BellaOnline Forums Food and Wine Desserts Looking for a Guinness cake recipe!

Greetings!

I'm hoping someone might be able to help me out and cut down on the amount of experimental baking I'm going to need to do! I'm looking for a good Guinness cake recipe -- something moist and rich. After looking around for wedding cakes and being absolutely floored by the cost (hundreds of dollars? really?) we've decided to make our own cake and cupcake tower. (It's an extremely non-traditional wedding anyway, so what the heck!) The amount of recipes out there is also amazing, so I thought maybe someone here could make some recommendations! We're also thinking of some kind of Bailey's-based frosting, so any help with recipes there would also be appreciated!

Thanks in advance!

Deb, congratulations! We found a woman who baked out of her home to make a gorgeous cake. What you want to do sounds lovely, too.

Here is a site that has Guinness recipes. There are several cakes amongst them.

Guinness Recipes

I've got a HUGE collection of recipes - was in the food biz for ages. When I was catering, I had calls for Guinness cakes so I know I've got a recipe or two that's tried and true and probably has measurements expanded to feed a crowd. Give me a day or two to look up my recipes and I'll forward them to you. The beer adds moisture but the carbonation in it works like a leavening agent, similar to baking soda or baking powder. The Baileys frosting idea sounds perfect! Cupcakes are very trendy right now, too, so that's a great idea!

Wedding cakes can be costly - all that decoration takes time and talent and the delivery / assembly process can be very tricky, too. That's part of the reason for the expense. I think another part is that vendors think people will spend anything on a wedding (and many people do!) but charging tons of money just because you can doesn't seem to me like such a nice thing to do.

As a pastry chef for a caterer, I always refused wedding cake orders! Much too much emotion involved. I always said I didn't want the guilt if I got the frosting the wrong shade of pink (for example) and ruined the bride's whole day - or her mother's! I saw one bride get all bent out of shape because her calla lilies had a tiny brown band on the edges of the petals. She didn't know all calla lilies have a tiny brown band on the edges of the petals.

I think you're smart to do it yourself. As a caterer, I planned lots of weddings and I always encouraged the bride and groom to save money anywhere possible, especially if doing the baking yourself isn't too daunting. I've got a few tricks up my sleeve, if you're interested.

When's the wedding?

Debra,

One of my favorite cakes is Kahlua Chocolate Cake. There are many variations to this recipe.

I am not a big fan of cakes, so if I do eat cake it has to be very moist and very flavorful. Kahlua Chocolate cake fills that requirement for me.

Congratulations and best wishes for the upcoming wedding a wonderful life together.

Thanks for all the good wishes Ooo... the Kahlua cake sounds like it needs to be made in my kitchen right now, lol. We're the same way - neither of us are big cake people, so it has to be moist and just melt-in-your-mouth!

Definitely interested in all the tricks you know, Sandy! Even though we're going non-traditional, it's still amazing how much things cost and how fast it adds up -- I'm sure a lot of that is the 'it's a wedding, they'll pay for it' mentality. We were sitting on the couch last night looking at local places for cake and getting severe sticker shock when we decided what the heck, do it ourselves!

I really like the cupcake thing, as it's going to be so much easier for people to just grab one on the way past the table. Less mess and hopefully fewer leftovers!

I can't imagine dealing with some brides... I don't blame you for refusing those orders. I've gotten hooked on Bridezillas, and some of these people are just amazing. There was one episode where each bridesmaid had a target weight and was subjected to a weigh-in every week to make sure she was on track... I can't imagine if these women got a cake with the wrong shade of frosting or the wrong number of roses! One thing that always amazed me was how a lot of weddings are more about the bride than about the couple... so I knew ours had to be about both of us.

It's coming up quick -- 9/10/11!!

9/10/11? Wow! That is not too far off, Debra.

For the cake: how about the cupcakes idea then bake one small cake for the top with the Bride and Groom statue on it? The top can be taken home and frozen to enjoy on your one month anniversary.

