Fail Cake

If you make this cake, try to avoid my mistake and actually follow all the directions. I promise, it will turn out much better for you. The main problems I had with this cake were: 1. I forgot sour cream so I substituted milk, and the batter was too runny; 2. I didn't have a bundt pan so I used an 8-inch springform, so the centre took forever to cook while the top dried out; and 3. I only had regular cocoa powder, so the leavening was off and it sunk in the middle. (Also I was too lazy to make ganache, which I think would have really added another dimension). That said, it was pretty tasty anyway. I am going to have to make it again, properly, and see how it goes.

Chocolate Stout Cake
1 cup stout (I used Guinness, but I would go for something richer next time)
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter
3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder (Dutch-process)
2 cups all purpose flour
2 cups sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
3/4 teaspoon salt
2 large eggs
2/3 cup sour cream
6 ounces good semisweet chocolate chips
6 tablespoons heavy cream
3/4 teaspoon instant coffee granules*

Cake:
Preheat oven to 350°F. Butter or spray a bundt pan well. Bring 1 cup stout and 1 cup butter to simmer in heavy large saucepan over medium heat. Add cocoa powder and whisk until mixture is smooth. Cool slightly.

Whisk flour, sugar, baking soda, and 3/4 teaspoon salt in large bowl to blend. Beat eggs and sour cream in another bowl to blend. Add stout-chocolate mixture to egg mixture and beat just to combine. Add flour mixture and beat briefly. Using rubber spatula, fold batter until completely combined. Pour batter into prepared pan. Bake cake until tester inserted into center comes out clean, about 35 minutes. Transfer cake to rack; cool completely in the pan, then turn cake out onto rack for drizzling ganache.

Ganache:
For the ganache, melt the chocolate, heavy cream, and coffee in the top of a double boiler over simmering water until smooth and warm, stirring occasionally. Drizzle over the top of cooled cake.

*Since I didn't make ganache, I put the coffee powder in the cake batter.