Moist Chocolate Cherry Stout Cake

The missing link from Martha's website. This cake is great for St. Patrick's Day!

Moist Chocolate Cherry Stout Cake with Dark Chocolate Glaze:
Makes one 14-inch or two 10-inch cakes
The batter produces an extremely moist cake that can be stored for a few days without getting dry. Glaze the cake the day before you serve it so that the coating will be completely hard before you apply the stencil and cocoa powder. Whipped cream and cherry compote or preserves are delicious on the side.

For the cake:
-unsalted butter, for pans
-4 cups all-purpose flour
-1 tbsp baking soda
-2 tsp coarse salt
-2 bottles (12 oz each) dark stout, such as Guinness
-3/4 unsulfured molasses
-12 ounces dried cherries (about 2 1/2 cups)
-1 3/4 cups unsweetened Dutch-process cocoa powder, sifted, plus more for stenciling
-4 large eggs, room temp.
-2 cups granulated sugar
-1 cup packed dark brown sugar
-2 cups vegetable oil
-1 tbsp pure vanilla extract
-1 1/2 cups sour cream

for the glaze:
-1/4 cup plus 2 tbsp granulated sugar
-4 1/2 tsp cornstarch
-1/2 cup plus 2 tbsp water, and more if needed
-11 oz. bittersweet chocolate (pref. 61% cacao), finely chopped

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Butter cake pans. Line with parchment paper cut to fit, and butter parchment paper. Whisk together flour, baking soda, and salt.
2. Simmer stout, molasses, and cherries in a saucepan, stirring occasionally, until cherries are plump, about 5 minutes. Strain, reserving liquid. Let cherries cool completely. Return liquid to pan, and bring to a boil. Remove from heat and whisk in 1 ½ cups cocoa powder until smooth. Transfer to a bowl, and let cool slightly.
3. Beat eggs and sugars with a mixer on medium-high speed until combined, 2 to 3 minutes. Reduce speed to low. Gradually beat in stout mixture. Raise speed to medium, and beat until combined. Reduce speed to low again, and beat in oil and vanilla. Add flour mixture in three additions, alternating with the sour cream, and beat until combined.
4. Toss cherries with remaining ¼ cup cocoa, and gently fold into batter. Pour batter into prepared pan. Gently tap pan on counter to eliminate some of the air bubbles (batter will still look bubbly).
5. Bake cake until tester inserted in middle comes out clean, 60 to 65 minutes for 14-inch pan and 50 to 55 minutes for 10-inch pans. Let cool in pan on a wire rack for 20 minutes. Run a knife around edges of pan to loosen, and invert cake onto rack to cool completely. Carefully remove parchment, and turn cake right side up. Using a serrated knife, trim top of rounded cake to create a flat surface. Transfer cake, cut side down, to a wire rack set over a baking sheet.
6. Make the glaze: Heat sugar, cornstarch, and the water in a large saucepan over medium heat, whisking until sugar has dissolved. Add chocolate, and bring mixture to a simmer, whisking constantly and scraping the sides of pan as needed. Cook until smooth and thick, about 8 minutes. Remove from heat. Whisk in more water, a teaspoon at a time, until glaze is thick and pourable.
7. Using a ladle, spoon glaze onto center of cake (2 cups glaze for 14-inch cake and 1 cup glaze for each 10-inch cake). Spread to the edge with an offset spatula, but do not allow glaze to drip down sides. Let stand, uncovered, at room temperature overnight to allow glaze to harden. Place a stencil on top of cake, and sift cocoa over top. Carefully remove stencil.

Hope this helps everyone!