Guinness Chocolate Cream Cheese Frosting

This blog post is not about the delicious cake that you see pictured. No, this is about the frosting. I took a bit of a circuitous route to devise this frosting. It started, I suppose, when I relieved my dad of the jar of confectioners' sugar that remained in his pantry. I knew that he would never use it and, with mother gone, there will, sadly, be no more baking in that house. When I poured the sugar into my container, a recipe for cream cheese frosting fell out. It tugged at my heart. Little notes from mother seem to pop up when I least expect them. Finding them makes me happy and sad at the same time. My plan for the day was to make my favorite chocolate cake, Chocolate Stout Cake, and frost it with the same frosting that I always use, but instead, decided to try the recipe that had just appeared before me, making a chocolate version. It seemed like fate. Unfortunately I had no milk.  I did, however, have extra Guinness, so substituted half as much (due to the difference in viscosity) then tossed in some espresso powder for a richer flavor.  Then end result was so good I could have eaten it right from the bowl.  This is easy, no fail, spreads beautifully, amply covers the top and sides of a 9" cake, and got rave reviews from all who tried it.  I'd say it's a keeper. 

Guinness Chocolate Cream Cheese Frosting

1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese, room temperature
2 tablespoons Guinness
4 cups confectioners' sugar
1/4 cup butter, room temperature
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1/2 teaspoon espresso powder

In the work bowl of a stand mixer, beat cream cheese, Guinness, confectioner's sugar, butter, vanilla, cocoa, and espresso powder to a spreadable consistency. Spread onto cooled cake.

This post is linked to:

Be Inspired Friday

Foodie Friday

Sugar and Spice

Sunday Sweeties