Box Cake Mix Hacks: Chocolate Guinness Cake

Whether for Father’s Day or St. Patrick’s Day, box cake mix hacks make life easier to make and serve up a moist and delicious chocolate Guinness cake.

I love making dishes that seem like they took a lot of work, but were actually easy to whip up. I serve up a lot of desserts for friends and family, but I won’t lie. Baking from scratch every single time can really be exhausting.

As my kids get older, they have started to help out more and more in the kitchen. My daughter bakes, but the boys, well, not so much.

So if you are a novice in the kitchen and are looking for a fabulously moist and delicious dessert to bake up, I’ve got the easiest recipe for you.

Why you must try this recipe

Although I bake a lot of desserts from scratch, I do not shy away from using box mixes for easy cakes. Cake box mixes have come a long way and they produce delicious and moist cakes.

I use them a lot when I need a quick dessert or if I am spending a lot of time decorating a cake, like my unicorn cake. This chocolate Guinness cake is not different.

Most of the recipes out there to make this cake is made completely from scratch. But you can easily create it using box cake mix hacks. I used Devil’s Food box mix and replaced the water with stout beer.

In no time, you have a delicious chocolate cake. What does the beer do in the cake? Well, it is extra moist and extra fluffy. The dark beer enhances the chocolate flavor without making it super sugary or sweet.

Does it taste like beer? Not at all. Just like the addition of coffee brings out the chocolate flavor in desserts, the same thing happens with stout beer. The bitter musky dark beer enhances the chocolate flavor.

What you end up with is an incredibly easy and delicious cake fit to be served on St. Patrick’s Day, Father’s Day or any special day you want cake.

By baking this in a bundt pan, you just made baking a Guinness cake even easier. Of course, you can divide the batter and bake it using 2 9-inch cake rounds, 24 cupcakes or one 9×13 pan.

And if you want a fabulous homemade version, try the best chocolate stout cake recipe here.

Ingredients you need

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• Chocolate box mix: You can use any variety of chocolate cake mix. I chose Devil’s Food.
• Extra virgin olive oil: I always bake with olive oil. You can also use canola or any other vegetable oil.
• Eggs: Follow the instructions on your box mix. Large eggs are usually the standard in baking.
• Guinness beer: You will substitute the amount of water you use in box mix with beer. Use any type of stout beer.

Step-by-step directions

1. In a large mixing bowl combine box mix, oil and mix. Partially mix the batter.

2. Pour the beer in a large glass and let it sit for the foam to subside a little. Pour in the beer and mix the batter until combined. Do not over mix.

3. Coat a bundt pan thoroughly with non-stick spray. I find this to be the best way to bake a bundt and to prevent it from sticking to the nooks and crannies. Pour the cake batter into the prepared pan.

4. Bake per package directions until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean.

5. Invert pan over a cooling rack and let it sit until the cake naturally releases from the pan. Let the cake cool completely before frosting.

6. Once cooled, I drizzled the cake with chocolate ganache, made with 4-ounces of high quality chocolate chips and 4-ounces of hot heavy cream. I cooled the ganache until it was at the pouring consistency I liked. The longer it cools, the thicker it gets.

Make sure you cake is on a cooling rack placed over a baking sheet so extra ganache doesn’t end up all over your counter top.

This post contains some affiliate links for your convenience (which means if you make a purchase after clicking a link I will earn a small commission but it won’t cost you a penny more)!  Read my full disclosure policy

Recipe tips and FAQs

You can serve this cake up simply with a dusting of powdered sugar or with a decadent chocolate ganache glaze. You can also go traditional and frost it with some cream cheese frosting.

Special thanks to Wilton Baking for the gorgeous navy blue and gold bakeware and accessories they sent me. I love how they photographed with this cake.

If you want more chocolate cake inspiration, you must try my Root Beer Float Cake or my Raisin Black Forest Cake. All of these cakes are dreamy and chocolatey and fabulous!

PS If you try this recipe, why not leave a star rating in the recipe card right below and/or a review in the comment section further down the page? I always appreciate your feedback.

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