Over the past couple of decades, beer drinking in Texas has become a refined art. Gone are the days of simply “popping a top,” now you need fluency in vocabulary such as nose, bouquet, body, and mouthfeel. Micro-breweries have emerged across the Lone Star State, introducing Texans to the vast array of flavor possibilities when it comes to that ever-so-popular beverage called beer.

But beer is not just for drinking! If cooking with beer brings to mind visions of a chicken atop a cold one on the grill, then you might be limiting yourself when it comes to cooking with the golden ale! From old fashioned breads to caramel sauce, beer is sloshing its way into everything!

Chocolate Lager Bundt Cake

Yields 12 Servings

This recipe creates a moist chocolate cake that gets its deep flavor from two types of chocolate and a splash of dark beer. Then the cooled cake is slathered in silky, beer-infused ganache. The sweetness of the chocolate and the slight bitter bite of the beer make for a blue ribbon-worthy chocolate bundt cake that melts in your mouth.

Ingredients

• 2 cups sugar
• 2 large eggs
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 4 ounces of bittersweet chocolate, melted and cooled
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 cup Hershey’s Extra Dark Cocoa
• 1 1/4 teaspoons baking soda
• 1 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 3/4 cup buttermilk
• 3/4 cup very dark beer (Franconia Triple Dunkel was used in this beer)

Ganache

• 1/2 cup heavy cream
• 4 ounces bittersweet chocolate
• 2 tablespoons very dark beer

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 325°F.
2. Butter and flour a bundt pan. If you use cocoa to flour the
   pan your cake will not have white streaks.
3. Beat butter and slowly add sugar.
4. Beat until the sugar is dissolved and the mixture is light
   and fluffy.
5. Add eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition.
6. Add vanilla and cooled chocolate. Beat until evenly mixed.
7. In a large bowl mix flour, cocoa, baking soda, cinnamon,
   and salt.
8. In a large measuring cup or large bowl mix the buttermilk
   and the beer.
9. Add the flour mixture in three batches, alternating with the
   buttermilk mixture.
10. Spoon into a 3-quart bundt pan.
11. Bake for 60 to 70 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out
    clean.
12. Let cool completely.
13. Loosen with knife and turn out from pan, carefully.

Ganache

1. Heat the cream up until bubbles form around the edges and the cream begins to steam.
2. Remove from heat and stir in the chocolate until smooth.
3. Heat the beer in the microwave until it is just warm. Pour it into the ganache. Mix until smooth and then spoon over cake.