Irish Cream Cake is the ultimate dessert for Bailey's AND chocolate cake lovers! This delicious dessert is easy to make and completely from scratch. This recipe proves that you can have an impressive homemade dessert without being a professional baker. It's definitely one of my favorite Irish cream desserts.
Recipe Essentials
- 🍽️ Course: Dessert
- ⏱️ Cooking Time: 25 minutes
- 🍴 Servings: 8
- 🧄 Flavor Profile: Rich chocolate cake infused with Baileys Irish Cream and espresso, topped with a sweet, creamy Baileys buttercream.
- 🍚 Best Served With: A hot cup of coffee or an extra drizzle of Irish cream.
- 🧊 Make Ahead?: Yes, bake a day ahead and frost before serving, or freeze unfrosted for longer storage.
Summarize and Save This Content On
You get a strong but not overpowering flavor from the Bailey's Irish cream. The flavors of the cake are taken up a notch by the addition of espresso to the cake batter. It enhances the deep chocolate flavor and complements the Irish cream without giving a strong coffee flavor. It's a perfectly light and fluffy cake that doesn't feel too dense or heavy, too!
Some tasty Bailey's desserts to try include Bailey's truffles and these Andes Mint cupcakes with an Irish cream frosting.
Why This Recipe Works
- It's beginner-friendly: This is an easy cake recipe that anyone can make. I highly recommend it to anyone who loves Irish cream and is looking for a reliable, approachable homemade dessert.
- The cake stays moist in the fridge: Most cakes dry out in the refrigerator after a few days, but this one doesn't! It has additional ingredients like Greek yogurt to ensure that the Irish cream chocolate cake remains moist.
- It has enough Irish cream flavor to avoid artificial additives: You get just the right amount of Bailey's flavor from the cake itself and the frosting. There's no need to add additional extracts to this recipe.
Ingredients
These are key ingredients to make the best Irish cream cake possible. They all contribute to the flavor or texture, making the result delicious and impressive.
- Cocoa powder: I use unsweetened cocoa powder in this Bailey's cake. It has the best rich, chocolatey flavor when it bakes.
- Espresso powder: Including espresso powder doesn't add coffee flavor to the cake; it's used as a flavor enhancer. It brings out the deep notes of the cocoa powder and complements the richness of the Bailey's.
- Bailey's Irish cream: I always use Bailey's Irish cream in this recipe, but you can use any brand of Irish cream that you enjoy. The measurements will be the same.
- Greek yogurt: This adds moisture to the chocolate cake to keep it perfectly moist and fluffy without feeling dense. If you like, you may use sour cream instead.
- Cornstarch: Adding cornstarch to the dry mixture reduces the protein overall, so the cake is much more tender and holds better when slicing instead of crumbling.
- Vinegar: The vinegar works with the baking powder to help the cake rise properly, so it's light and not too heavy. I use it in this dairy-free chocolate cake, also.
See the recipe card below for exact ingredient amounts, nutritional information, and detailed instructions.
Variations
- Chocolate frosting: Replace ½ cup of powdered sugar with ½ cup of cocoa powder to give the frosting a rich chocolatey flavor.
- Make the cake vanilla forward: Add another ½ teaspoon of vanilla extract to the cake batter for a stronger vanilla flavor that highlights the creaminess of the Bailey's.
- Add decorations: Decorate your Bailey's cake for a special occasion with sprinkles, chocolate chips, or themed candy like green M&Ms for St. Patrick's Day.
How to Make Irish Cream Cake
Below are the steps needed for this Bailey's Irish cream cake recipe. Preheat your oven to 350F and grease a 9-inch springform pan before you get started. You will also need to heat the Irish cream in a saucepan with the cocoa powder and espresso powder to let them bloom and release more flavor and richness.
Step 1: Prepare the cake batter. Combine the wet ingredients and then stir in the dry ingredients. Then, pour the batter into the prepared pan.
Step 2: Bake it. Bake the cake in a preheated oven for about 22-25 minutes.
Step 3: Let it cool. Once fully baked, remove the cake from the oven and allow it to cool for 15 minutes. Then, flip it onto a parchment-covered wire rack.
Step 4: Frost and serve. Prepare the Bailey's frosting while the cake cools, and then spread it on top. Slice and enjoy with a shamrock sour.
