chocolate guinness cake

Wandering around the supermarket tonight with my cookbook 'cake days' opened at the chocolate guinness cake and a lovely old man strolled past, caught sight of the book and asked if I was making something yummy for dinner. I said yes something extremely healthy 'a chocolate guinness cake!'. He and his wife then came over and said if I like cooking had I seen 'the baker boys'? The second person today to mention these boys I must check them out. And they both said I had to watch a film called 'Streetcat Bob' about a cat in London who saved a man, and a man who saved a cat. So many things to do! This cake from the Hummingbird Bakery is dark, rich and very moist, it comes out perfectly every time. Whatever you do make sure you sift the icing sugar when making the frosting mine came out with lumps the first time, and I nearly overdosed on cream cheese icing.

CHOCOLATE GUINNESS CAKE
250mls guinness
250g unsalted butter
80g cocoa powder
400g caster sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla essence
140ml buttermilk
280g plain flour
2 tsp bicarbonate of soda
1/2 tsp baking powder
Preheat oven to 170C.
Line the base of a 23cm diameter spring-form cake tin with baking parchment.
Pour the guinness into a saucepan, add the butter and gently heat until it has melted.  Remove the pan from the heat and stir the cocoa powder and sugar into the warm liquid.
Mix together the eggs, vanilla essence and buttermilk by hand in a jug or bowl then add to the mixture in the pan.
Sift together the remaining dry ingredients into a large mixing bowl. Set the mixer on low speed and pour the contents of the pan. Scrape down the sides of the bowl and continue to mix thoroughtly until all the ingredients are incorporated.
Pour the batter into the prepared cake tin and bake for approximately 45 -60 minutes until the sponge bounces back when lightly pressed and a skewer inserted into the middle of the cake comes out clean.
Set aside to cool, then remove from the tin onto a wire rack, making sure the cake is cold to the touch before you frost it.
FROSTING
50g unsalted butter softened
300g icing sugar
125g full fat cream cheese
cocoa powder for dusting
Sift the icing sugar. Using an electric whisk, mix the butter and icing sugar together until there are no large lumps of butter and it is fully combined with the sugar in a sandy mixture.
Add cream cheese and mix in a low speed then increase the speed to medium and beat until the frosting is light and fluffy.
Place cooled cake on to a plate or cake card and top generously with the cream cheese frosting.  
Dust lightly with cocoa powder if you fancy!