This St. Patrick's Day, you can enjoy Guinness by the glass – or the slice. The famous Irish stout moistens this rich, dark chocolate cake.

Adapted from a recipe originating at the Kells Irish Restaurant and Pub chain on the U.S. west coast. Give the foam a chance to subside when measuring the stout. You can pour leftover ganache over ice cream.

INGREDIENTS

Cake:

1/3 cup Guinness draught stout

1/4 cup cocoa powder

1/3 cup buttermilk

1 cup all-purpose flour

3/4 tsp baking soda

1/4 tsp baking powder

1/8 tsp salt

5 tbsp unsalted butter, at room temperature

1 cup granulated sugar

2 large eggs

1/2 tsp vanilla extract

Syrup:

1/4 cup Guinness draught stout

1/4 cup packed dark brown sugar

2 tbsp cocoa powder

1/2 tsp vanilla extract

Ganache:

3/4 cup heavy cream

6 oz (170 g) semisweet chocolate, coarsely chopped

DIRECTIONS

For cake, liberally grease and lightly flour 9-inch cake pan. If desired, line bottom with parchment circle, as cake tends to stick.

In small pan, whisk together stout and cocoa powder on medium-low heat until smooth. Cool. Stir in buttermilk.

Sift flour, baking soda, powder and salt into medium bowl.

In large bowl, beat butter until creamy with electric mixer on medium-low speed. Gradually beat in sugar on medium speed until pale and fluffy. Beat in eggs, one a time, until blended. Beat in vanilla.

With mixer on medium-low, add third of flour mixture until moistened. Beat in half of stout mixture until blended. Beat in half of remaining flour mixture until moistened. Beat in remaining stout mixture until blended. Beat in remaining flour mixture until moistened. Scrape bowl. Beat just to blend.

Pour batter into prepared pan. Bake in preheated 350F oven about 30 minutes, until cake starts to pull away from sides of pan and tester comes out clean.

Set wire rack over sheet of waxed paper. Cool pan on rack 10 minutes. Slide blunt knife around edge of pan. Invert to release cake onto rack. Cool.

For syrup, whisk ingredients in small pan over low heat until smooth and warm, at least 5 minutes.

If you used parchment, peel it off cake. Use fork or toothpick to poke holes in bottom of cake. Pour three-quarters of syrup over cake, spread with bottom of spoon and let it seep in, at least 5 minutes.

Invert cake onto serving platter. Poke holes in top. Spoon remaining syrup over top and let it seep in for 5 minutes. Reserve syrup pan.

For ganache, pour cream into syrup pan. Bring to simmer on medium heat. Remove from burner. Stir in chocolate until smooth and creamy. Cool briefly, until thickened but still pourable.

Pour ganache gradually onto centre of cake, smoothing with offset spatula until it runs down sides. (You will have some left over.) Cool cake until ganache sets.

Place pan with remaining ganache on low heat. Stir until pourable. Drizzle zigzag or whirly lines across top using whisk or fork. Or pour ganache into zip-lock bag, snip off one corner and squeeze lines or design onto cake. Refrigerate to set before serving.

Makes 12 servings.