That Kahlua cake is awesome! I have a recipe somewhere to make it from scratch - do you want me to see if I can find it? My recipe box is so old and falling apart because it is packed tight with recipes.

After working with brides for a while, I just can't muster up the courage to watch Bridezillas but I'm truly shocked about the weigh-in thing. That's just crazy beyond belief.

When my couples would get nervous about details of the wedding reception, I'd remind them that the wedding ceremony and the reception are wonderful public expressions of two lives coming together for the purpose of love. That the wedding IS a big deal and it IS expensive, no matter what you do, but the REAL reason for the wedding comes later - it's really all about the marriage! Don't let the details of the wedding mar the reality that it's the marriage that matters.

Haven't got recipes ready for you yet (I work on my computer so I try to avoid it on Sundays but I broke my own rule today - oops) but when I do get them to you, bake a 'trial run' cake right away. That way, you'll get the feel for the batter, the cook time, your oven's performance on a cake of whatever size pan you're using, etc. Never experiment for the actual presentation; that almost guarantees a headache.

Also, when you're comfortable with your cake, make the cake and the cupcakes for the wedding as far ahead of time as you can and freeze it all. You'll have plenty of other last-minute details to occupy your time and energies so do as much as you can ahead of time.

For really moist cakes and cupcakes of all kinds, take them out of the oven and let them cool just a bit, so you can handle them without burning yourself. You'll want the cake layers cool enough so that you can handle them without breaking them, too. Then, while they are still warm, wrap each cake layer and each cupcake individually in plastic wrap. The plastic will trap moisture in the cake that would evaporate if you let it cool completely before wrapping it.

Once cooled completely, wrap each piece in foil, label it so it doesn't get overlooked, forgotten, or abused in the meantime, and freeze it all till the day before the wedding, when all you'll need to do is thaw, assemble, and decorate.

I keep masking tape and a Sharpie pen in my kitchen for labeling foods. Apply the tape to a DRY surface and it won't peel off when the packaging (plastic wrap or containers, foil, whatever) gets wet and the Sharpie ink dries instantly and won't run when it gets wet. Anything that goes into the refrigerator or freezer gets wet so these are two of my favorite kitchen tools. I've seen lots of ugliness in commercial kitchens when somebody's masking tape or Sharpie goes missing; the pros have no sense of humor about these particular tools.

Now, back to the cake - If you wrap the cake too hot (full of wet steam), ice crystals will form inside the cake and will make the cake soggy when you thaw it. It's kind of a Goldilocks thing - wrap too hot and it get soggy, wrap too cool and it's dryer than it needs to be, wrap when it's just right and you'll have a very moist, yummy cake, baby bear

Here's a way to save a little money on wedding flowers. If you do the flowers yourself, that's a great way to save. If you hire a florist, ask them to do this for you.

You'll be working with a mass of flowers so pick out the very best ones for the bride's bouquet, which is the floral focal point for the wedding (of course!). Make bridesmaids' bouquets and the men's boutonnieres out of the next prettiest batch. No brainer, right?

Even the prettiest flower, though, will probably have some petals around the outside that aren't perfect - a little wrinkle or wilt, a tear, a brown spot, etc. Gently pick these 'reject' petals off of all the flowers but don't throw them away. Collect them in a baggie, basket, whatever, and use them to strew along the buffet table, the bar, along the aisle, guest registry table, wherever you want a touch of flower power that isn't physically a part of the wedding party.

You may want to buy extra flowers to pull petals from to supplement these loose petals you've collected (depending on how floral an overall look you're going for) but you'll be able to buy fewer of them if you save the discarded petals. On the buffet table, everybody will be looking at the food anyway; same at the bar, aisle, guest register, etc. These flowers and/or loose petals don't have to be the beauty queens. Reserve the beauties for the bouquets that will be in the wedding photos.

Fern fronds, grape leaves and vines, holly, pine boughs, things like that add a nice touch to buffet tables, etc., too. Place these big green things flat on the table and strew loose flowers and petals on top of them for the most dramatic contrast and biggest effect. Greenery is much cheaper than flowers.

