Chocolate Stout Cake with Frangelico (Hazelnut) Mousse

I once dated someone who was obsessed with Stout beer. After mentioning this to a friend, they passed along the below recipe to me. For Valentine’s day that year, I made this cake and layered and covered it with chocolate ganache. This is a very rich combination that usually gets excellent reviews. It is also a great cake for a birthday as well.

As you may have read in previous posts, the plain chocolate cake recipe has been eluding us as far as chocolate flavor and moisture come into play.

A friend asked me to make her wedding cake and mentioned that she wanted a chocolate cake. This put me into a panic as I still don’t have a chocolate cake recipe that I love. I mentioned that the chocolate stout cake recipe that I have is very moist and has a nice crumb that would hold up well with the Frangelico (hazelnut) mousse that she wanted me to pair with the chocolate cake. We decided to pair it with buttercream icing and the combination turned out to be absolutely magical! Since the wedding, I have had several requests for this cake including a Valentine’s Day replica request from the bride and groom themselves!

This Frangelico Mouuse recipe was found in a cooking magazine. I really like the consistency and think that it adds a very minimal hazelnut flavor to this combination. An added benefit is that it isn’t overpowering. This recipe will usually leave me with some mousse left over, so I like to fill some cups, add some whipped cream, and serve as a little bonus treat.

Chocolate Stout Cake

2/3 cup stout, such as chocolate or oatmeal stout
10 Tbs. unsalted butter (1 stick plus 2 Tbs.)
½ cup cocoa powder
1 1/3 cups cake flour, sifted
1 1/3 cups sugar
1 tsp. baking soda
½ tsp. salt
1 large whole egg plus 1 yolk
2/3 cup sour cream

Procedure:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Butter two 8-inch round cake pans. Line with parchment paper. Butter paper.
2. Bring stout and butter to a simmer in heavy saucepan over medium heat. Add cocoa; whisk until smooth. Cool slightly.
3. Sift flour, sugar, baking soda and salt in a large bowl to blend; set aside.
4. Beat egg, yolk and sour cream with electric mixer in another large bowl to blend. Add stout-chocolate mixture to egg mixture, and beat just to combine.
5. Add flour mixture and beat 30 seconds on slowest speed. Fold batter using rubber spatula until completely combined; pour into prepared pan.
6. Bake about 20 to 25 minutes, or until tester inserted into center of cake comes out clean. Transfer to rack; cool 10 minutes. Run small sharp knife around edge of cake to loosen and turn cake out onto rack; cool completely.


Frangelico (Hazelnut) Mousse

6 large egg yolks
¼ cup sugar
3 Tbs. Frangelico (hazelnut liqueur)
¼ cup (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, diced, room temperature
2 ounces bittersweet (not unsweetened) or semisweet chocolate, chopped
3 Tbs Nutella (chocolate-hazelnut spread)
½ cup chilled whipping cream

 Procedure:
1. Whisk egg yolks and sugar in heavy medium saucepan to blend. Whisk in Frangelico.
2. Add butter. Whisk gently over medium heat until mixture is thick, about 4 minutes (do not boil). Remove from heat.
3. Add chocolate and whisk until melted. Gently stir in Nutella.
4. Transfer mixture to large bowl; cool to room temperature. Beat cream in medium bowl until cream holds peaks; fold into chocolate mixture in 2 additions. Cover mousse and chill up to 1 day.