Bailey’s Irish Cream Cake

So what are your typical go to dishes to help celebrate St. Patrick’s Day besides Green Beer?  Me, I love this Baileys Irish Cream Cake!

Being from Chicago and also part Irish St. Patty’s Day is a big, I mean HUGE holiday for us.  I remember taking the Metra from the suburbs into the city with friends for the annual St. Patrick’s Day parade and watched as they turned the Chicago river bright green.  It was an amazing and crazy experience.

The downtown celebration is not the only reason why this holiday holds such importance to my family.  My dad was a big proponent of anything Irish and would never let us forget that we had Irish heritage.  He would regularly crack jokes with an Irish spin spouting Irish pride along with it.  That is a side of my dad that I wish my children would have had the chance to have seen more before he passed.

So in honor of my dad this St. Patrick’s Day I am making a Bailey’s Irish Cream Cake to celebrate our Irish heritage and honor his memory.

This cake has to be the absolute moistest cake I have ever had, I mean EVER!!  It literally melts in your mouth and with Bailey’s baked into the cake and also in the frosting you definitely get the full Irish cream experience.  Top it all off with some chocolate ganache and your sweet cravings are completely satisfied.  Plus what better way to show off my cute little cake server with this stamped positive message, “You Take The Cake”!

There is nothing more I can say about it other than it is simply AMAZING!!  Happy St. Patty’s Day!!

Ingredients:

Cake

• 1 box Betty Crocker SuperMoist devil’s food cake mix
• 1 box (4-serving size) chocolate instant pudding
• 4 Eggs
• 1/3 Cup vegetable oil
• 1 Cup Irish cream liqueur such as Bailey’s
• 1 Cup Vanilla Greek yogurt

 

Irish Cream Frosting

• 1 Cup butter, softened
• 4 oz cream cheese, softened
• 3 Cups powdered sugar
• ¼ Cup Irish cream liqueur
• 1 Teaspoon vanilla

 

Chocolate Glaze

• 4 oz bittersweet chocolate chips
• ½ Cup whipping cream
• ¼ Cup light corn syrup
• 2 Teaspoons vanilla
• 1/3 Cup sliced almonds

Directions:

Heat oven to 350 degrees. Spray 2 (9-inch) round cake pans with cooking spray.

In a large bowl, beat all cake ingredients with electric mixer on medium speed 5 minutes until well blended.

Pour batter into prepared pans. Bake 35 to 45 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool for 10 minutes then remove cakes from pans to cooling racks. Cool completely.  (Sometimes the cakes will have a bit of a rounded top.  If need be take a sharp serrated knife an even off top of cake by slicing horizontally.  This will ensure that they stack on top of each other properly.)

In a large bowl, beat butter and cream cheese with electric mixer on medium speed until light and fluffy. Reduce speed to low. Add powdered sugar, 1 cup at a time, beating until blended. Add 1/4 cup liqueur and 1 teaspoon vanilla; mix until frosting is smooth and spreadable.

Place 1 cake layer on serving plate; spread with one-third of the frosting. Top with second layer. Frost side and top of cake with thin layer of frosting to seal in crumbs. Refrigerate for 30 minutes.  (this refrigeration step is important otherwise you will have chocolate cake crumbs all in your frosting layer, not very pretty looking.) Frost cake with remaining frosting.

Place chocolate chips in small bowl. In small saucepan, heat whipping cream over medium heat until bubbles form around edge. Pour warm cream over chocolate; let stand 1 minute. Stir with whisk until chocolate is melted. Add corn syrup and 2 teaspoons vanilla. Stir until smooth. Let stand 10 minutes or until thickened.

Pour glaze on top of cake, letting some glaze drip down side. Sprinkle almonds around edge of cake.

Adapted from Betty Crocker