Want floral bouquets at the wedding reception, say the registry table, buffet, bar, etc.? Recycle the bridesmaids' bouquets. Put empty vases with a little water in them wherever you want a bouquet and, after the wedding, just put the bridesmaids' bouquets in the vases. The bridesmaids will love having their hands free during the party and their bouquets will be kept safe and pretty so they can take them home afterward.

If you use flower arrangements in the chapel or wherever the wedding ceremony is held, make them do double duty, too. Flowers on chairs or pew ends? At the altar? Entrance? Use them at the reception so you don't have to buy extra flower arrangements for that purpose.

On the tables where people will be eating, keep the flower arrangements short enough so that person A can look across the table to talk to person B without twisting, turning, or straining to make eye contact. Save tall flower arrangements where they'll be the focal point or provide a dramatic back-drop.

Votive candles? Put about half a teaspoon full of water in the bottom of the candle holder before placing the candle inside. This very small buffer of water will prevent the wax from sticking to the container so they'll be quick and easy to clean later. It'll cool the hot wax, too, which minimizes the risk of fire.

Don't add water to candelabra holding tapers. You'll want the hot wax to anchor the taper safely in place.

BTW - L-O-V-E that wedding date!!

Also, I love Phylis's suggestion of saving the top layer for later. If you do this, put it in the freezer without wrapping it. Let it freeze good and hard before wrapping it so the frosting and decorations don't get damaged by the plastic wrap.

I've heard of some newlyweds saving this layer for their first anniversary and some save it for the birth of their first child. You'll know how you'll enjoy it the best!

Thank you SO much for all these tips!!! We were definitely planning on baking ahead and freezing, but were worried about the cake drying out... that's perfect. I think I'll experiment on how to do that, too, to make sure I can get the timing of freezing everything right -- though it's an open bar all night, so people might not even really taste the cake =) Love the idea of saving the top layer, too -- that would be perfect for an anniversary. There's definitely (I hope!) no kids in the future, so that's right out! The only new arrivals will be of the furry, four-legged sort, lol. (One of which happened last night, with details to be posted in the Dogs forum =)

I really wanted to do the flowers ourselves, but a friend of ours is a florist, so we went with her for the flowers... we were still working on ideas for the table, and I love the greenery idea... it's perfect for the Irish/English theme. And you have no idea how excited I am about the water in the votive holder idea! We have a ton we were going to put around the various tables, and I love using them at home but hate cleaning them up. That is ideal! We actually picked up some green glass Moroccan lanterns on eBay that we're going to use as part of the centerpieces, and they would look awesome surrounded by some greenery.

Phyllis, I'd definitely be interested in the Kahlua cake recipe as well -- we're having the rehearsal dinner at our house, so we're going to be making dinner for the 12 in the wedding party -- much a 'smoke some meat, read through the ceremony and hang-out-around-the-firepit' sort of rehearsal dinner That would be an ideal dessert! I'm dying to try these... our attempt at dieting before the wedding went right out the door, so I don't even have to feel guilty!!

A friend who's a florist is fantastic! You'll be in good hands there.

One of my concerns is your mention of an open bar all night long - that can get really, really expensive! Buy big bottles - the half-gallon (1.75 liter) size - for least cost per ounce. (See my Bigger Bottle, Better Buy article for details http://www.bellaonline.com/articles/art69104.asp

Buy 'well' liquors, too. That's the cheap stuff on the bottom shelf, not the premium brands you'd ask for in a bar by name because of their expensive advertising campaigns. I'll write an article later about different classes of liquor. Today's my Bella day anyway so you've given me a useful topic to write about

Will your open bar include a bartender? (Please, please say yes!) If guests pour their own, they make really strong drinks and they make them often. Your bar supplies will disappear quick. A bartender will keep the pour consistent and s/he'll know some tricks to stall guests who need to slow it down a bit - good for you and for them.

If you don't hire a pro bartender, ask a couple of friends to man that station. They can work together or trade off during the course of the evening so each gets a chance to mingle and party. Many people think of this as a privilege and are happy to do the honors.

