I just don't trust someone who doesn't like cake. That's right, there are people that "don't like cake." There's just something not right about it, they can't be trusted.
A friend of mine and I were walking around in Capitol Hill (Seattle, WA) and we passed my favorite cupcakery, Cupcake Royale. "Let's stop in and get one," I said with a tug. "Nah, I don't like cake." The next part is pretty much a blur. I think I stopped in my tracks, my mouth hit the floor and I shook my head a few times as if to shake the words from my memory. "Don't like cake?" How can that be?
I was determined to change this and quickly. I ran through my mental recipe box and landed on the obvious choice, Nigella Lawson's Guinness Chocolate Cake from her lovely book, Feast. This was sure to do the trick!
Over the weekend, after he and his partner treated me lovely dinner and a fabulous night out on the town, I decided to bake them a thank you note. That's right! A tasty, dense, damp, chocolatey thank you note!
The Guinness Chocolate Cake is the cure for anyone cake-hater who complains about dry, crumbling cake. It is the most dense, damp (and that "m" word - sorry, even as a baker I just can't bring myself to say it.) cake you'll ever try. And yes, there's actual Guinness beer baked inside. In fact, you melt butter in the beer! (I'd challenge you to find something better than melting beer in Guinness. Oh...how about the fact that the recipe only calls for 1 cup of Guinness which means that you have at least another cup and a half left for yourself! Baking and beer!)
After a Saturday of baking and a Sunday morning perfecting the frosting (which replicates the frothy head of the stout) I delivered the treat to the boys. Half of it was gone within a half an hour and the cake hater himself ate two pieces! Two! And that was just the first night. Since "the delivery" I've received e-mails and texts from him - "I can't wait to go home and have another slice of that cake!"
I'm proud to say that I've single-handedly (okay, with Nigella's help) helped one cake-hater cross over from the dark side. And while he might not be headed to QFC to pick up a sheet cake anytime soon, he'll certainly never claim to "hate cake" again. At least if he knows what's good for him!
Get the recipe here! Enjoy!
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