Guinness cake caused tears on The Great British Bake Off – here’s how to make yours perfectly

It’s impossible not to crave a slice of chocolate Guinness cake after watching 12 being baked, to varying degrees of success... The first episode of The Great British Bake Off has now aired, celebrating all things cake. Don't worry, no big spoilers ahead!

The series kicked off with a signature challenge where the bakers were tasked with making their own version of a chocolate stout cake – it could be any shape, and had to have at least one filling or topping. As new judge Nigella Lawson decreed, "it must be sumptuous", achieving the ideal balance of sweet and bitter, with a tang of stout.

The bakers certainly got creative. There were a wide range of flavours – cherry, Irish whiskey, apricot compote, blackberries, peanuts and fresh mango all found their way into cakes, while decoration ideas ran from hazelnut praline to sugar domes and tuile biscuits. As those who have watched the episode will know, this had varying degrees of success: there are several collapsing cakes. While spirits were high in episode one, several moments had us watching tensely from behind our fingers and there was definitely at least one gasp-worthy moment.

But fear not, because getting a Nigella-worthy sumptuous bake is simple with the right recipe (and perhaps without a camera crew monitoring your every move). If you're craving a stout cake now, make our recipe below for a classic crowdpleaser. Or for our twist on this favourite, keep on reading for our Guinness chocolate puddings – perfect for a dinner party and with a deliberately gooey centre so no one can accuse you of being underbaked. Check out our 7 twists on Guinness cake for more ideas, including cosy steamed puddings.

For more Bake Off-inspired ideas, we've got a coffee & walnut cake recipe so you can recreate the Nigella-chosen technical challenge, luckily with a full recipe and not just an illustration to work from like the determined bakers. We'll be tuning in to see what happens in week 2...

Chocolate Guinness cake

Bake this cake with Guinness to enhance the flavour of the chocolate sponge. It's made with soured cream and finished with a creamy soft cheese frosting for tang.

Ingredients

• 225g unsalted butter, cubed, plus extra for the tin
• 225ml Guinness
• 100g cocoa powder
• 375g caster sugar
• 2 eggs
• 150ml soured cream
• 2 tsp vanilla bean paste
• 275g plain flour
• 2 tsp bicarbonate of soda

For the topping

• 250g full-fat soft cheese
• 150g icing sugar
• 1 tsp cornflour
• 150ml double cream

Method

1. Heat the oven to 180/160 fan/gas 4. Butter the base of a 23cm cake loose-bottomed cake tin and line with baking parchment.
2. Pour the Guinness into a saucepan and add the butter. Bring to a simmer, then turn down the heat and stir until the butter has melted. Remove from the heat.
3. Whisk in the cocoa powder and sugar until well combined. Beat the eggs with the soured cream and vanilla bean paste in a jug, then pour this into the Guinness mixture.
4. Finally, stir in the flour and bicarb. Pour the cake mixture into the tin and bake for 50 mins-1 hr, or until skewer inserted into the middle of the cake comes out clean. If it doesn't, return it to the oven and check again after 10 mins. Leave to cool in the tin.
5. Meanwhile, make the topping. Beat the soft cheese until smooth, then beat in the icing sugar, a spoonful at a time, along with the cornflour. Whip the cream in a separate bowl to soft peaks, then stir this into the soft cheese mixture, one spoonful at a time. Spread the icing all over the cake, then slice to serve. Will keep chilled for up to a week.

Guinness chocolate puddings

Bake our indulgently boozy chocolate puddings with just five ingredients. Perfect for a dinner party as they can be made ahead of time.

Makes 4

Ingredients

• 150g unsalted butter plus extra for the ramekins
• 200g dark chocolate (70% cocoa), roughly chopped
• 90g golden caster sugar
• 3 eggs
• 90ml Guinness
• clotted cream or thick double cream, to serve (optional)

Method

1. Butter four 9 x 5cm ramekins and set aside. Tip the butter, chocolate and a generous pinch of salt into a heatproof bowl. Set over a small pan of just-simmering water and stir until melted, then remove from the heat and leave to cool a little.
2. Put the sugar and eggs in a large mixing bowl and beat with an electric whisk until pale, almost doubled in volume and thick enough to leave a trail when the beaters are lifted up. Gently fold in the melted chocolate and the Guinness. Spoon the mixture into the ramekins, then chill in the fridge for 1 hr. Heat oven to 200C/180C fan/gas 6 and put a baking tray on the top shelf to heat up.
3. Place the ramekins on the hot baking tray and bake for 18 mins. Remove from the oven and leave to stand for a minute, then serve with a dollop of cream, if you like.