I'd like to bake a Guinness flavored cocoa cake. My direction say to start by beating room temperature butter with brown sugar, then eggs and a mixture of flour, cocoa powder and baking powder. Finally, incorporate the Guinness as it is. The picture show also the foam.
My question is: I'd like to heat the beer beforehand in order to have the alcohol evaporate; bring it back to room temperature and then incorporate it.
Do you think it will affect a good raising/cooking and the texture of the cake?
Best Answer
Alcohol never all evaporates unless you evaporate all the water as well. The actual amount per slice is minimal anyway - equivalent to about a shot of beer in a portion, in the recipe I use. If even that's too much for you, start with de-alcoholised beer. You may have trouble finding alcohol-free stout.
From the USDA Table of Nutrient Retention Factors Release 6 quoted in merl's answer to a related question, baking reduces the alcohol to 25% in an hour and 10% in 2 hours. Quite a lot of water will evaporate as well during that time.