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.
Servings: 12 servings
Calories: 438kcal
Equipment
Ingredients
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
Instructions
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!
Video
Notes
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!
- 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.
Nutrition
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