Bailey's Chocolate Cake
Moist and fudgy, this Bailey's chocolate mud cake has two layers of soft Irish cream chocolate sponge frosted with a boozy Bailey's chocolate ganache.
Prep Time45 minutes mins
Cook Time25 minutes mins
Chill Time1 hour hr
Total Time2 hours hrs 10 minutes mins
Course: Dessert, Snack
Cuisine: Fusion
Diet: Vegetarian
Servings: 12 servings
Calories: 438kcal
Bailey’s Chocolate Cake:
- 135 ml vegetable oil or other neutral oil e.g. sunflower
- 2 eggs
- 325 g white sugar finely granulated e.g. caster
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 120 ml milk
- 85 g cocoa powder unsweetened
- 200 g plain all-purpose flour
- 3 ½ teaspoon baking powder
- 100 ml hot coffee or 2 teaspoon instant coffee dissolved into 100ml / ½ cup hot water
- 80 ml Bailey’s Irish cream
Bailey’s Chocolate Ganache:
- 300 g semisweet dark chocolate broken into pieces
- 220 ml heavy cream e.g. double cream
- 80 ml Baileys Irish cream
Bailey’s chocolate cake
Preheat oven: 180°C / 160°C (fan) / Gas Mark 4 / 350°F.
In a mixing bowl, beat the oil, eggs, sugar, vanilla and milk together until fully combined.
In a separate bowl, sieve in the cocoa powder, flour and baking powder and whisk together.
Gradually pour the wet ingredients into the dry, stirring together as you pour until just combined. There may be a few small lumps left, but that’s ok.
Slowly add the hot coffee into the cake batter, mixing as you pour, until the liquid has only just combined, then stir in the Bailey’s Irish cream.
Divide the mixture evenly between the two greased and lined 8-inch cake pans. Bake for 25-30mins until risen, springy to the touch and a skewer comes out clean. Allow the cakes to cool in the tins for 15mins before moving to a wire rack to cool further.
Bailey’s chocolate ganache
Heat the cream in the microwave hot but not boiling (30secs at a time) and pour the hot cream mixture over the chocolate, allowing this to sit for 10mins.
Stir the ganache until smooth. If some pieces of chocolate remain unmelted, microwave for 10secs and stir again. Repeat until your ganache is smooth and lump-free.
Stir in the Bailey’s until smooth.
Let your ganache set uncovered at room temperature for 1hr until you get a thick spreadable consistency like smooth peanut butter.
Assembly
Once the cake sponges have cooled, place one onto a flat plate or cake board.
Spread on roughly ⅓ of your Baileys’s ganache and then place the second sponge on top, pressing down gently.
Cover the cake (top and sides) in the rest of the ganache, smoothing lightly with a spatula, then enjoy!
Storage: Keep Bailey's chocolate cake in an airtight container (or use cling film) at room temp. for up to 3 days or in the fridge for up to 5 days.
Freezing: You can cut your frosted Bailey's chocolate cake into pieces and freeze it for up to 3 months. Wrap in cling film and foil first!
Cake tin size: You can swap the two 8-inch cake tins for 6-inch cake tins and bake for an extra 5-10mins.
Top tips:
- Your sponges are cooked once they’re risen and springy to the touch. An inserted toothpick or skewer should also come out clean from the middle.
- Use good quality baking chocolate from the cooking aisle for ease of melting.
- Serve warm by heating each slice of cake in the microwave for 30secs before serving. This will melt the ganache into a tasty Bailey's chocolate sauce!
Substitutions:
- Swap your plain flour for self-raising flour and reduce the baking powder to only 1 ½ tsp.
- You can use fresh hot coffee for this recipe, or 2 teaspoon instant coffee dissolved into 100ml (½ cup) hot water instead. Either caffeinated or decaf works great.
Calories: 438kcal | Carbohydrates: 61g | Protein: 7g | Fat: 21g | Saturated Fat: 13g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 6g | Trans Fat: 0.003g | Cholesterol: 49mg | Sodium: 147mg | Potassium: 174mg | Fiber: 6g | Sugar: 39g | Vitamin A: 327IU | Vitamin C: 0.1mg | Calcium: 110mg | Iron: 2mg