My little Irish cream snack cake is a tender chocolate cake layer topped with the best Irish Cream frosting ever. It’s made for snacking!
Hello friends! Today I’ve got another one of those I stake my reputation on it recipes to share…I guarantee you will not be disappointed in this Irish cream cake. It’s seriously one of the best little snack cakes to ever come out of my kitchen…The chocolate base is super easy to make, a bowl and a whisk takes care of it. And the frosting ~ don’t get me started. It’s insanely good. I could have eaten the whole thing.
related recipe: How to Make Homemade Irish Cream
Irish Cream cake ingredient notes
Irish Cream
- Bailey’s, of course. Or use another brand you love. Did you know you can make your own homemade Irish Cream??
- Irish cream features in the frosting of this cake, and provides plenty of flavor for the dessert. There’s no need to add it to the chocolate cake.
unsweetened cocoa powder
- this is what makes the cake chocolatey. Cocoa powder is the dry, defatted part of cocoa beans, giving it a strong, concentrated chocolate flavor. Make sure you buy unsweetened cocoa powder.
hot coffee!
- a surprise ingredient that adds depth to the chocolate flavor in the cake. Why hot? Heat helps bloom the cocoa powder, intensifying its chocolate flavor.
Bailey’s Irish Cream frosting
The pale tan frosting on this Irish cream cake is definitely one of the best I’ve ever had, the flavor is incredible. The credit goes to Baileys Original Irish Cream ~ a creamy liqueur made from Irish whiskey, dairy cream, and flavors of chocolate and vanilla. You will thin your frosting to a creamy spreadable consistency with a combination of liqueur and some cream or half and half. Use more Irish cream for a stronger flavor, or mellow it out with regular cream, it’s up to you.
- butter
- powdered sugar
- Irish Cream (or your own homemade version!)
- cream or half and half
Irish Cream frosting troubleshooting tips
Make sure your butter is soft, but not melted.
Alcohol can break a buttercream frosting if too much is added or if it’s not incorporated properly. Keep to the recommended amount, and add it in a tablespoon at a time.
If you make your frosting ahead, refrigerate it. When ready to use, let it come to temperature on the counter and give it a fresh whip.
This little Irish Cream snack cake is an easy, non-fussy cake. Just whisk up the cake batter, bake, cool, and frost. A few chocolate shavings is all you need for garnish. You might use chocolate jimmies instead. The cake is rich, and irresistible. Start by slicing it into small squares, but expect folks to dive in for seconds (maybe thirds.)
Irish Cream Cake variations and faqs
Make this gluten free
- Use a good quality gluten free baking mix in the same amount as AP flour, I like Bob’s Red Mill and King Arthur Flour’s products.
Can I use a specific flavor of Bailey’s, like Salted Caramel or Espresso Creme?
- Absolutely! Feel free to experiment with different Bailey’s flavors, just be aware that it will change the overall flavor profile, and some flavors might be stronger than others.
Can I make an alcohol free Irish cream cake?
- Yes, use Baileys Coffee Creamer Non Alcoholic Original Irish Cream.
Make an epic Irish Cream layer cake!
- Double the recipe and bake the cake in two 8-inch cake pans (350F for 35 minutes.)
Make Irish Cream cupcakes
- fit a cupcake pan with paper liners and fill 2/3 full. Check at 12-15 minutes, depending on their size and your oven.
more Irish inspired recipes to try
- Irish Brown Bread
- Authentic Irish Apple Cake
- Irish Oatmeal Soda Bread
- Dublin Coddle ~ a quick cooking Irish stew!
- Instant Pot Irish Stew
- No Churn Bailey’s Ice Cream
- Traditional Irish Farmhouse Recipes
Irish Cream Cake
Equipment
- 9×9 square cake pan
- parchment paper optional
Ingredients
dry ingredients
- 7/8 cup all-purpose flour, (or ¾ cup + 2 tbsp)
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 6 tbsp cocoa powder
- 1 tsp baking soda
- ½ tsp baking powder
- ½ tsp salt
wet ingredients
- ½ cup buttermilk (or half-and-half)
- ¼ cup vegetable oil
- 1 large egg
- ½ tsp vanilla extract
- ½ cup hot coffee*
frosting
- 6 Tbsp butter at room temperature
- 3 cups confectioner's sugar
- 3 Tbsp Irish Cream liqueur, plus more if needed to thin the frosting.
- 3 Tbsp cream or half and half, plus more if needed to thin the frosting.
optional garnish
- chocolate shavings
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350F and grease a 9×9 square baking pan.
- Whisk all the dry ingredients together well in a bowl.
- In a separate bowl, whisk together all the wet ingredients EXCEPT the coffee.
- Slowly add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients, mixing as you go. Once incorporated, add the hot coffee, and mix everything until there are no pockets of dry flour left. The batter will be very thin.
- Pour into your prepared pan and bake for about 20-25 minutes. Note: this cake bakes fast, so be sure not to over bake. But also remember ovens bake at different rates, so your time may be different from mine.
- Let the cake cool completely before frosting.
frosting
- Beat the soft butter with the powdered sugar, Irish cream, and cream until soft smooth and spreadable. You may well need more liquid, and you can choose whether you want more Irish cream or more cream, depending on the flavor you're going for.
- Frost the cooled cake and top with chocolate shavings.
- Store your cake at room temperature for up to 3 days, or you can refrigerate.
I made a double recipe using Drost Cocoa for my Mah Jongg group. Everyone loved it and I used extra Bailey’s in the frosting! No picture and no leftovers!
I bet it was a good game 🙂
This is a delicious cake that has an incredibly moist crumb and is the perfect size for us two.We are partial to a cream cheese frosting so we used ours with Bailey`s about 1/4 cup.The shaved chocolate was a welcome addition. TVFGI Guinness cupcakes up next!
Making this cake now, it smells awesome. Please check the wet to dry measurement ratio in the recipe. I am now cooking the cake for the second 20 minutes. Hope it will be bake through…..
Hi Donna ~ this cake batter is quite thin, and the cake is not tall at all, so it should bake quickly. Ovens vary quite a bit so your bake time could differ from mine. Remember I use a 9×9 square pan, so if yours is 8×8 or round in shape, that can affect bake time as well.
Made yesterday with measurements in recipe in our 9″ USA cake pan at 350 just over 25 mins. till 210 degrees internal temp. Perfect! Yes the batter is quite thin.