My formula for estimating booze quantities is one drink per guest per hour. Some guests probably won't drink at all but others will drink more than the formula; they'll balance each other out. You know your guests, though, so adjust accordingly. If there are more teetotalers than drinkers, adjust quantities downward; if you're planning on a room full of party animals, adjust upward.

You'll be surprised at how much ice you'll need. If the party's indoors, plan on using 1.5 pounds of ice per person. If it's outdoors, have at least 2 pounds per person. Some ice will go into drinks both alcoholic and otherwise, some will chill beer and/or wine (depending on what you serve, of course). If you marry during a heat wave, have extra ice on hand. With our weather lately, 9-10-11 could be a blizzard or a scorcher but no worries. Ice will be one of the very last things you'll want to acquire and you'll know what the weather will be like by then. If you have an ice sales / delivery service in your area, call ahead and see if you can get a discount for quantity.

I don't know what New York liquor laws are like but here in Texas, liquor stores usually offer case discounts. That means a case of booze (6 of the biggest ones and 12 of the smaller liquor bottles and wine) is usually sold at a discount - 10% to 20% depending on the place. The booze can usually be mixed brands or kinds (2 rum, 1 bourbon, etc.), too, which helps a lot when hosting a big event like a wedding. There's a liquor store here I used to use because of the nice people, the discounts, and, if I bought the beer or wine at their store, they'd put the beer - the mead! - and white wine in their walk-in cooler the day before, so it'd be good and cold by the time I picked it up or it was delivered to the venue. Shop around for that if New York laws allow it. Any leftover booze keeps for consumption later, too, so excess won't go to waste.

There might be some cost-saving tricks to the drinks you offer, too. I still need to find you some suitable recipe ideas, along with that Guinness cake recipe!

Debra, find the article on well liquors here:

Well, Call, Premium Classes of Liquor


and let me know if you have any questions.

Glad to give you your topic for the day

Yea, believe me, I was concerned about the open bar all night, too! We're actually doing the ceremony and reception at an Irish hall/pub in Buffalo, so they have a bar built in. They do all the catering and bar-tending right there, which I think is going to end up being a bonus and a down side. We need to sit down and figure out quantities for sure, those numbers will give us some good guidelines. I think it's going to end up being more on the party animal side, lol -- our friends and my family certainly can drink, so I think we're going to have to plan accordingly. We're doing a buffet, too, so at least there will be food out all night for people to pick at. That was the other idea behind the cupcakes -- people will be more likely to grab another cupcake than a whole slice of cake.

We're thinking offering Guinness and Bass on tap, a 'generic' American beer of some sort, then just the basic well drinks when it comes to liquors -- a rum, a vodka, etc. One red wine and one white -- then if people want anything else, they can pay for it. (I do have to add that there's an absolutely amazing New York red wine that I've gotten so hooked on -- called Red Cat. I was never much of a wine drinker until a friend brought a bottle of that to a party!) That article sums it up perfectly -- as much as I want people to have fun, I don't want to have to have half the bill for the wedding go back into the alcohol. Cost-saving drinks would definitely be helpful! We're going to have a couple bartenders, and it would be nice to give them some affordable ideas to push toward people who might come up not knowing what they want.

We need to check with the place and see if we can bring in some of our own alcohol, which I'm not sure if they'll let us do. We have another friend (my fiance is a Mason and knows everyone, lol) who owns a liquor store, and gives us a deal on whatever we get from him. I really would have liked to go to him for everything... but if we wanted the hall, we had to go through them. But they're letting us in a day early to decorate and set up as well as letting us stay until at least 4am Sat night/Sunday morning, so I can't complain too much.

We're going to need at least 2 days recovery time, lol.

Sounds like you're in good hands with the Irish pub/hall. They'll know what to do to keep the party rolling smoothly all night long. I am amazed and impressed you get the hall the day before the event! I'm used to having two measly hours to decorate and set up and two more to tear down and clean up afterward - crazed madness but a crazed madness I used to love. Two days recovery time sounds like a very good plan!

