Irish stout and chocolate are a winning combination that meets right at the corner of bitter and sweet in this Chocolate-Stout Coffee Loaf Cake. The stout is a boon to the cocoa flavor and the secret to this loaf-style coffee cake’s supremely tender texture. The alcohol inhibits gluten formation, yielding a particularly delicate crumb.
Chocolate-Stout Coffee Loaf Cake
Makes 1 (9×5-inch) cake
Ingredients
- 1¼ cups (275 grams) firmly packed dark brown sugar
- ½ cup (112 grams) neutral oil
- 2 large eggs (100 grams), room temperature
- 1½ teaspoons (3 grams) instant coffee granules
- 1 teaspoon (4 grams) vanilla extract
- 1 cup (125 grams) all-purpose flour
- ¾ cup (64 grams) unsweetened cocoa powder
- 2 teaspoons (4 grams) ground cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon (5 grams) baking powder
- ¾ teaspoon (2.25 grams) kosher salt
- ¼ teaspoon (1 gram) baking soda
- ⅔ cup (160 grams) sour cream, room temperature
- ⅓ cup (80 grams) Irish dry stout beer*, room temperature (see PRO TIP)
- 4 ounces (113 grams) 60% cacao dark chocolate, chopped
- Chocolate Coffee Streusel (recipe follows)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F (180°C). Spray a 9×5-inch loaf pan with baking spray with flour. Line pan with parchment paper, letting excess extend over sides of pan.
- In a large bowl, whisk together brown sugar and oil until combined. Add eggs, one at a time, whisking well after each addition. Whisk in coffee granules and vanilla.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, cocoa, cinnamon, baking powder, salt, and baking soda. In a small bowl, whisk together sour cream and beer. Gradually add flour mixture to sugar mixture alternately with sour cream mixture, beginning and ending with flour mixture, stirring well after each addition. Fold in chocolate until evenly distributed. Pour batter into prepared pan. Sprinkle Chocolate Coffee Streusel on top, breaking up into pea-size pieces.
- Bake for 50 minutes. Loosely cover with foil; bake until top is dry, a wooden pick inserted in center comes out with a few moist crumbs, and an instant-read thermometer inserted in center registers 205°F (96°C) to 210°F (99°C), 8 to 16 minutes more. Let cool in pan for 10 minutes. Using excess parchment as handles, remove from pan, and let cool completely on a wire rack.
Notes
*We used Guinness Extra Stout. Do not use nitrogenated varieties.
PRO TIP: When measuring beer for this loaf cake, it’s best to work with room temperature beer. After pouring it into a measuring cup, let it stand for about 5 to 10 minutes before adding it to your batter. This will allow the foam and carbonation to dissipate.
PRO TIP: When measuring beer for this loaf cake, it’s best to work with room temperature beer. After pouring it into a measuring cup, let it stand for about 5 to 10 minutes before adding it to your batter. This will allow the foam and carbonation to dissipate.
Chocolate Coffee Streusel
Makes ⅔ cup
Ingredients
- ¼ cup (31 grams) all-purpose flour
- 2½ tablespoons (35 grams) firmly packed dark brown sugar
- 2 tablespoons (10 grams) unsweetened cocoa powder
- ¾ teaspoon (1.5 grams) instant coffee granules
- ¼ teaspoon kosher salt
- ¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 2 tablespoons (28 grams) unsalted butter, cubed and room temperature
Instructions
- In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, brown sugar, cocoa, coffee granules, salt, and cinnamon. Using your fingertips, cut in butter until mixture is crumbly and desired consistency is reached. Refrigerate until ready to use.
This looks absolutely FAB! Can’t wait to try it out. Wondering if one can use espresso powder in place of the instant coffee granules and if so, would it be an equal replacement or would you substitute less? Thanks!
Hi Penney,
Trust us, it’s just as delicious as it looks. Thank you for your question! You could absolutely sub espresso powder. However, it is quite a bit stronger, so you may want to reduce the amount slightly (1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon less, according to your taste).
Hope this helps, and happy baking!
I just pulled this out of the oven, it smells and looks amazing! The cooking time with my oven went way over 50+ minutes, more like an hour 15… Depending on how it tastes, I might reduce the amount of cinnamon, I buy very potent cinnamon, I run a Cottage Food bakery out of my home, and it might have too much… Very excited to send this to my brother-in-law for his birthday!!!!
I just made two more of these cakes as I’ve now got orders for Valentine’s Day and did not tryi the one I made previously. I completely omitted the cinnamon and added a more coffee in it’s place, they already smell amazing… Fingers crossed!
Is it possible to substitute something else for the stout, or would that compromise the taste of the loaf?
Hello Irene,
Thank you for your question! We haven’t tested this recipe with any stout substitutions, so we can’t be entirely sure how omitting it will affect the recipe. The stout not only adds carbonation, but the alcohol in the beer also contributes to the more delicate texture of the cake’s crumb.
But, that’s not to say that it can’t be done. If you’re a fan of coffee, I could see coffee (that’s been allowed to cool to room temperature) working incredibly well in this recipe. However, if you do choose to add coffee as your liquid, you might want to cut back on or omit the instant coffee granules added to the batter. You could also substitute milk for a slightly richer, denser loaf. With both of these options, you would substitute 1:1 by volume (in this case, 1/3 cup).
If you do end up trying this recipe with any substitutions, please let us know how it goes!
Hope this helps, and happy baking!
I made this today. Absolutely delicious. The combination of stout, dark chocolate and coffee is always a winning mix. But paired with the cinnamon and the old fashioned brown sugar, that took it to the next level. The chocolate streusel was unique – so much better than an icing or a glaze. This is an excellent recipe. I will definitely make it again.
I have baked this MULTIPLE times. One of my favorites!!!!
I use dark cocoa in the crumble.