Dessert again. I really am sorry a little bit. All of the world’s food is not dessert (though, should it be?). What can I say, sugar is on my mind. And chocolate. So I came up with this Irish Cream Chocolate cake.
The sugar rush kind of started at Christmas, and then continued through Valentine’s Day, and then Cadbury mini eggs happened, and I went on vacation and ate more sugar than real food, and then I came home and can’t seem to stop eating sugar and then I make things like this cake and it’s so sweet but so good and next week I’m going on a sugar detox.
This is my brain on sugar.
Before I do the aforementioned detox, a tribute to chocolate and Ireland and sugar and alcohol.
This cake.
As part of Rodelle’s Recipe Remix, and using Sugar Bakeshop’s Chocolate Cake as a starting point, I combined all the good things of that recipe with some Irish-esque tweaks of my own. What I came up with what can best be described as an Irish Cream Chocolate Layer Cake.
You know the Irish Cream coffee drink? It’s sort of like that.
Chocolate Whiskey Cake. Bailey’s White Chocolate Mousse. Kahlua Chocolate Buttercream.
I’m not lying. All of it in this cake.
It didn’t start out to be THIS much, but then I started by tweaking the base, then thought “what if I…” for the filling and by that point, I just threw in the towel and accepted that the Kahlua was happening, too. And chocolate shavings. I’m not mad about it.
Before we grab our forks, a little history: There are more than a few hands that want to take credit for creating the Irish Coffee concoction, but the most popular and well-received story goes like this. Foynes, a small town in Western Ireland, housed a well-traveled air base. On a cold winter night back in 1942, a grounded plane left some cold and weary passengers hanging around the air base. The bases’s restaurant proprietor, Joe Sheridan, decided to make a special drink to warm them up. His recipe- dark coffee, Irish whiskey, brown sugar and whipped cream- became famous after a travel writer brought the idea back to the Buena Vista Hotel in San Francisco. Unable to recreate it up to par, the hotel eventual hired Joe to work stateside to make his medicine. And that’s all she wrote.
A note on ingredients: I used Rodelle’s European Dutch Process Baking Cocoa for this. I fell in love with it after I impulse bought my first tin on a trip to Canada a few years ago because I thought “Ooh, fancy foreign cocoa!.” So, if you have a choice, I strongly recommend Dutch processed. For the difference between Dutch and regular, see this helpful link.
This post was sponsored by Rodelle, but as always, all opinions are my own. Thank you for supporting the brands that support The Hungary Buddha!
Irish Cream Chocolate Cake
Ingredients
- For the cake:
- 2 cups white sugar
- 1 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
- 3/4 cup Rodelle Dutch-processed baking cocoa
- 1 1/2 tsp baking powder
- 1 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 1 tsp salt
- 2 eggs
- 1 cup milk
- 1/2 cup coconut oil
- 2 tsp Rodelle Vanilla Extract
- 1/4 tsp coconut extract (optional)
- 1/2 cup hot coffee
- 1/2 cup Irish whiskey (I used Jameson)
- For the mousse:
- 2 cups heavy whipping cream
- 1/4 cup sugar
- 8 ounces white chocolate
- 1 envelope unflavored gelatin
- 2 TB cold water
- 1/4 cup boiling water
- 2 tsp Rodelle vanilla extract
- 4 TB Irish Cream Liqueur (I used Bailey's)
- For the frosting:
- 1 cup unsalted butter
- 3/4 cup Rodelle Dutch-processed baking cocoa
- 3 1/2 cups confectioner's sugar
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1 TB Rodelle Vanilla Extract
- 4 TB milk
- 3 TB Kahlua
- Chocolate shavings, to garnish
Directions
- Step 1 Make the cake: Preheat oven to 350°F.
- Step 2 Grease and sugar three 8″ cake pans (or, for two layers, two 9″ cake pans)..
- Step 3 In a large bowl, stir together the sugar, flour, Rodelle Baking Cocoa, baking powder, baking soda and salt.
- Step 4 Add the eggs, milk, oil and Rodelle Vanilla Extract, and coconut extract mix for 2 minutes on medium speed of mixer. Stir in the boiling water and whiskey last. Batter will be thin. Pour evenly into the prepared pans.
- Step 5 Bake 30 to 35 minutes in the preheated oven, until the cake tests done with a toothpick.
- Step 6 Cool in the pans for 10 minutes, then remove to a wire rack to cool completely.
- Step 7 Make the mousse: Sprinkle the gelatin over the cold water. Soften 1 minute.
- Step 8 Add the boiling water and stir until gelatin dissolves.
- Step 9 Melt the white chocolate and set aside to cool slightly (not enough so that it re-hardens).
- Step 10 In the bowl of a mixer fitted with a wire whisk, add the cream, vanilla, and sugar. Whip to stiff peaks. Add the Bailey’s.
- Step 11 Mix in the gelatin and fold in the white chocolate. Blend well and put in the refrigerate to chill about 30 minutes while the cake cools.
- Step 12 Make the frosting: Cream softened butter for a few minutes in a mixer with the paddle attachment on medium speed. Turn off the mixer, and scrape down the sides of the bowl.
- Step 13 Add the Rodelle Baking Cocoa into the mixing bowl and turn to low speed until the baking cocoa is absorbed by the butter.
- Step 14 Slowly add the powdered sugar into the mixing bowl 1/2 cup at a time. Blend ingredients until it is smooth and incorporated.
- Step 15 Increase the mixer speed to medium and add the Rodelle Vanilla Extract, salt, milk and Kahlua, and beat for 3 minutes. If your frosting needs a more stiff consistency, add a little more sugar. If your frosting needs to be thinned out, add additional cream 1 tbsp at a time.
- Step 16 To assemble: Place your first layer of chocolate cake on a cake stand, plate, or base of choice.
- Step 17 Spread half of the mousse in an even layer.
- Step 18 Place your second layer of chocolate cake on the first, and cover with the remaining mousse. Place the last layer on top of that.
- Step 19 Cover all the layers with the buttercream and optionally, chocolate shavings. Refrigerate until ready to eat, and then bring to room temperature for about ten minutes before serving. Best served at room temperature.
it’s so pretty! and probably delicious!
Admittedly one of the best I’ve made. I think it’s the mousse…
Yes!!!! Irish Creme and Kahlua together are a perfect match!
I agree! Just to be sure I’ve tried it every single night and the results are conclusive!
Thank You..i took a chance and made this cake for a colleague at work and it came out so delicious! I had fun making it too☘
I’m so happy to hear it! And thank you for stopping by. Happy St. Paddy’s!