Day 57: a chocolate porter in the form of a cake
There are two kinds of cakes that I don’t get nervous about baking: one being oil-based cakes and the other being one with a runnier starting batter. I guess this is, in part, due to the fact the end crumb is often always moister and the cake damper. It’s butter-based cakes - those where you need to cream the butter and sugar to start - that I find a little more stressful; I’m no master baker but I feel that this kind of cake has a much shorter/dryer crumb and are less forgiving to being left in the oven for even just a minute too long.
Luckily for me, today’s pick is indeed a moist and damp cake and - in all its magnificent beauty - comes in the form of Nigella’s Chocolate Guinness Cake.
Nigella’s Chocolate Guinness Cake
I do enjoy a Guinness - in fact, I’ve become quite partial to a Porter-/stout-type beer every now and then - so I did not hesitate to partake in a glass of what was not used in the cake; even if it was 11 AM on a Sunday morning.
It’s another short entry for me today. I can barely keep my eyes open and when this is the case I tend to make more mistakes than usual. So instead of babbling on (more pointlessly than usual), I will leave you with this very short clip of heaven that sums up the whole experience of making Nigella’s Chocolate Guinness Cake in about 9 seconds. Enjoy and don’t be ashamed if you play it on loop for several minutes. I did.
Flavour musings
This cake is indeed magnificent in every way; it’s chocolatey and sweet, and it has a deep stouty savouriness that balances the rich, damp crumb and the sweet icing; it’s like a dark, malty, chocolate porter in the form of a cake and it’s absolutely gorgeous. I love it. We love it.
PS. I would just like to say again that just because I make a short entry, on occasion, it doesn’t mean I am any less enthusiastic about the recipe involved; some days I am just completely screen-fatigued, and indeed fatigued in general. It happens to the best of us and instead of fighting it, or being ashamed of it, embrace it and take the down-time. We deserve it :) x
