Stout and Chocolate Snacking Cake

Stout and Chocolate Snacking Cake with Chocolate-Stout Glaze
taken from 'Easy Desserts' magazine by Fine Cooking

for the cake:
1/2 cup stout (such as guiness)
1/2 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
6 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
1 cup all purpose flour
1 cup light brown sugar, lightly packed
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 large egg
1/3 cup sour cream

for the glaze:
1/4 cup stout
2 tablespoons light corn syrup or molasses
4 ounces semisweet chocolate, chopped

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Butter an 8" x 8" baking pan and then line with parchment paper, so you can easily remove cake for cooling later. (I use 2 8" pieces and lay them perpendicular to each other in the bottom of the pan.)

Combine the stout and butter in a small saucepan and bring to a bare simmer. Remove from heat and whisk in the cocoa powder until smooth. Set aside to cool.

Combine the flour, brown sugar, baking soda and salt in a large mixing bowl. With a wooden spoon stir in the stout mixture, egg and sour cream until just combined. The batter may be lumpy at this point.

Scrape the batter into the prepared pan and smooth the top. Bake about 35 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Set pan aside on a cooling rack to cool for about 15 or 20 minutes. Then remove from pan and set directly on cooling rack to cool completely.

Now it's time to make the glaze. Combine stout and corn syrup in a small saucepan and bring to a boil. Remove pan from the heat and stir in the chocolate pieces until shiny and smooth. Let glaze cool to room temperature, then spoon and spread over top of cooled cake.