Ingredients

Cake

• 1 ¹⁄₂ cups stout beer
• 3 sticks unsalted butter
• 1 cup Unsweetened Cocoa Powder
• 3 large eggs
• ²⁄₃ cup sour cream
• 3 cups all purpose flour
• 3 cups sugar
• 2 ¹⁄₄ teaspoons baking powder
• 1 teaspoon salt

Wash

• ¹⁄₄ - ¹⁄₂ cup bourbon

Frosting

• 5 large egg whites
• ¹⁄₂ cup granulated maple sugar
• 1 cup white granulated sugar (or brown sugar)
• 1 teaspoon salt (omit if using salted butter)
• 4 sticks unsalted butter
• 1 ¹⁄₂ tablespoons vanilla

Topping & Garnish

• ¹⁄₂ cup pecan pieces
• Pick one of your favorite solid Lake Champlain Chocolates dark or milk chocolate bars, chopped (or use a vegetable peeler to make chocolate curls)

Instructions

• Preheat the oven to 350°F. Grease and flour two 9" cake pans.

Cake:

• Heat beer and butter in medium sauce pan until butter is melted. Remove from heat.
• Add cocoa, and whisk until smooth. Cool mixture to room temperature.
• In a large bowl, beat together eggs and sour cream.
• In a separate bowl, whisk together flour, sugar, salt, and baking powder. Add to cocoa mixture and mix until just combined.
• Add the flour mixture in three additions, mixing together at slow speed after each addition. Scrape down the bowl, and mix again for 1 minute.
• Pour batter into cake pans. Tap on the table to level batter.
• Bake 40 to 50 minutes, until a cake tester inserted into the center comes out clean. Cool the cakes on a rack for 10 minutes, then turn out of their pans. Brush the bottom and sides of each layer liberally with bourbon, and finish cooling completely on the rack.

Frosting:

• In a double boiler, whisk together egg whites and sugars.
• Heat to 140°F, whisking constantly. Use a wet brush to remove sugar crystals from the sides of the pan if necessary. Be careful not to overheat.
• Remove mixture from heat and beat with whisk attachment on medium speed for about 5 minutes. Bowl should be warm to the touch (not hot) and mixture will be opaque and slightly fluffy.
• Change mixture attachment to the paddle. With mixer on low speed, add butter in several small additions, beating until butter is mostly incorporated between additions.
• When all butter has been added, increase to medium/high speed and beat for about 5 minutes (and up to 10 minutes, if necessary), until frosting is fluffy. It may initially separate, but it will smooth out after beating for a few minutes.
• Beat in vanilla.

Assembly:

• Level each cake layer using a long bread knife. Brush the trimmed layers liberally with bourbon.
• Fill and frost as usual.
• Sprinkle pecan pieces evenly over the top of the cake. Garnish with chopped chocolate or chocolate curls.