Wishbone Kitchen’s Meredith Hayden Reveals Her Secret to a Richer, Fudgier Chocolate Cake

Psst: It’s not coffee

Author image: Candace Davison, PureWow vice president of editorial content

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Published Feb 13, 2026

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Christopher Peterson/Shutterstock/ Photo: Liz Andrew/Styling: Erin McDowell

It’s one thing most bakers lament: How can you make a from-scratch chocolate cake moister, richer and—above all—more chocolate-y? Dozens of hacks abound online, undoubtedly many you’ve tried before: sprinkling in a little extra salt to intensify the flavor, adding coffee a la Ina Garten, stirring in pudding mix. The list goes on.

But how about pouring in a can of stout beer, like Guinness?

It’s a trick Meredith Hayden, the private chef and TikTok sensation behind Wishbone Kitchen, deploys. She had partnered with the brand to create her own spin on Guinness Chocolate Cake, a classic recipe that’s making a comeback. After seeing Google searches for the dish rise and rise over the past few months, I needed to know more. So, I did some research and caught up with Hayden via email to understand the hype surrounding it.

What Effect Does Adding Guinness Have to a Chocolate Cake?

The contrast principle comes into play here: “In the same way your morning pastry tastes better when you have it with a cup of coffee, adding Guiness will enhance the rich and sweet flavors in the chocolate cake,” Hayden explains. “It also has the added benefit of contributing moisture to the cake, giving it an almost fudgy, brownie-like consistency.”

It can also provide a bit of lift, due to the carbonation and acid in the stout interacting with the baking soda, resulting in a somewhat fluffier, taller cake.

How Would You Describe the Flavor?

Naturally, you may wonder if adding Guinness makes the cake taste malty or beer-like. Sure, the alcohol burns off, so it’s no longer boozy, but are there any lingering flavors? Thankfully, no. Stout tends to have more chocolate-y and coffee-like notes, making it a solid pairing, where one doesn’t overwhelm the other.

“The flavor of the Guinness chocolate cake really reminds me of a red velvet cake, which in case you didn’t know is also technically a chocolate cake,” she says. “They’re both chocolatey and rich without being overwhelming to the point of only being able to have a few bites. It feels classic and familiar, but slightly more elevated.”

Courtesy of Wishbone Kitchen/Guinness

What Should You Know Before Trying a Guinness Chocolate Cake?

First, though it’s known as Guinness Chocolate Cake, you could substitute any stout—or even try a porter, to add nuttier notes—though Hayden sticks with Guinness. “Growing up, we always had Guinness in the house since it was my dad’s favorite,” noting that her mother often cooked with it, too, routinely baking a Guiness Chocolate Cake recipe that she’d clipped from the local newspaper.

Second, if you want to take the cake to the next level—to truly make it fudgy and moist—you need to try Hayden’s riff. She spoons a layer of homemade chocolate toffee sauce on top of the freshly baked cake, infusing it with extra caramel-meets-cocoa-flavor. (It’s as easy as mixing dark brown sugar, Dutch cocoa powder, heavy cream, sea salt and butter in a saucepan and letting it simmer until thickened while the cake bakes.)

“It keeps the cake impossibly moist and perfectly balanced,” Hayden says.

And if you’re a true chocoholic, you can also heed PureWow recipe developer and The Fearless Baker author Erin McDowell’s advice: Fold in a cup of chocolate chunks.

Pair the dense, gooey cake with a light whipped cream frosting, and you’ve got the kind of dessert people will beg you to make for every party from here on out.

GET THE RECIPE

Candace Davison

VP of editorial content

Oversees home, food and commerce articles
Author of two cookbooks and has contributed recipes to three others
Named one of 2023's Outstanding Young Alumni at the University of South Florida, where she studied mass communications and business

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