I've worked with some event centers that allow food and beverages from outside sources and others that don't. Ask about this soon, so you'll know if you need to come up with the numbers or if it's something they'll figure out as a standard part of their service. If they're going to do it all, you can save your time and energies for other aspects of the wedding. There are lots of details to fret over.

I like the idea that some of the drinks will be provided free to guests but not all of them. People who must live on beer budgets (most of us, I bet) often indulge their champagne tastes when somebody else is picking up the tab.

Party animals at an Irish wedding? I expected that. Hoped so, even! My friends and family would fit right in so I'd certainly plan to round numbers up instead of down.

I'm going to look for that Red Cat wine you mentioned. I love wine but I'm not that familiar with New York wines. It's time to try something new. Thanks for the mention.

I'll have some cocktail ideas a little later. Speaking of crazed madness, that's what's happening in my little world right now so I got behind schedule yesterday. More soon!

I've got your cake recipe ready for you but I included lots of notes and suggestions - it's long. Too long for this forum. I'm not sure if I can send it as a .pdf attachment via Bella's pages. Do you?

I can't imagine trying to do everything in a few hours -- yikes!! Letting us in early made it ok that they wanted us to go through them for catering and the alcohol, lol - anything to make it less stress-free is fine by me!

That was our thinking -- if we offer some things on the open bar but people still have the option to pay for what they want, they can get exactly what they want if it's a dealbreaker, or they might settle for something a little more affordable.

Definitely planning on the party animals, we even have a friend who is a local police officer that's going to be the bouncer for us - really!

Red Cat is amazing -- the winery is Hazlitt, and they do a really good Brambleberry wine that's made out of all kinds of dark berries. It's more of a dessert wine, though, it's really, really sweet. Bully Hill is also an excellent NY winery. Anything by them will be good, (Grower's Red is a good place to start) and they have such a laid-back atmosphere. You'll know what I mean when you see the labels

So psyched about the cake recipe!! I'll send you my real email address so you can attach it. I know what I'm going to be doing tomorrow!!

Love the idea of a police officer as bouncer. There is a growing movement for 'social consciousness' laws that hold the host of a party responsible (partly, anyway) if someone drives away from a party after drinking and causes an accident. Where it isn't law yet, there's often public pressure to prosecute the host as well as the drunk driver. I quit bartending when this trend started.

I don't want this info to be a buzz kill but you won't have anything to worry about. Your policeman friend will add a degree of social responsibility / legal protection just by being there. He'll know how to handle every situation flawlessly, I'm sure!

Exactly -- we're booking a block of rooms at a hotel about a 5 minute walk away, but there's always going to be someone that insists they're okay to drive when they're totally not. Especially with the open bar, this was really bothering me... having him there to keep an eye on things is going to make it much, much easier to relax.

Maybe we should give out breath-alyzers as wedding favors, lol.

Love the idea of breath-alyzer wedding favors! What a cute idea. You'll be in good hands. Let the bouncer handle the worries so you can just enjoy being the belle of the ball!

I'm dreading being the center of attention!!

Ain't no way to be a bride without being the center of attention. Keep your co-star by your side to soak up some of the limelight! You'll both do just fine.

I'm working on some Celtic cocktail recipes. I hope to have some ideas to you by the end of the day.

How's the baking coming? In my voluminous baking notes, I forgot to mention that many cooks have the wrong idea about baking. Many of us think of cooking as happening only in the oven or on the stove. With the main meal, that's pretty much true but baking is a different ball game altogether. What you do to the pastry before you put it in the oven and what you do to it after the oven are more important than what happens in the oven. I know those notes are daunting but please think of the oven time as one of many important steps in the process.

Think of the oven time as a moment to enjoy a Guinness on the back porch! You will have earned one by then.

And, once you've mastered making a cake from scratch, you'll never want to eat a box mix cake again - they all taste like factory!! Ick!

Got some Celtic cocktail recipes posted at my cocktails website today. There'll be more tomorrow. Check 'em out, y'all