Chocolate Irish cream cake starts with a dark, rich chocolate cake and while it's still warm, soaked with decadent Irish cream sauce, then frosted with Bailey's Irish Cream and whiskey white chocolate ganache and some homemade caramel sauce. This is a great recipe for St. Patrick's Day!
Similar to my chocolate Guinness cake recipe, Dark Guinness beer and Irish cream liqueur combined with chocolate bring together a dark decadent dessert worthy of celebrating even if you aren't Irish!
This recipe is more involved than many of my easy cake recipes. It has a lot of ingredients and steps, but its results are worth the time and effort. This chocolate cake recipe is an elevated cake, with more complex flavors and will impress everyone who is lucky enough to get a slice!
Table of contents
Irish Cream Cake Ingredients
Guinness is an Irish dry stout that originated in an Irish brewery. It has a dark chocolatey flavor and is slightly bitter. Like coffee, the flavor of this beer adds a rich flavor to chocolate cake, and the alcohol content tenderizes the gluten as well as helps retain moisture in the cake.
Irish Cream is a liqueur made from Irish whiskey, heavy cream, sugar, and a hint of cocoa. It is very sweet, so it lends itself well as a flavoring to other drinks and desserts. I love using it to flavor my frostings and fillings.
Mayonnaise sounds like a strange ingredient for a cake, however, it adds a lot of flavor and moisture. Mayonnaise is an emulsion of eggs, canola oil, salt, and acid, so many ingredients are already included in cake recipes.
How to Make Irish Cream Cake
There are 4 components to this decadent chocolate Irish cream cake, the death by chocolate cake, Irish cream sauce, Bailey's white chocolate ganache, and caramel sauce. It is possible to make this cake in one day, but I recommend making all of the components the day before, and assembling them on the day you're ready to serve. The ganache will take about 4 hours to set up, and the sauce will need to soak in the cakes for 2 hours.
Making Death by Chocolate Cake
- NOTE: It is SUPER IMPORTANT that all the wet ingredients listed are room temperature and not cold so that the ingredients mix and incorporate correctly.
- Preheat your oven to 350ºF/177º C.
- Prepare three 8-inch cake pans with cake goop, parchment paper, or preferred pan release spray.
- Whisk together the Guinness, espresso powder, and vanilla in a measuring cup and set it aside.
- Sift together the cake flour, cocoa powder, salt, baking powder, and baking soda in a large bowl and set it aside.
- Place the softened butter in the bowl of a stand mixer with the paddle attachment. Cream the butter on medium speed until it's smooth and shiny. I'm using a stand mixer but you can definitely use an electric mixer if that is what you have.
- Gradually sprinkle in the sugar on low speed, then bump it up to medium and cream the butter and sugar until the mixture is fluffy and almost white, about 3-5 minutes.
- Add the eggs one at a time. Allow each egg to incorporate fully before adding in the next egg to avoid breaking your batter.
- Add in the mayo and mix until combined.
- With the mixer on low speed, add ⅓ of the dry ingredients and mix until almost combined. Add ⅓ of the liquid ingredients. Repeat the process with the flour mixture and liquids two more times until everything is fully incorporated.
- Gently fold in the mini chocolate chips.
- Pour the batter into the prepared pans and bake them for 35-40 minutes until a wooden skewer comes out clean but with a few sticky crumbs.
- Let the cake cool in the pan for about 20 minutes then remove them and place them onto a wire rack to cool while you prepare the Bailey's drizzle.
Making the Bailey's Irish Cream Sauce
- Combine the sweetened condensed milk and Bailey's Irish cream in a measuring cup.
- Microwave the cream mixture for 30 seconds and then in 15-second increments until it is just simmering. You can also do this in a pot over the stove.
- Pour the simmering cream mixture over the chocolate in a medium bowl and let it rest for 5 minutes.
- Whisk the sauce mixture until it's smooth and melted.
Soaking the Cake Layers with Irish Cream Sauce
- Place plastic wrap into the bottom of your cake pan and set the cooled cake back into the pan. The plastic wrap will keep the cake from sticking when it's time to remove them later on.
- Poke holes into the top of the cake with the end of a wooden spoon or dowel.
- Drizzle the warm sauce all over the cake to soak into the holes and use a spatula to smooth out the top.