Expert Tips
- Avoid overbaking the cake: Be careful not to overbake the cake, or it will become very dry. It's ready when you insert a toothpick into the center, and it comes out mostly clean, with just a few moist crumbs.
- Chill loose frosting: If you notice that the Bailey's frosting is a little thin when you make it, place it in the refrigerator for a few minutes, which helps it thicken up.
- Line the pan with parchment paper: Use a circle of parchment paper in the bottom of the springform pan to make removing the cake even easier.
- Use room temperature ingredients: All refrigerated ingredients should be room temperature. This includes the yogurt, eggs, and Bailey's. It ensures a perfectly smooth batter.
Another recipe that features Irish cream in multiple components is these Bailey's brownie bites with an Irish cream ganache.
Serving Suggestions
- Make a tasty dessert cocktail like Bailey's espresso martini or tequila espresso martini to go with a slice of Irish cream chocolate cake.
- You can include other desserts like Lucky Charms cookies and pistachio chocolate chip cookies to be part of a dessert board to serve for St. Patrick's Day.
- Make a cup of hot chocolate using one of the best hot chocolate bombs if you want a hot beverage with your cake.
Recipe FAQs
Yes! Especially for the frosting. It contains dairy and will be fresher and more stable. Keep the cake tightly covered in the fridge for up to 4 days.
Of course, but it's best without the frosting. Wrap it in plastic wrap and then aluminum foil and freeze it for up to 2 months.
Most of the alcohol in the cake bakes out, leaving the flavor behind. However, it is also in the frosting, so you will get a stronger Irish cream flavor with the two components together.
Since the Irish cream in the frosting is unbaked, it's not recommended for children. This Bailey's cake recipe is better suited for adults.
More Delicious Cake Recipes
Do you like baking homemade cakes? Here are some more recipes you may also like to try.
If you try this recipe and love it please leave a star rating in the recipe card below or even better, drop a review in the comment section. I always appreciate your feedback. Be sure to follow along with me on Facebook, Pinterest, and YouTube for more easy recipes!
Bailey's Irish Cream Cake Recipe
Equipment
- 13 x 9 inch cake pan or 9 inch springform pan
Ingredients
CAKE:
- 10 tablespoons Baileys Irish Cream room temperature
- 45 grams unsweetened cocoa powder 6 tbsp
- 3 grams espresso powder about ½ tbsp
- 109 grams all-purpose flour about 14 tablespoon aka 1 cup minus 2 tbsp
- 100 grams light brown sugar about ½ cup packed
- 100 grams granulated white sugar about ½ cup
- 16 grams cornstarch about 2 tbsp
- 6 grams baking soda about 1 tsp
- 4 grams sea salt about ½ tsp
- 2.4 grams baking powder about ½ tsp
- 153 grams plain Greek yogurt room temperature
- ¼ cup vegetable oil
- 1 large egg room temperature
- 1 tablespoon whole milk
- ½ tablespoon pure vanilla extract
- ½ tablespoon white vinegar
FROSTING:
- 195 grams powdered sugar about 1 ½ cups
- ¾ cup unsalted butter ¾ stick, softened
- 2 tablespoons Baileys Irish Cream
- ½ teaspoon sea salt
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350F and grease a 9" cake pan (a springform works well if that is all you have), set aside.
- Heat Baileys on low in a small saucepan then stir in cocoa and espresso powder (it will be thick). Allow it to cool slightly.
- In a medium bowl, whisk all-purpose flour, light brown sugar, white sugar, cornstarch, baking soda, sea salt and baking powder. Set aside.
- In a large mixing bowl, whisk Greek yogurt, vegetable oil, egg, milk, vanilla and vinegar. Lastly, add in the Baileys mixture.
- Add dry ingredients to the large bowl and mix well.
- Transfer cake batter to your prepared pan and bake for about 22-25 minutes (a toothpick should show moist crumbs from the center). Leave it to cool for about 15 minutes then carefully flip onto a parchment covered wire rack.
- Make your frosting once the cake is cool enough, by adding everything to a stand mixer and run on medium low until well combines and smooth.
- Carefully remove parchment paper and place cake on a lightly sugar covered platter (if desired). Spread on with an offset spatula and enjoy.
Notes
- Avoid overbaking the Bailey's cake so it doesn't become dry and crumbly.
- Keep this Irish cream cake in the refrigerator before the frosting contains dairy, and it will stay fresher.
- Add a circle of parchment to the bottom of the springform pan to make removing the cake even easier.
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