Happy St. Patrick’s Day, friends. What better way to celebrate the feast day of Ireland’s famous patron saint than by baking a cake with Guinness, Ireland’s famous stout?

I’ve baked a lot of cakes in my life, and this one is among the absolute best. It has great texture – very soft and fluffy – with a hint of stout against the chocolate. I adapted the original recipe from fellow baking blogger Baker By Nature to include a simple Bailey’s glaze, rather than buttercream and whiskey caramel…though that would have been delicious, too. If you’re having a Guinness today in honor of St. Patrick (and you should), enjoy.

Ingredients

For the cake

• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 1 cup packed light brown sugar
• 2 cups flour
• 1 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
• 2 teaspoons espresso powder
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 5 eggs, at room temperature
• 1 cup full-fat sour cream, at room temperature
• 8 ounces Guinness
• 3/4 cup vegetable oil
• 1/2 cup whole milk
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract

For the glaze

• 2 cups powdered sugar
• 4 1/2 tablespoons Bailey’s Irish Cream

Preparation

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Spray a 10-cup Bundt pan with nonstick baking spray, the kind that has both flour and oil in it.

In a large bowl, whisk the sugar, brown sugar, flour, cocoa powder, espresso powder, baking soda, baking powder, and salt together. In another bowl, whisk the eggs, sour cream, Guinness, oil, milk, and vanilla together; add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and stir until just combined. Batter will be very thin and bubbly.

Pour into the prepared pan and bake for 45-50 minutes, until a cake tester comes out clean (mine was done at 45 minutes). Remove from oven and cool in the pan for about 10 minutes, then turn out onto a wire rack to cool completely.

To make the glaze, stir powdered sugar and Bailey’s together; place in a piping bag and pipe over the cake. Allow the glaze to set before cutting. Store at room temperature for 2-3 days.