Chocolate cake will be more rich and moist if you mix in common £2 ingredient

A top baker shared how she make chocolate cake super fudgy and rich, by ditching Guinness. The simple swap can deepen the chocolate flavour

Autumn is well and truly here, and this cosy season presents the ideal opportunity to indulge in a freshly baked treat. Baking remains a beloved pastime, and with people more inclined to stay indoors during the cooler months, there is every reason to dust off the mixing bowl.

To help liven up your weekends, baker and cookbook author Jane Dunn, widely known as Jane’s Patisserie, has recently shared her own twist on a much-loved classic. Chocolate Guinness cake is deep, rich and wonderfully fudgy.

In a TikTok video posted in September, Jane said: “One of my personal favourite flavour of cakes is a Guinness cake. It is simple, it is delicious and it makes the best chocolate cake, and it is utterly delicious with a cream cheese frosting.”

Guinness enhances the flavour of a chocolate cake by intensifying the chocolate notes, much in the same way that adding coffee does. It contributes subtle coffee and caramel undertones while balancing the sweetness with a gentle bitterness.

It can further amplify the chocolate in the mixture, producing a richer, more intense taste. That said, you do not necessarily need Guinness to achieve a rich flavour and fudgy texture, reports the Express.

Should you not have any Guinness to hand, cola works just as well as a substitute. For around £2.30 at Tesco, a bottle of Coca-Cola can make chocolate cakes richer by deepening the chocolate flavour through blooming the cocoa, adding subtle caramel and spice notes, and improving texture.

This substitution will also render the cake completely alcohol-free, should you prefer. Jane’s video has already amassed over 69,500 views and garnered some 1,600 likes.

A user called Msgt revealed: “Made this last weekend for my son’s bday!” Elaine simply wrote: “Looks delicious.”

So if you’re seeking a comforting bake to prepare at the weekend, here’s how you can replicate Jane’s recipe at home.

Guinness loaf cake recipe

Ingredients

For the cake:

• 175g unsalted butter
• 250g light brown soft sugar
• One tsp vanilla
• Three medium eggs
• 150ml Guinness/Coke
• 50g cocoa powder
• 250g self raising flour
• 125ml whole milk

For the topping:

• 100g unsalted butter
• 100g icing sugar
• One tsp vanilla
• 200g cream cheese
• Chocolate shavings

Method

Preheat the oven to 180C/160C fan and line a two-pound loaf tin with baking parchment. Beat the butter and sugar together until light and creamy.

Add the vanilla and eggs, and combine. Add the Guinness or Coke and mix. Incorporate the cocoa powder and flour, mixing again, and then finally stir through the milk.

Pour into the prepared tin and bake for 50-60 minutes. Allow to cool completely.

In a separate bowl, combine the butter and icing sugar. Add the vanilla and cream cheese and beat until smooth.

Spread over the top of the cooled cake. Scatter over chocolate shavings.