- At this point, you need to freeze the cakes for two hours or let them refrigerate overnight to let the cakes fully cool down. This will give you enough time to make the ganache frosting and caramel sauce.
Making the White Chocolate Ganache
- Heat up the heavy cream and Bailey's over medium heat in a saucepan until simmering, but not boiling.
- Pour the hot mixture over your white chocolate. Let it sit for about 5 minutes to melt the chocolate.
- Add in the whiskey, vanilla, butter, and salt then whisk until it's smooth and creamy.
- Let the ganache cool until it thickens to a peanut butter consistency, about 4 hours at room temperature. Pro-tip: Pour the ganache into a sheet pan so it cools faster.
- Mix the ganache for a minute in your stand mixer or with an electric hand mixer for the smoothest application on the cake.
Assembling the Irish Cream Cake
- Once your cakes are chilled, remove them from the cake pans and peel away the plastic wrap. They should be firm and easy to handle.
- Place your first layer of cake onto your 8" cake board or a plate.
- Apply a generous amount of the Irish cream ganache to the cake and distribute it evenly across the cake layer.
- Repeat this process with the other two layers.
- Apply a thin coat of the ganache to the outside of the cake and smooth it out with a bench scraper. I liked this rustic naked cake look so I didn't add a second coat of frosting.
- Chill the cake for about 20 minutes. I like to transfer my cake to a serving plate after frosting.
- Then add your caramel drizzle on top. I made my own but you can use store-bought caramel.
- Once your cake is assembled, I recommend leaving it at room temperature to soften up. This cake tastes best warm. Pro-tip: microwave a slice for 10 seconds before eating for maximum gooey-ness!
FAQ
Yes, traditionally it has Irish whiskey as an ingredient, however, you can buy non-alcoholic Irish Cream. A lot of the alcohol will cook out during the baking process, but not all of it. An important note if you plan on serving this to children.
Good Irish Cream should have a smooth, creamy texture and taste like vanilla with hints of chocolate and whiskey. It should also not be overly sweet or alcoholic tasting. Look for brands that use high-quality ingredients such as real cream, whiskey, and natural flavorings to ensure the best flavor possible.
Cover the cake with plastic wrap or in an airtight container to keep the cake from drying out. It can be kept at room temperature for up to 4 days, or in the refrigerator for a week. This cake also freezes well!
Yes, you can bake this cake into a traditional bundt cake, using a 10-cup bundt cake pan. Once you have cooled and removed the cake from the pan, soak it and pour the warm ganache over the cake. Or you could use my fail-proof chocolate bundt cake recipe and finish it in the same way.
Yes, you can substitute AP flour for the cake flour in this recipe. Or you can replace 2 Tablespoons of flour with cornstarch for every cup of all purpose flour.
The mayonnaise can be substituted with sour cream. However mayo is an emulsion of eggs and oil, salt, and vinegar, so it is a beneficial ingredient to the overall flavor of the cake.
More Yummy Recipes for St. Patrick's Day
Grandma's Sweet Irish Soda Bread
Recipe
Equipment
- Stand mixer with paddle attachment
- 3 8" x 2" cake pans
Ingredients
Death By Chocolate Cake
- 14 ounces Stout Beer Guinness
- 1 ½ Tablespoons Espresso Powder
- 2 teaspoons Real Vanilla
- 14 ounces Cake Flour
- 1 teaspoon Baking powder
- 2 teaspoons Baking soda
- 1 ½ teaspoons Salt
- 6 ounces Dutched Cocoa Powder
- 10 ounces Unsalted Butter
- 16 ounces Granulated Sugar
- 4 Large Eggs
- 6 ounces Mayonnaise
- 6 ounces Mini chocolate chips
Bailey's Poke Filling
- 8 ounces Sweetened Condensed Milk
- 4 ounces Bailey's Irish Cream Liqueur
- 4.5 ounces Semi-sweet chocolate
Bailey's White Chocolate Ganache
- 24 ounces White chocolate
- 4 ounces Bailey's Irish Cream Liqueur
- 4 ounces Heavy Whipping Cream
- 1 teaspoon Vanilla Extract
- 1 Tablespoon Irish Whiskey (Jameson)
- ¼ teaspoon Salt
- 4 ounces softened butter unsalted
Instructions
Making Death by Chocolate Cake
- NOTE: It is SUPER IMPORTANT that all the wet ingredients listed are room temperature and not cold so that the ingredients mix and incorporate correctly.
