Chocolate Porter Cake Recipe

To make the cake:
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Lightly grease two 9-inch cake pans with the 2 tablespoons butter and dust with 1/4 cup of flour. Shake out and discard any excess flour, and set the pans aside.

Mix together the remaining 2-1/4 cups flour with the baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Beat the egg whites with 2 tablespoons of the sugar until stiff peaks begin to form. With an electric mixer, cream together the remaining sugar with the 3/4 cup butter until light in texture. One at a time, beat in the egg yolks. Stir in the melted chocolate, the beer, and then gradually beat in the flour mixture. With a rubber spatula, fold in the egg whites. Scrape half the batter into each of the cake pans, and bake in the middle of the oven 30 to 35 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Remove the pans from the oven and let the cakes cool while you prepare the frosting.

To make the frosting:

Soften the chocolate chips and butter in a double boiler. (The chips should be soft, but still hold their shape.) Remove from the heat. Using an electric beater, beat the chocolate and butter until smooth, about 1 minute. Beat in the Porter and milk, one tablespoon at a time, until the mixture is soft and shiny. Remove the cakes from the pans. Frost the layers.

Yield: 1 two-layer cake

Recipe Source: Real Beer and Good Eats by Bruce Aidells & Dennis Kelly (Random House)
Reprinted with permission.