When I am not in my art studio, then I can usually be found in the kitchen. I love the process of cooking. I very seldom eat what I cook, but love sharing it with other people. This one is combination of two recipes, and I cooked it in a rose shaped pan, then cut it about two-thirds down, so I could add the mouse. I was asked to bake a dessert for an upcoming event, so this is a practice cake.

Chocolate Stout Cake with Jameson Mouse and Baileys Glaze

Ingredients

For the Cake:

• 1½ cups (345 ml) Guinness stout
• 1½ cups (340.5 g) unsalted butter
• 1 cup (86 g) Dutch-process cocoa powder
• 3 cups (375 g) all-purpose flour
• 3 cups (600 g) granulated sugar
• 2¼ teaspoons (2.25 teaspoons) baking powder
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 3 eggs
• ⅔ cup (153.33 ml) sour cream

• Make the Cake: Preheat the oven to 350°F. Grease and flour two 9-inch cake pans, and line them with parchment paper circles.
• Place the stout and butter in a large, heavy saucepan, and heat until the butter melts. Remove the pan from the heat, and add the cocoa powder. Whisk until the mixture is smooth. Set aside to cool to room temperature.
• Whisk together the flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt in a large bowl; set aside.
• In a large mixing bowl, beat together the eggs and sour cream. Add the stout-cocoa mixture, mixing to combine. Add the flour mixture and mix together at slow speed. Scrape the sides and bottom of the bowl, and mix again for 1 minute.
• Divide the batter equally among the prepared pans. Bake the layers for 35 minutes, until a cake tester inserted into the center comes out clean. Remove the cakes from the oven and cool on a rack for 10 minutes before turning the cakes out of their pans and returning to the rack to finish cooling completely before frosting.

For the Bailey’s Truffle Filling

• 1 cup whipping cream
• 1 ounce of Baileys Irish Cream
• 1 cups dark chocolate chips
• 2 tbsp rounded icing sugar, powdered sugar
• 1 tsp vanilla extract

For the Chocolate Whiskey Glaze

• 1 cup dark chocolate chips
• 1/4 cup whipping cream
• 1 ounce Jameson Irish Whiskey

Instructions

To make the cake batter

1. Combine all ingredients in a mixing bowl and beat with electric mixer for 2 minutes.
2. Pour into 2 greased 9 inch cake pans. I like to use additional cocoa to dust the sides and bottom of the pans instead of flour and I do usually line the bottom of the cake pans with parchment paper.
3. Bake at 350 degrees F for 30-35 minutes or until toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool in pans for 5 minutes before turning out onto a wire rack to cool completely.

For the Bailey’s Truffle Filling

1. In a double boiler, melt the chocolate chips together with 1/4 cup of the whipping cream. Stir constantly as you melt the chocolate and don’t let it overheat. As soon as the last of the chocolate melts, take it immediately off the heat and let it cool down to lukewarm or cooler.
2. Whip the remaining 3/4 cups cream with Baileys Irish Cream, the icing sugar & vanilla to soft peaks and fold in the melted chocolate by hand.

To prepare the Chocolate Whiskey Glaze

1. Melt the chocolate and whipping cream together in a double boiler. Take it just to the melting point until smooth, then remove from the heat and stir in the Irish whiskey until smooth.

To put the cake together if you are doing a normal shaped cake

1. Trim off the tops of the rounded domes on the cakes if needed.
2. Place one of the cakes bottom side up on a cake plate. Spread the Baileys Truffle filling evenly on the cake going just to the edges.
3. Chill this half of the cake in the fridge for a couple of hours to let the filling firm up.
4. Add the next layer of cake; again with the flattest side up.
5. Pour the warm whiskey glaze into the centre of the cake. I like to coax it out to the edges with a small spatula to let it run over the edges.