Rich, fudgy, and so delicious, this Chocolate Guinness Cake with Baileys Buttercream Frosting is just the cake you want to cap off your St. Patrick’s Day celebrations but is so good you’ll make it all year long!
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Like most New Yorkers, each year my family honors our Irish ancestors with a St. Paddy’s Day feast.
I’ll make a Shepherd’s Pie or Guinness beef stew, corned beef and cabbage, and Tara will always make a few loaves of Irish soda bread.
This Chocolate Guinness Cake with Baileys Buttercream Frosting is always there to close out the meal and satisfy those sweet cravings.
The Guinness compliments the rich chocolate, the cake is incredibly moist and light, and the creamy Baileys frosting is just out of this world!
Table of Contents
Cake ingredients
All ingredients for this recipe are shown in the pic below and special notes are made in this bulleted list to assist you.
- Stout. We’re using Guinness but you can use any stout, such as Murphy’s.
- Espresso powder. While this ingredient is optional, adding espresso to any chocolate cake amps up the flavor in a big way.
- Buttermilk. If you don’t have buttermilk you can use regular milk with a little white vinegar, about 1 tablespoon per cup of milk.
- Oil. I prefer to use oil over butter for cakes as it yields an incredibly moist cake. Use vegetable oil, avocado oil, or any neutral-flavored oil.
See the recipe card for full information on ingredients and quantities.
Baileys buttercream frosting ingredients
- Butter. Unsalted butter softened to room temperature.
- Irish cream. Baileys is the most well known Irish cream but you can definitely find other brands and use those.
- Confectioner’s sugar. Be sure to sift the powdered sugar to prevent lumps.
See the recipe card for full information on ingredients and quantities.
First, make the chocolate Guinness cake
- Preheat the oven to 350f and set the rack to the middle level. Line a 9×13 inch cake pan with parchment paper and set aside. In a large bowl add 3 cups (390g) of all-purpose sifted flour, 2/3 cup (83g) of cocoa powder, 2 1/3 (465g) of granulated suagar, 1 tablespoon of baking soda, 1 teaspoon of baking powder, 1 teaspoon of salt, and 1 teaspoon of espresso powder, if using, and mix to combine. (Photo #1)
- In a separate large bowl add 1 bottle (317g) of Guinness, 1/2 cup (120g) of sour cream, 1 cup (224g) of buttermilk, 3 large eggs, 3/4 cup (162g) of vegetable oil, and 1 tablespoon of vanilla extract and whisk until combined. (Photo #2)
- Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and use a hand mixer, or stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, to beat on low for 1 minute. (Photo #3)
- Pour the Guinness cake batter into the prepared pan. (Photo #4)
- Bake the cake in the oven for 50-55 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. (Photo #5)
- Remove the cake from the oven and allow it to cool for 10 minutes, then invert and place on a wire rack. Remove the parchment paper and allow the cake to fully cool before frosting with the Irish cream frosting. (Photo #6)
Next, frost the cake
- In a large bowl, or the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, beat 2 cups (454g) of unsalted room temperature butter on medium speed for about 2 minutes or until creamy. (Photo #1)
- Add 6 cups (700g) of confectioner’s sugar, 1 pinch of salt, and 1/3 cup (80g) of Baileys Irish cream and beat on low for 30 seconds, then increase the speed to medium – medium-high and beat for an additional 2 minutes. Check the consistency of the frosting and if it’s too thin, add more confectioner’s sugar a little at a time until the desired consistency is achieved. If the frosting is too thick, add another tablespoon of Irish cream to thin it out. (Photo #2)
- Use a cookie or ice cream scoop to place the frosting onto the top of the cooled chocolate Guinness cake. (Photo #3)
- Use an offset spatula to distribute the frosting evenly. If desired, add a few festive sprinkles. Slice, serve and enjoy! (Photo #4)
Top tips
- Espresso. This chocolate Guinness cake is already fudgy and delicious, but adding espresso powder really takes the flavor over the top. This is a great trick for any chocolate cake. You can use decaf espresso powder if caffeine is a concern.
