Knowing I’m a little over-focused on (some may say obsessed with) beer, my sister Wendi sent me a link for a ginger cake made with stout. Being the baker I am, I immediately passed the recipe on to my wife and begged her to make it. Because she loves stout beer and because we were due to have company, she actually said yes and set about making the delicious loaf you see above.
The chief modification she made to the recipe was to ditch the Guinness that was called for and replace it with her favorite beer in the world: Victory Storm King Stout. The result was a blend of molasses, ginger, malt and hop that was both complex and comforting, in an old-timey flavor sort of way.
I kicked it up a notch by drizzling caramel sauce on each slice as it was served, which sweetened up the whole affair and helped to pull out the rich flavors of coffee and chocolate hidden within the cake.
Anyway, we usually talk beer and whiskey here, not baking, but this recipe is a keeper and is worth passing along. Just thought I’d share. Also, let me know if you have any other go-to recipes that use beer or whiskey. My wife has some bratwurst on hand and I have a few extra bottles of Anchor Steam for the boiling…
Beer & Whiskey Brothers 
The cake looks delicious. Since the Victory Storm King is her favorite, did your wife have any reservations about dumping into a cake batter?
No, she was all for it. But she really didn’t love the cake, as old fashioned ginger flavor isn’t her thing. My three year old daughter loved it though, which I thought was pretty cool. She has an impressive palate for a little kid and loves all sorts of complex flavors. She was stealing kalamata olives off my plate when she was 1. A little foodie, that one.
That’s great! I have two daughters who will eat anything and it makes cooking/dinner time so easy. That is, until you go to a restaurant and they want the $32 filet mignon with cabernet reduction.
I have a great stout cake recipe without ginger if you would like it. I haven’t made it in a while so it’s not on the blog.
I think it’s cool when little kids like fancy food. My son won’t eat anything, which he gets from my wife. I was thrilled to learn that my daughter is far more adventurous – someone to split interesting dishes with in restaurants.
I would love the recipe for the non-gingery stout cake. Can you post a link here, or is email a better option?
There’s no link. I have the recipe handwritten in one of my cookbooks. I’d be happy to email you the recipe or I can (finally) make it again and blog it, whenever that happens. It’s a little long to post here but I can do that as well. Just let me know.
Rachel, just sent you an email – thanks for offering to share!!
Rachel, It looks like more folks are interested. Perhaps this could be blog post on locodiner.com…
Looks tasty. I’ll make this with my Murphy’s Irish stew some time. I’m not a ginger fan, normally, but the cake looks doable.
Certainly doable, Mike. If you’re not a ginger fan, then I defiantly recommend a little caramel sauce and whipped cream. It brings out the richness in the cake which pushes the ginger to the background.
I can’t bake for the life of me…I can cook, just not bake.
I, like Mike am not a huge ginger fan. I do like a bit with my sushi though. In fact, I’ve nearly vomited from left hand’s ginger beer. blah. (but I do like the soda, ginger ale).
That being said, the cake looks good, and I’d like to give it a whirl.
mmmmm….beer broiled brats….now that’ sup my alley
I’ve taken up Rachel from locodiner.com on her offer to share her non-ginger stout cake recipe. Perhaps I can post it here on B&WB, or perhaps she will now be compelled to blog it for all see on her site…
Hey I like the idea of you guys getting up some beer & whiskey recipes-but then again I’m a foodie and I love to cook & bake. Maybe not manly enough for this blog……
You’re plenty manly Wendi. We didn’t call you “Sarge” growing up because you were girly 😉
I had a few different names for her, Sarge was the least of them. Fortunately she has mellowed… 😉
I’d like to take a quick moment to dispel the notion that beer is manly. I do feel a bit silly drinking a sweet lambic on my back patio out of champagne glass with my pinky held high.
I agree about the manly thing and beer, but whiskey is still pretty butch.