This cake might seem like a lot, but in reality it’s just rich enough to pair perfectly with our seasonal sweet release, Unrefined Shugga’, which not so coincidentally features prominently in every single component making up this death-by-chocolate extravaganza. We’ll say it now: throw your pumpkin pies out the window and make way for Lagunitas Petaluma TapRoom Chef Matt’s Unrefined Chocolate Cake at all your holiday soirées. No one will forget to save room for dessert with this unholy masterpiece waiting on the sideboard…

Unrefined Chocolate Cake Ingredients

Dry Shtuff:
• 3 cups all-purpose flour
• 4 cups sugar
• 1 ¾ cups cocoa powder
• 4 tsp baking powder
• 2.5 tsp baking soda
• 2 tsp salt

Moist Shtuff:
• 2 cups buttermilk
• 1 cup vegetable oil
• 10 oz Lagunitas Unrefined Shugga’
• 2 generous shakes of vanilla extract (measure with your heart)
• 4 whole eggs

Combine all dry ingredients in a medium bowl. Blend thoroughly using a whisk or spatula. In a separate bowl, combine all wet ingredients, making sure to thoroughly blend the eggs with the rest of the wet ingredients. Last, but far from least, add your Unrefined Shugga’, whisking to incorporate.

Combine wet and dry ingredients, and whisk until smooth and glossy.

Bake at 350 degrees Fahrenheit for about 45 min. We recommend using a springform pan so you have a fighting chance of popping your cake out in one piece when it’s done baking. (Pro tip: Use a wooden skewer or toothpick to poke the center of the cake. When the skewer comes out clean with no batter on it, the cake is done.)

Unrefined Toffee Ingredients:
• 1 cup sugar
• 8 oz butter
• 4 oz Unrefined Shugga (enjoy remaining 8 oz left in your bottle)

Combine all ingredients in a medium-sized pot. This is important: make sure the pot is larger than the amount of liquid. When you heat the mixture, it will bubble and triple in size, so unless you want your kitchen to turn into the aftermath of a volcano, don’t use a small pot. Heat until the toffee reaches 280 degrees Fahrenheit (or until it becomes that familiar, rich toffee color).

Whisk thoroughly to make sure toffee doesn’t burn. Pour onto a half sheet tray lined with parchment paper. Let cool in the fridge for 45 minutes. Pretend the toffee is everyone that ever hurt you. Smash it into crumbles (maybe use a tiny mallet??) and reserve in a container for decorating.

Unrefined Chocolate Ganache Ingredients:
• 2 cups semi-sweet chocolate
• ¼ cup heavy cream
• ¼ cup Lagunitas Unrefined Shugga’ (you know what to do with the rest)
• 1 oz butter

Fill a medium-sized pot halfway with water and place on the stove over high heat. Combine all ingredients in a medium bowl and place the bowl in the pot. You are essentially creating a DIY double boiler. If you are a fancy chef and actually possess a double boiler, then have at it.

Mix until melted and smooth, then remove from the heat and allow the ganache to come back to room temperature.

Dulce de Leche Ingredients:
• 1 can sweetened condensed milk

Remove the label from the can and place the can in a large pot of boiling water. Boil the can for 4 hours. Do yourself a favor and do this the night before so it doesn’t hold up your cake-baking flow. Let the can cool, then open and enjoy your caramelized filling. You can absolutely refrigerate the dulce de leche overnight to use the next day.

Assembly:
Now that you have all your ingredients, it’s time to assemble your cake. What we did was cut our cake in two, fill with dulce de leche, frost with chocolate ganache, and top with toffee bits. What you should do is whatever the heck you want. Stack it nicely, smash all the ingredients together in a bowl, etc. Most importantly crack a beer and enjoy yourself. Keep it Unrefined, my friends.