- The pan. This recipe was written for a standard 9×13 cake pan which is typically 2 – 2 1/4 inches deep and holds a volume of 14 cups (3.5 quarts). It’s important to be sure the pan you are using is the correct size. It’s much easier to remove the cake from the pan if it’s lined with parchment paper. If you don’t have parchment paper, be sure to adequately oil/grease/spray the cake pan for easier removal. You can also opt to keep the cake in the sheet pan and serve that way too.
- Use a kitchen scale. Using a kitchen scale to measure ingredients in grams will provide a more accurate measurement. We recommend using a scale for most baking and dough-making recipes.
- Serving. If you’re not serving right away, store in the refrigerator. Remove from the fridge 1 hour before serving. Room temperature frosting tastes so much better than cold frosting.
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More sweet treats
Here are a few more dessert recipes I know you’ll love!
- Flourless chocolate cake – incredibly fudgy and delicious!
- Tiramisu – the classic layered Italian dessert.
- Chocolate chip cookies – crispy pan-banging cookies.
If you’ve enjoyed this Chocolate Guinness Cake with Baileys Buttercream Frosting Recipe or any recipe on this site, give it a 5-star rating and tell us about it in the comments below.
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Chocolate Guinness Cake with Baileys Buttercream Frosting
Chocolate Guinness Cake with Baileys Buttercream Frosting is incredibly moist, fluffy, and fudgy! This is the cake you need for your St. Patrick's Day celebrations!
Ingredients
For the Guinness Cake
- 3 cups (390g) all-purpose flour sifted
- 2 1/3 cup (465g) granulated sugar
- 1 tablespoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon espresso powder optional
- 1 teaspoon fine sea salt
- 2/3 cup (83g) cocoa powder
- 1 bottle (317g) Guinness
- 1/2 cup (120g) sour cream
- 1 cup (224g) buttermilk
- 3 large eggs
- 3/4 cup (162g) vegetable oil
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
For the Irish Cream Frosting
- 2 cups (454g) unsalted butter softened to room temperature
- 6-7 cups (700-840g) confectioner's sugar sifted
- 1/3 cup (80g) Bailey's Irish Cream room temperature
- 1 pinch salt
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Instructions
For the Guinness Cake
- Preheat the oven to 350f and set the rack to the middle level. Line a 9×13 inch cake pan with parchment paper.
- In a large bowl add the flour, cocoa powder, sugar, baking soda, baking powder, espresso powder (if using) and salt, and whisk until combined.
- In a separate large bowl add the Guinness, sour cream, buttermilk, eggs, vegetable oil, and vanilla extract and whisk until combined.
- Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and use a hand mixer to beat on low for 1 minute. Alternatively, you can use a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment.
- Pour the batter into the prepared cake pan and bake for 50 – 55 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean.
- Allow the cake to cool for 10 minutes, then turn it over and place on a wire rack. Remove the parchment paper and allow the cake to fully cool before frosting with the Irish Cream frosting.
For the Irish Cream Frosting
- In a large bowl or the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, beat the room temperature butter on medium speed for about 2 minutes or until creamy.
- Add 6 cups of confectioner's sugar, the salt, and the Irish cream and beat on low for 30 seconds then increase the speed to medium to medium-high and beat for an additional 2 minutes.
- Check the consistency of the frosting and if it's too thin, add the remaining cup of sugar a little at a time until the desired consistency is reached. If you find the frosting is too thick, you can add about a tablespoon of Irish cream at a time to thin it out.
- Scoop the frosting onto the top of the cooled cake and use an offset spatula to distribute evenly. Slice, serve, and enjoy!
Notes
- This recipe was written for a conventional oven. For convection ovens, reduce the temperature by 25 degrees and begin checking for doneness at the 75% mark.
- This recipe is written for a 9×13 sheet pan, however, you can make a 2 layer cake by using 2 prepared 9-inch cake pans and using a kitchen scale to divide the batter equally between the two pans. The bake time will be much quicker, so start checking for doneness at the 20-minute mark.
