste, but you could substitute extract, or scrape in the seeds from a whole vanilla bean.
The cakes are delicious with that Irish whiskey sauce drizzled over them, but I took it a step further and added a cloud of softly whipped cream. If you reserve a few teaspoons of the whiskey sauce and tint it with gel-paste food coloring, you can place a few drops in the plated pool of sauce, and then drag a toothpick through to make little shamrocks. Yes, it’s dye, but it’s understated and subtle so I think we can let it slide.
CHOCOLATE STOUT MINI-BUNDT CAKES
Makes 6 mini-bundts (about 12 servings)INGREDIENTS
For the chocolate stout mini-bundts
1 cup (200 grams) granulated sugar
3/4 cup (90 grams) all-purpose flour
1/3 cup (40 grams) cake flour
3/4 cup (82.5 grams)unsweetened cocoa powder
1 teaspoon baking powder
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
3/4 cup (172.5 grams) unsalted butter, slightly softened
3 large eggs (150 grams)
3/4 cup (187.5 milliliters) dark Irish stout beer
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
For the Irish whiskey hard sauce
1/3 cup (66 grams) granulated sugar
2 teaspoons cornstarch
A pinch of kosher salt
1 cup (250 milliliters) heavy cream
1/3 cup (84 milliliters) Irish whiskey
1/2 teaspoon vanilla bean paste, extract, or the seeds scraped from one vanilla bean
DIRECTIONS
For the chocolate stout mini-bundts
Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F. Lightly mist the KitchenAid® Professional-Grade Nonstick Mini Angel Food Cake Pan with non-stick spray and set aside.
Place the sugar, flours, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in the bowl of the KitchenAid® Stand Mixer, and whisk to combine.
Add in the butter, mixing on medium-low speed, until the mixture resembles damp sand.
Mix in the eggs, one at a time, scraping the bottom and sides of the bowl with a silicone spatula after each addition.
Pour in the beer and add the vanilla. Mix on medium-low speed for about a minute and a half, to aerate the batter and build the cake’s structure.
Transfer the batter to the prepared pan, and bake for 20 minutes, or until the cake is springy to the touch and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, or with a few moist crumbs. Allow the cakes to cool in the pan for 20 minutes and then invert onto a wire cooling rack.
For the Irish whiskey hard sauce
Place the sugar, cornstarch, and salt in a KitchenAid® Copper Core 1.5-Quart Saucepan and whisk to combine.
Slowly drizzle in the cream, while continuing to whisk. Cook the mixture over medium heat, stirring, until boiling.* Remove from heat, and stir in the Irish Whiskey* and vanilla.
*Note: Whiskey may be added prior to cooking, if desired.