- Preheat your oven to 350ºF/177º C.
- Prepare three 8-inch cake pans with cake goop, parchment paper, or preferred pan release spray.
- Whisk together the Guinness, espresso powder, and vanilla in a measuring cup and set it aside.
- Sift together the cake flour, cocoa powder, salt, baking powder, and baking soda in a large bowl and set it aside.
- Place the softened butter in the bowl of a stand mixer with the paddle attachment. Cream the butter on medium speed until it's smooth and shiny. I'm using a stand mixer but you can definitely use an electric mixer if that is what you have.
- Gradually sprinkle in the sugar on low speed, then bump it up to medium and cream the butter and sugar until the mixture is fluffy and almost white, about 3-5 minutes.
- Add the eggs one at a time. Allow each egg to incorporate fully before adding in the next egg to avoid breaking your batter.
- Add in the mayo and mix until combined.
- With the mixer on low speed, add ⅓ of the dry ingredients and mix until almost combined. Add ⅓ of the liquid ingredients. Repeat the process with the flour mixture and liquids two more times until everything is fully incorporated.
- Gently fold in the mini chocolate chips.
- Pour the batter into the prepared pans and bake them for 35-40 minutes until a wooden skewer comes out clean but with a few sticky crumbs.
- Let the cake cool in the pan for about 20 minutes then remove them and place them onto a wire rack to cool while you prepare the Bailey's drizzle.
Making the Bailey's Irish Cream Sauce
- Combine the sweetened condensed milk and Bailey's Irish cream in a measuring cup.
- Microwave the cream mixture for 30 seconds and then in 15-second increments until it is just simmering. You can also do this in a pot over the stove.
- Pour the simmering cream mixture over the chocolate in a medium bowl and let it rest for 5 minutes.
- Whisk the sauce mixture until it's smooth and melted.
Soaking the Cake Layers with Irish Cream Sauce
- Place plastic wrap into the bottom of your cake pan and set the cooled cake back into the pan. The plastic wrap will keep the cake from sticking when it's time to remove them later on.
- Poke holes into the top of the cake with the end of a wooden spoon or dowel.
- Drizzle the warm sauce all over the cake to soak into the holes and use a spatula to smooth out the top.
- At this point, you need to freeze the cakes for two hours or let them refrigerate overnight to let the cakes fully cool down. This will give you enough time to make the ganache frosting and caramel sauce.
Making the White Chocolate Ganache
- Heat up the heavy cream and Bailey's over medium heat in a saucepan until simmering, but not boiling.
- Pour the hot mixture over your white chocolate. Let it sit for about 5 minutes to melt the chocolate.
- Add in the whiskey, vanilla, butter, and salt then whisk until it's smooth and creamy.
- Let the ganache cool until it thickens to a peanut butter consistency, about 4 hours at room temperature. Pro-tip: Pour the ganache into a sheet pan so it cools faster.
- Mix the ganache for a minute in your stand mixer or with an electric hand mixer for the smoothest application on the cake.
Assembling the Irish Cream Cake
- Once your cakes are chilled, remove them from the cake pans and peel away the plastic wrap. They should be firm and easy to handle.
- Place your first layer of cake onto your 8" cake board or a plate.
- Apply a generous amount of the Irish cream ganache to the cake and distribute it evenly across the cake layer.
- Repeat this process with the other two layers.
- Apply a thin coat of the ganache to the outside of the cake and smooth it out with a bench scraper. I liked this rustic naked cake look so I didn't add a second coat of frosting.
- Chill the cake for about 20 minutes. I like to transfer my cake to a serving plate after frosting.
- Then add the caramel drizzle on top. I made my own but you can use store-bought caramel.
- Once your cake is assembled, I recommend leaving it at room temperature to soften up. This cake tastes best warm. Pro-tip: microwave a slice for 10 seconds before eating for maximum gooey-ness!
Sarah Bellissimo says
This recipe looks amazing and I can’t wait to try it this weekend. What do you mean when you say real vanilla? Is that just real vanilla extract vs imitation, is it vanilla bean?
Elizabeth Marek says
Its real vanilla not imitation vanilla. Not vanilla bean