- Leftover cake can be stored covered in the refrigerator for up to 5 days.
Nutrition
Serving: 1slice | Calories: 449kcal | Carbohydrates: 51.5g | Protein: 4.4g | Fat: 24.5g | Saturated Fat: 15g | Cholesterol: 106mg | Sodium: 246mg | Potassium: 643mg | Fiber: 1.5g | Sugar: 13.1g | Calcium: 240mg | Iron: 2mg
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
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Thank you for the wonderful Guinness Cake recipe. I made one yesterday for an office party and one today, St. Patrick’s Day, for my family.
We’re so happy you enjoyed it a few times, Donna!
I made this for our family dinner on Sunday! Was a hit, will definitely put this on a favorite dessert list. 😊 do you think this would bake okay in a bundt pan.. ? Just wondering, I thought maybe I could make it look like a Nothing Bundt Cake.😉 Thoughts.. 🤔
Thanks for sharing your delicious recipes, I have made quite a few.
Be well,
Laura
Hi Laura, we’re so happy you enjoyed the cake. A bundt pan has less volume than a 9×13 pan (bundt is about 10-12 cups while 9×13 is 14-16 cups). So you could use the recipe but you’d have leftover batter that you could perhaps use for cupcakes or something small.
Read all the wonderful comments and was really looking forward to this cake. So disappointed. This cake recipe is way too much for a 9×13 pan. It overflowed in my oven and the batter was too thin to cook properly in the pan. Threw out entire cake. I was using a glass pan so anticipated longer cooking time. Please test recipe and revise cooking instructions. Ingredients are too expensive to waste. Just sharing a warning for other inexperienced bakers.
Hi Mary, sorry to hear you had difficulty with this recipe. Your comment asking us to test the recipe implies that we haven’t tested the recipe which couldn’t be more inaccurate. We have tested this recipe countless times and have been using this recipe for years. Furthermore, you can see from other readers that they’ve had success with this recipe. So no, we will not be revising any cooking instructions.
Can you do cupcakes with these measurements ?
Hi Kerry, you can, although we haven’t tested it so can’t say what the exact timing would be. You can pour the batter into lined cupcake tins about 2/3 full and bake at 350f. Start checking for doneness with a toothpick after 19 minutes or so. It may take longer depending on your oven.
Hmmm. Photo #6 doesn’t show a wire rack you’re turning the 9×13 cake out onto — and I think it would be courting disaster to use an actual wire rack. I wish I knew what that white object is you actually used; I don’t have anything that large and flat and unraised in my kitchen. Suggestions?
Hi Robert, the cake gets inverted onto a flat surface (we used a cutting board), then placed on a wire rack to continue to cool. You can always invert it onto another piece of parchment paper if you don’t have a cutting board that large.
Hi Jim, for those of us who cannot have alcohol, what do I substitute for the 1/3 cup of Bailey’s in the frosting recipe? Thank you.
Hi Fran, you can use some heavy cream in place of the Baileys
Hi James ,
I made this Guinness cake, with the Irish butter creamer frosting for a meeting that we have a potluck beforehand.
I decided the to devide the batter in two 9′ round cake pans.
After they were baked I spread the frosting that I colored green for St. Patrick’s day, spread some on the first layer and topped with second layer. I then frosted it and decorated it with green flowers and St Patrick’s day sprinkles, and sprade gold glitter.
The cake was amazing and everyone loved it.
There was not a peice left.
Delicious cake.
Thank you for all your wonderful recipes!
We’re so happy to hear that, Sheri!Thanks for sharing your modifcations!
Did you use a metal cake pan or a glass cake pan? With that change the cooking time
Hi Deb, we used a metal pan and that’s what we recommend using. If you use a glass cake pan, you may need to add extra time but we haven’t tested in a glass pan so can’t say what that exact timing would be.
Great.. Thanks so much
Sorry, will that change the cooking time?
