You can make this Bailey’s Chocolate Cake at home to celebrate any occasion, but it’s truly the perfect way to celebrate St. Patrick’s Day. Easy to make Bailey’s Irish Cream Chocolate Cake is a treat for the whole family!
Kevin is half Irish and my mother-in-law is very proud of that half. While she loves Halloween, I’d say St. Patrick’s Day is certainly in her Top 3 holidays to celebrate due to her heritage. And while Kevin generally prefers Italian food (I am 80-something percent Italian), he would never pass up a Bailey’s Irish Cream Chocolate Cake.
Truthfully, Kevin would never pass up any chocolate cake. But while I was making this Bailey’s Chocolate Cake, he kept checking on my progress – just waiting for the moment when I would give in and tell him it was ready. The second I did, he dove in fork first and polished off that piece in the photos. Then he went back for a second.
When the kids came home from school, they dug into a slice too. This Bailey’s Chocolate Cake was a hit all around at our house. There’s something irresistible about this moist, tender chocolate cake.
Ingredients in Bailey’s Irish Cream Chocolate Cake
This Bailey’s Chocolate Cake includes some ingredients that give it an amazing flavor and make it really soft and moist. They include:
Buttermilk: Buttermilk is an acid and will help soften the gluten in the cake, giving it a softer texture.
Sour cream: Sour cream will help add moisture without thinning the batter. It also helps to activate the baking soda giving the cake a spring.
Unsalted Butter: I prefer butter in my cakes versus oil. It makes them more dens, better tasting (I think) and I prefer the texture. However, you could substitute this for a mild oil if you prefer oil.
Bailey Irish Cream: This works like milk in the recipe and provides some beautiful flavor to the cake.
Unsweetened 100 percent Cocoa Powder: The Cocoa powder you’re using will make or break this cake. I enjoy using Divine Cocoa Powder. Make sure it’s unsweetened so it doesn’t throw off the cake flavor profile.
Boiling water: Using water in a chocolate cake helps the cocoa to release the flavor. It’s essential when making a cake that you want to be really chocolatey.
Coffee or Espresso: In this cake, the coffee will really enhance the flavor of the cocoa and help to give it a unique flavor all its own.
Whipped Butter Cream Topping
I generally don’t like butter cream so I tend to make a combo of butter cream and whipped cream for my cakes. This Bailey’s Irish Cream Chocolate Cake is no exception.
I start off by sweetening butter with powdered sugar. Then I add in some vanilla and heavy cream until I get a consistency that is truly in the middle of the two frostings. The flavor profile is also in the middle, which I prefer. And it works out beautifully on the Bailey’s Chocolate Cake for an easy topping that truly tastes amazing!
For this recipe, I don’t tend to add Bailey’s Irish Cream to my whipped topping since my kids are consuming it. The alcohol content gets cooked off in the cake but will be present in a topping since it’s not cooked. That said, you can certainly add in a teaspoon or two if only adults will be eating this.
Tips for making Bailey’s Chocolate Cake
- Make sure you’re using 100 percent cocoa powder for the cake. Don’t use anything that has any kind of filler. I like this one by Divine {HERE}.
- When it comes to the frosting, after you whip it, let it sit for a bit. If your butter was at all still hard, you want to give it some time to come to room temperature, so it spreads nicely.
- Do not under any circumstances melt the butter for the whipped topping. Just remember to take it out several hours ahead of time.
- When you’re done eating this, make sure you refrigerate any leftovers because the frosting does have heavy cream in it. Before eating it again, just take it out about an hour ahead of time.
Thank you so much for visiting today, friends! I hope that you love this Bailey’s Chocolate Cake recipe. You can find the full recipe below.
If you’re looking for other dessert recipes, click {HERE}. Also, don’t miss our Irish Soda Bread {HERE}. Find all our St. Patrick’s Day ideas {HERE}.
Bailey's Chocolate Cake
Ingredients
Bailey's Chocolate Cake Ingredients
- 1 3/4 cup granulated sugar
- 1 3/4 cup flour
- 1 1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
- 1/2 cup buttermilk at room temperature
- 1/2 cup sour cream
- 1/2 cup butter, unsalted
- 1/4 cup Bailey's Irish Cream
- 1 1/2 tsp. baking soda
- 1 1/2 tsp. baking powder
- 1/2 tsp. salt
- 2 large eggs
- 1 Tbsp. vanilla
- 1 cup boiling water
- 2 Tbsp. hot espresso or 1/4 cup hot coffee
Frosting Ingredients
- 1 cup unsalted butter at room temperature (Two sticks)
- 4 cups powdered sugar
- 1 tsp. cocoa powder
- 3/4 cup heavy whipping cream
- 1/2 Tbsp. vanilla extract
- Optional: 2 tsp. Bailey's Irish Cream Make sure kids will not be eating this if you add this to the frosting.
- Shaved chocolate bar for the topping
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and then either grease the 9x13 inch cake pan or lay down parchment paper.
- In a large bowl, whisk together the dry ingredients until they're well combined.
- In a separate bowl, add in all the wet ingredients except for the boiling water and coffee. Blend well using the scraper (I prefer this at this point) or the whisk. Use a scraper as needed to scrape the side and make sure everything is combined properly.
- Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and slowly combine them.
- Then a little at a time, add in the boiling water and hot coffee. Whisk in between adding little by little.
- Pour the batter into the prepped baking pan and bake on the middle rack for 25 to 30 minutes. Check after 25 minutes with a tooth pick and if it comes out dry, then remove the cake. If not, add it back in for a few minutes.
- While the cake cools, combine the butter and powdered sugar for the frosting ingredients and mix with a hand mixer. Then add in the rest of the ingredients. You can let the frosting sit out until the cake has cooled long enough to be frosted.
What a fun flavor for a chocolate cake. This sounds absolutely amazing!
Yum, you had me at chocolate. This cake looks fantastic. I cannot wait to give it a try!
Now that’s how you do chocolate cake! Baileys is the perfect choice for this recipe. I can’t wait to try it!
I love chocolate cake and this one looks divine! Thanks for the recipe!
This cake sounds divine, I would love to give it a try.
Yes please! I can’t wait to try this chocolate cake.
This cake looks absolutely delicious and tasty, I love to try it!
YUM! Making this asap! It looks so good and chocolatey!
Your cake looks delicious. I have some family members that would really enjoy this cake. Possibly I can make it for the next gathering at our house, or picnic.
Oh this chocolate cake is irresistible. My kids would love to bake this. It’s gonna be a fun baking day this weekend
The cake is so moist and delicious. A must try recipe that is also really simple.
I love chocolate cake! This looks so delicious!
This cake came out incredible! I love all the flavors in it and how rich it tastes. This recipe is a keeper!
Oh my goodness! I can’t resist to this chocolate cake! Looks amazing!
Baileys Chocolate Cake looks too good to eat. Would want to eat and keep it too!
I’m a big fan of butter vs oil in cakes too for those same reasons! I appreciate you taking the time to provide tips and explanations like that for this INSANELY delicious looking recipe!
I do love a good chocolate cake. Making a baileys version is even better for me I think that makes it so much more exciting!!!
Frostings can be too sweet for me, so I love how you combine a whipped topping with a buttercream. Brilliant.
Excuse me while I wipe up the drool! This looks amazing!
This sounds like a must, especially for a chocolate lover like me!
I am so in love with chocolate cake! This looks like a really great recipe!
This looks absolutely divine!
This Bailey’s Chocolate Cake looks so delicious 😍 We love chocolate cakes so will surely give this a try!