Chocolate guinness cake

You will need one 23cm diameter springform cake tin.

Serves 12-14

250ml Guinness

250g unsalted butter

80g cocoa powder

400g caster sugar

2 eggs

1 tsp vanilla essence

140ml buttermilk

280g plain flour

2 tsp bicarbonate of soda

½ tsp baking powder

For the frosting

50g unsalted butter, softened

300g icing sugar

125g full-fat cream cheese

cocoa powder, for dusting (optional)

Preheat an oven to 170 degrees/gas mark 3, then line the base of the tin with baking parchment. Pour the Guinness into a saucepan, add the butter and gently heat until it has melted. Remove the pan from the heat and stir the cocoa powder and sugar into the warm liquid. Mix together the eggs, vanilla essence and buttermilk by hand in a jug or bowl, and then add this to the mixture in the pan.

Sift together the remaining sponge ingredients into a large bowl or into the bowl of a freestanding electric mixer. Using the mixer with the paddle attachment or a hand-held electric whisk, set on a low speed, pour in the contents of the pan. Scrape down the sides of the bowl and continue to mix thoroughly until all the ingredients are incorporated.

Pour the batter into the prepared cake tin and bake for approximately 45 minutes or until the sponge bounces back when lightly pressed and a skewer inserted into the middle of the cake comes out clean. Set aside to cool, and then remove from the tin on to a wire rack, making sure the cake is cold to the touch before you frost it.

Using the electric whisk or the freestanding mixer with paddle attachment, mix the butter and icing sugar together until there are no large lumps of butter and it is fully combined with the sugar in a sandy mixture. Add the cream cheese and mix in a low speed, then increase the speed to medium and beat until the frosting is light and fluffy.

Place the cooled cake on to a plate or cake card and top generously with the cream cheese frosting. The cake can be decorated with a light dusting of cocoa powder.

From Hummingbird Bakery Cake Days, by Tarek Malouf and the Hummingbird bakers, published by Collins (£20)