chocolate Guinness cake

this wednesday is one of our favorite food holidays - after thanksgiving, easter, christmas . . . ok, i guess most holidays are a great excuse to make something special and we really don't have a favorite! last year we celebrated st. patrick's day with colcannon and it will definitely be on our plates again this year with some corned beef, cabbage and a few pints of Guinness. this lovely chocolate cake combines stout and prunes for an extra moist and rich result. it's perfect with a little vanilla ice cream while sipping some irish whiskey after dinner! check back this week for a few more st. paddy's day recipes, including something to do with all that leftover corned beef.

Chocolate Stout Cake

serves 6

(adapted from gourmet.com)

1/2 cup stout such as Guinness

1/2 cup pitted prunes, chopped

1 stick unsalted butter, chopped

3 1/2 oz bittersweet chocolate

1 1/4 cups flour

1/4 tsp cinnamon

1/4 tsp baking soda

1/4 tsp salt

2 eggs

1 cup brown sugar

1 tsp vanilla

preheat oven to 350 degrees F. bring beer to a boil in a small saucepan and add prunes. remove from heat and let stand. melt chocolate and butter a little at a time in the microwave, stirring often, or in a heavy saucepan over low heat. sift together flour, cinnamon, baking soda and salt.

in the bowl of a stand mixer, beat together eggs, sugar and vanilla until thick. add chocolate and beat until combined. reduce speed to low and add flour mixture. stir in prune mixture until well combined. divide batter between 6 greased 10-cm spring form pans, an 8x3-inch ringmold or a 6 cup capacity bundt pan. bake until a wooden skewer inserted in the middle comes out clean, about 40-45 minutes. cool cake 15 minutes on a wire rack, remove from pan and cool completely. enjoy!