Summer is not over yet! I know this because the barbecue is still shining brightly on my deck. And of course, it’s Labor Day Weekend – summer’s not over before this weekend!

Summer means backyard barbecues, dinner outside and ice cold beer. Summer means potlucks, fantastic summer salads and desserts while watching the kids run ragged until they pass out. For my next barbecue, I decided to create a recipe that I had been pondering since March, when I went to a fantastic Irish pub. I’ve always found that Guinness beer had a lovely chocolaty note to it…why not put it in a cake?  Beer, cake, more beer, awww, cheers!

Thermador Brand Marketer Laura San Nicolas gets her chocolatey dessert groove on.

Cake:

—1 cup Guinness (all beer no froth)
—2 sticks butter + more for buttering your pan
—3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
—2 cups all purpose flour
—2 cups sugar
—1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
—1 teaspoon salt
—2 large eggs
—2/3 cup sour cream

Oven temp: 350 degrees

I used a bundt cake pan and buttered it with melted butter, whooshing it against all the walls of the pan.

Step 1: In a saucepan pour the Guinness over the butter and set to medium heat until well combined.  Add the cocoa powder and whisk until smooth.  Set aside.

Step 2: Mix dry ingredients: flour, sugar, baking soda and salt. Combine well.

Step 3: Beat eggs and sour cream until well blended.  Add Guinness/chocolate mixture and beat again.
Step 4: Add flour mixture to wet mixture in batches. Beating well each time.

Step 5: Pour batter into bundt pan and bake for 30 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.

Ganache:

—8 ounces of bittersweet chocolate (I prefer chocolate wafers slightly chopped, you can use chips too)
—1 cup heavy cream
—1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Bring cream to boil, immediately remove from heat and pour over chocolate bits in a heatproof bowl. Add vanilla. Whisk until combined. Let sit until cooled. Pour over cooled Guinness bundt cake.