This is a three-layer chocolate cake that bakes at 325°F for about 35 minutes and feeds 12. It uses stout, espresso powder and mayonnaise, and none of those three things tastes like itself in the finished slice.
The cake is dark and soft, the frosting is a cocoa buttercream you can pipe or spread, and the whole thing holds up on a plate for a few days. That's the version worth keeping.
One warning before you start: dissolve the espresso powder completely in the stout. Undissolved granules turn up as gritty specks in a crumb this dark, and you won't see them until someone bites.
Step-by-Step Instructions
1. Prep the tins
Grease three 8-inch cake tins and line the bases with parchment. Do this first so the batter doesn't sit waiting later.
2. Mix the dry ingredients
Sift the flour, cocoa, salt, baking soda and baking powder into a large bowl. Stir them together and set aside.
3. Dissolve the espresso
Combine the stout, vanilla and espresso powder in a large glass jug. Stir until the powder is fully dissolved with no grains left.
4. Cream butter and sugar
Beat the butter and sugar for about 5 minutes until pale and fluffy. Scrape the bowl down a couple of times so nothing sits unmixed at the edge.
5. Beat in the eggs
Add the eggs one at a time, beating each one in fully before the next goes in. The mixture should look smooth, not slick.
6. Add the mayonnaise
Beat in the mayonnaise until the mixture is smooth and creamy. It looks odd for a few seconds, then it comes together.
7. Heat the oven
Preheat to 325°F (160°C). Do this now so the oven is ready when the batter is.
8. Alternate dry and wet
Add about a third of the dry mix and beat until it disappears. Then a third of the stout mix, and so on, until both are used up. Start and finish with the dry.
9. Fold in the chocolate
Scrape the bowl down and fold the chopped dark chocolate through with a rubber spatula. Stop as soon as the pieces are evenly spread.
10. Fill the tins
Divide the batter evenly between the three tins and smooth the tops. A quick weigh of each tin keeps the layers the same thickness.
11. Bake
Bake for about 35 minutes, until a toothpick in the center comes out clean. Start checking at 32 minutes.
12. Cool in the tins
Set the tins on a cooling rack for 10 to 15 minutes, until the outside of a tin is cool enough to touch.
13. Release the layers
Run a butter knife around the edge, put a plate over the tin and invert. Peel off the parchment and slide the cake back onto the rack to cool completely. Repeat with the other two.
14. Start the buttercream
Beat the softened butter with the vanilla in a large bowl. Keep going until it's pale and smooth.
15. Build the frosting
Add the cocoa, powdered sugar and milk a bit at a time, beating constantly. Stop when it's light and fluffy, and add the last of the milk only if it needs loosening.
16. Frost and finish
Stack and frost the layers however you like, then add fresh fruit on top. Slice and serve.
Variations
Coffee version
swap the stout for the same volume of strong brewed coffee, cooled, if you'd rather not use beer.
Cupcakes
the same batter makes about 24 cupcakes. Bake at 325°F and start testing at 20 minutes.
Sheet cake
one 9 by 13 inch pan, same oven temperature, start checking at 40 minutes.
How to Store Best Chocolate Cake
Refrigerator
Frosted cake keeps 3 to 4 days in a covered container in the fridge. Bring it out 30 minutes before serving so the buttercream softens.
Freezer
Freeze unfrosted layers wrapped tightly for up to 2 months. Thaw overnight in the fridge, then frost cold or at room temperature.
Reheating
Don't reheat it. A few seconds in the microwave just to take the chill off a fridge-cold slice is fine.
Frequently Asked Questions
Q: Can I taste the stout or the mayonnaise?
No. The stout bakes off and reads as depth, and the mayonnaise just adds fat and moisture. Nobody has ever picked either one out of a slice.
Q: Why did my cake come out dry?
Usually overbaking. The toothpick should come out clean but the crumb should still feel soft when you press it. Start testing at 32 minutes, not 35.
Q: Can I make it ahead?
Yes. Bake the layers a day ahead, wrap them once cool and keep them at room temperature. The buttercream can be made a day ahead and brought back to spreading consistency with a short beat.
Q: Do I have to use three tins?
You can bake in two batches, but let the tins cool and re-grease them between. The batter shouldn't sit around once the soda is wet.
Q: How do I know the layers are done without a timer?
Press the center gently. It should spring back and feel set, not soft. A toothpick in the middle should come out with no wet batter on it.
Best Chocolate Cake – Triple Layer Stout Chocolate Cake
Three layers of deep chocolate cake made with stout, espresso and mayonnaise, then stacked with dark chocolate buttercream. Moist, sturdy and easy to slice.
Ingredients
Instructions
- 1Prep the tins — Grease three 8-inch cake tins and line the bases with parchment. Do this first so the batter doesn't sit waiting later.
- 2Mix the dry ingredients — Sift the flour, cocoa, salt, baking soda and baking powder into a large bowl. Stir them together and set aside.
- 3Dissolve the espresso — Combine the stout, vanilla and espresso powder in a large glass jug. Stir until the powder is fully dissolved with no grains left.
- 4Cream butter and sugar — Beat the butter and sugar for about 5 minutes until pale and fluffy. Scrape the bowl down a couple of times so nothing sits unmixed at the edge.
- 5Beat in the eggs — Add the eggs one at a time, beating each one in fully before the next goes in. The mixture should look smooth, not slick.
- 6Add the mayonnaise — Beat in the mayonnaise until the mixture is smooth and creamy. It looks odd for a few seconds, then it comes together.
- 7Heat the oven — Preheat to 325°F (160°C). Do this now so the oven is ready when the batter is.
- 8Alternate dry and wet — Add about a third of the dry mix and beat until it disappears. Then a third of the stout mix, and so on, until both are used up. Start and finish with the dry.
- 9Fold in the chocolate — Scrape the bowl down and fold the chopped dark chocolate through with a rubber spatula. Stop as soon as the pieces are evenly spread.
- 10Fill the tins — Divide the batter evenly between the three tins and smooth the tops. A quick weigh of each tin keeps the layers the same thickness.
- 11Bake — Bake for about 35 minutes, until a toothpick in the center comes out clean. Start checking at 32 minutes.
- 12Cool in the tins — Set the tins on a cooling rack for 10 to 15 minutes, until the outside of a tin is cool enough to touch.
- 13Release the layers — Run a butter knife around the edge, put a plate over the tin and invert. Peel off the parchment and slide the cake back onto the rack to cool completely. Repeat with the other two.
- 14Start the buttercream — Beat the softened butter with the vanilla in a large bowl. Keep going until it's pale and smooth.
- 15Build the frosting — Add the cocoa, powdered sugar and milk a bit at a time, beating constantly. Stop when it's light and fluffy, and add the last of the milk only if it needs loosening.
- 16Frost and finish — Stack and frost the layers however you like, then add fresh fruit on top. Slice and serve.
Darnell covers air fryer recipes and slow cook meals, with a steady side of eggs and breakfast casseroles for people cooking on a tight schedule. He writes in a blunt, test-it-again voice and flags the mistakes that ruin texture, from soggy fries to rubbery eggs. Every post gives timings, temperatures, and a fallback if your machine runs hot.
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