Friends and Summer Cake

For about three years now I’ve been baking a cake every first Sunday of the month for our church fellowship to celebrate the birthdays and anniversaries of members and regular attendees, and I always try a new recipe each month.  A few weeks ago I found this recipe and replaced some of the ingredients such as Guinness (beer) to suit my palate and of course, the congregation.  Next time, I will try Guinness instead of coffee.  Here’s the recipe with notes of the changes I made. I doubled the recipe and baked it in 3 – 9 inch round pan.

Guinness Cake with Chocolate Ganache and Berries

Ingredients:

The cake:

• 10 ounces Guinness (I used brewed coffee)
• 1/4 cup dark chocolate cocoa
• 14 tbsp butter
• 1 3/4 cups sugar
• 2 eggs
• 2/3 cup sour cream
• 2 cups flour
• 2 tsp baking soda

The ganache:

• 10 oz dark chocolate
• 1/2 cup heavy cream
• 1 tbsp butter

The whipped cream and berries:

• 2 cups fresh berries, washed (I used strawberries, blueberries, blackberries, cherries and mangoes – shaped in tiny hearts.)
• 1 cup heavy whipping cream
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 2 tbsp confectioners’ sugar

Method

1. Preheat oven to 350F. Line two 8-inch cake pans with parchment paper and liberally spray with cooking spray. Set aside.
2. Heat Guinness, cocoa, and butter in a small saucepan and heat on medium heat, stirring occasionally, until the butter melts.
3. Beat sugar, eggs, and sour cream in a bowl until combined. Add the Guinness mixture and stir to combine. Whisk in the flour and baking soda. Divide batter evenly among pans. Bake for 45 minutes, or until an inserted toothpick comes out clean. Cool on wire racks for 20-30 minutes before removing cakes from pans and allowing to cool completely on racks. (Cake layers can be made one day ahead of time. Once cooled completely, wrap well in plastic wrap and foil and store at room temperature).
4. To make the ganache, set a glass bowl over a pot of simmering water. Add chopped chocolate, cream, and butter to the bowl and heat until butter and chocolate have melted. Set aside for 5-10 minutes.
5. To make the whipped cream, beat heavy cream with confectioners’ sugar and vanilla until stiff peaks form.
6. To assemble the cake, place one layer on a cake stand or serving platter. Top with whipped cream and half of the berries. Add second cake layer and pour ganache over top cake layer. Finish with remaining berries. Serve cake slices with extra ganache. One member of the church, Adiben, is celebrating her birthday in August, and two couples (Marc and Hazel; Roland and Adiben) are celebrating their wedding anniversary. Three of our guests are also birthday celebrants.  Bro. Jojo and Sis. Liza Pilar joined us for worship and joined in the celebration. And Pastor Anzel Vargas, a visiting preacher from Isabela, Philippines.  We’ve meet him through a Filipino family in our congregation.

   

   We also had a guest preacher from the Philippines, Pastor Jojo Tuazon from Metropolitan Bible Baptist Church in Cauayan Isabela, who preached for us on Sunday morning.  Mrs. Tuazon (aka ‘Teacher Beng’ to many people but ‘Ate Beng’ to me) and I managed to walk around Kensington Palace in between the worship services.  And we had a wonderful time fellowshipping over tea at Kensington Palace Orangery.