I had always had what I considered to be a very good relationship with Guinness, the famous dark brown Irish stout, until an unfortunate St. Patrick’s Day evening out with college mates many years ago. I was living in Bath, England, spending my junior year
abroad, taking a respite from the ivory tower of a New England women’s college. It was St. Patrick’s Day, and my friends and I met up with a few members of the university rugby team at a local pub. One of the rugby boys explained to me that it was necessary to
drink Guinness, and Guinness only, on this hallowed day. Not one to be a wet blanket, I joined in the fun and, five pints later, lived to regret it (I’ll spare you all the humiliating details, but I will say that I somehow ended up in someone’s garden picking a lovely bouquet
of flowers at 4 am)…I haven’t touched the stuff since, but I have found that Guinness, with its bitter, coffee-like flavor, makes a wonderful addition to chocolate cake. This simple, earthy cake (which I originally developed for The Cake Book) is exceptionally
moist and really only needs a dusting of confectioners’ sugar to finish it. But because the Guinness is bitter, the cake is not too sweet, so I suggest you serve it with some sweetened whipped cream or caramel or vanilla ice cream. I’ve included a recipe for my favorite accompaniment, Brown Sugar Whipped Cream. Perfect for St. Patrick’s Day, or any day of the year. I’ll drink to that.
