Guinness chocolate cake:

*My thanks to Danielle Miller for passing this recipe along to me!  :)  

For the cake:

1 cup guinness (please use the real stuff!)
1 stick plus 2 TBS unsalted butter
3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa
2 cups superfine sugar (i use regular c&h)
3/4 cup sour cream
2 eggs
1 TBS vanilla
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 1/2 tsp baking soda

* i find it helps to measure out the cocoa & sugar in a bowl; beat the eggs, sour cream, & vanilla together in a bowl; & have the flour & soda measured out in a bowl ready for when you mix it all in at the end.

* don't worry if the batter is thin; it often is.

for the frosting:

8oz philadelphia cream cheese
1 1/4 cup confectioners sugar
1/2 cup heavy cream

preheat oven to 350, and butter and line a 9 inch springform. pour guinness into a large wide saucepan, add the butter --in spoons or slices-- and heat until the butter's melted, at which time you should whisk in the cocoa and sugar. beat the sour cream with the eggs and vanilla and then pour into the pan. whisk in the flour and baking soda.

pour batter into the greased and lined pan and bake for 45 minutes to an hour. leave to cool completely in the pan on a cooling rack.

for the frosting: whip the cream cheese until smooth, sift over confectioners sugar, then beat together. add cream and beat again until it makes a spreadable consistency. 

from:  Nigella Lawson's "Feast". great book.