Yes, as I mentioned in my comment if you use a glass cake pan, you may need to add extra time but we haven’t tested in a glass pan so can’t say what that exact timing would be.
Hi Jim and Tara,
I’m going to make this for a St. Patrick’s dinner. I love the green sprinkles, but what are brown/gold balls on the cake? Love how it looks
Hi Joe, the little balls are just sprinkles. I believe I purchased them at Michael’s but you can find something similar on Amazon. Hope you have a great St. Patrick’s dinner!
I have 2 pregnant women at work is there any substitute for the Bailey’s that will give it a similar flavor?
Hi Coll, you can omit the Bailey’s entirely and it will still be good.
Just finished baking the cakes, WOW! The Guinness Flavor really comes through. So good. Question of if I don’t frost them, will they keep in the fridge or freezer for about 10 days?
Hi Marilyn, we’re so happy you enjoyed. If you need to keep them for 10 days, you’ll definitely want to freeze them before frosting and yes, they freeze well. We don’t recommend freezing the frosting though – that will be better made fresh.
Can I make it into cupcakes?
Hi Megan, you can, although we haven’t tested it so can’t say what the exact timing would be. You can pour the batter into lined cupcake tins about 2/3 full and bake at 350f. Start checking for doneness with a toothpick after 19 minutes or so. It may take longer depending on your oven.
This recipe is a keeper! Very moist even as leftovers in the refrigerator. The only change I made to this recipe was I cut the icing ingredients in half and still had enough frosting to cover the whole cake.
We’re so happy you enjoyed, Ruthie!
Hello all
I am not cake maker but saw this recipe and thought I would have a go . Luckily it turned out fine . The recipe is easy to follow and it was my first time using oil instead of butter. The result is an amazing most cake . I thought the buttercream was going to be too sweet but it wasn’t. Everyone loved it . Many thanks . Regards steve in Spain
So happy you enjoyed, Steven!
I’m going to get this recipe tomorrow October 5th. I was wanting to make cupcakes instead of cake. Do you have any advise on different cook time or temperature or anything else I should know about making cupcakes with this recipe?
Hi Kristy, you can, although we haven’t tested it so can’t say what the exact timing would be. You can pour the batter into lined cupcake tins about 2/3 full and bake at 350f. Start checking for doneness with a toothpick after 19 minutes or so. It may take longer depending on your oven.
I’m baking this as I type! Is it possible to leave it in my glass 9×13 baking dish to cool, and ice the top only, for easy transport to a gathering?
Hi Valerie, yes, you can definitely do that!
I’d like to make this, it looks fantastic but just want to ask if you used natural or Dutched cocoa powder
Hi Elaine, we used a natural (not Dutch process) cocoa for this recipe.
Thank you so very much, made it -it’s fantastic, lovely tender crumb- just perfect. Really appreciated your quick reply too
This cake was amazing. Made this for FIL’s birthday on March 17th 2024. My Family was blown away by how delicious it tasted. We continually talk about this cake. Wife said this is the best thing I’ve ever made. I’ve been cooking pretty steadily for the past 3 years due to your YouTube videos, this website and Joshua Weissman and the Salt, Fat, Acid, Heat Book by Samin Nosrat. I weighed all ingredients and followed the directions precisely and I included the espresso powder and used a 9×13 cake pan with parchment paper. This is a really great recipe and directions, thank you!
We’re so happy you enjoyed, Alex, and we’re happy to have you following along with us!
The cake is a great recipe, and the Baileys takes the frosting to another level. But I found that one cup or two sticks of butter along with 4 cups of powdered sugar and Baileys was more than enough frosting for the 9×13 inch pan. Thanks much🤗
I made this for St Patrick’s Day, everyone loved it. I’m making it for our 4th of July cake contest, plus our bake sale.
Stop what you are doing and bake this cake. The frosting alone was a hit. My batter was very thin/wet/loose and I did not expect the cake to turn out. I erred and over baked by a little but the cake was still a winner.