1 1/2 Tablespoons of liquid is not enough to dissolve 1/2 cup sugar into (butter will not dissolve sugar) After following the recipe as it is posted here I ended up with a seized-up sugar-butter-whiskey mass and had to do the syrup part over with changes. My recommendation is to make the cake according to the directions on the box without adding whiskey to the water. Then make the syrup by mixing 1/2 cup whiskey and 1/2 cup sugar stirring to dissolve sugar. Bring to a boil reduce heat to medium and cook 5 minutes. 1 or 2 Tablespoons butter can then be added stir until butter melts. Gently apply the syrup over the warm cake layers with a pastry brush until all the syrup is used or poke the cakes all over with a skewer and drizzle the syrup. To me a whole cup of butter in the frosting is excessive. 1/2 cup is plenty.
This cake is delicious but really time consuming. For those having trouble with the beer caramelizing it needs a touch more sugar and it has to be cooked at a high heat. Next time I will use a little less sugar in the frosting because it was really really sweet. Everyone loved this. I was prepared to hate it and liked it too.
I had a really hard time with the stout caramel reducing to an actual working consistency so instead I just drizzled it like the whiskey butter sauce. Also I added a lot more baileys to my frosting almost another half cup... It was a lot tastier! I brought them to a party and everyone thought they were to die for! Thank you
This cake was the best cake I ever made! Thank you for sharing this recipe! The next time I make this cake I think I will add a thin layer of frosting to hold the two layers better.
A crowd pleaser for sure- IF you can get the consistency of the frosting and caramel right. I only used 1 stick 2 tbsp of butter for the frosting and it wasn't too soft for the cake. I have not yet figured out how to make the caramel without it getting too hard.
im a cupcake girl - has anyone attempted to convert this recipe for cupcakes? or does anyone know a good way to convert it?
This cake was fantastic and moist. I did have some issues with the Guinness Caramel but no one seemed bothered. It instantly made it to my spouses top favorite desserts list.
The Guinness-carmel never caramelized and the Baileys frosting was so overpowering we couldn't eat the top of the cake. So disappointing especially since it was my boyfriend's birthday cake. I even followed other reviews and tried their techniques.
I made this wonderful cake over the weekend for an Irish friend's birthday party. He loved it and so did everyone else. I did have to adjust the icing adding about another 2 cups of confectioner's sugar and about 3T more irish cream ( i used carolan's) Because you could taste nothing but the butter. however it was probably one of the best icings ever very smooth wonder flavor excellent. The next time i make this cake I will double the stout beer carmel as it was only enough four one layer. but still a wonderful recipe thank you.
