Chocolate Cake infused with Bailey’s Irish Cream, topped with sweet Irish Cream Buttercream for a fantastically easy loaf cake. A super simple recipe for a moist Bailey’s and Chocolate Cake.
Bailey’s and Chocolate loaf cake is a combination of two of my favourite things in the world. Bailey’s Irish Cream, and chocolate cake! With Added Bailey’s buttercream for an extra sweet treat, it’s perfect.
Why is Bailey’s a Christmas thing? There’s nothing really festive about it is there? I guess it’s just one of those things that have become festive because so many of us only treat ourselves to it over the holidays.
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It’s great, though isn’t it?
So, full disclosure here, my Bailey’s isn’t actually Bailey’s, as you can probably see from my photos. It’s the Aldi version.
It tastes exactly the same, and it’s waaaay cheaper. But, you can, of course, use any Irish Cream that you have, or want.
I know this means I should have called it Chocolate and Irish Cream cake, but it just doesn’t sound as good. Soz.
Anyway, whatever you want to call it, or make it with, this Chocolate and Bailey’s Loaf cake recipe is super simple, tastes fantastic, and is a perfect bake at Christmas, or whenever you want to make it.
What is Bailey’s?
Bailey’s, or any other brand you might use, is an Irish Cream liqueur. It’s an alcoholic drink made from Cream, cocoa and Irish whiskey. It’s gorgeous!
My thing with Bailey’s is, how much are you meant to drink? It’s about 12%, which is around the same as wine, but the creaminess means you can’t drink a 250ml glass. Just put a straw in the bottle? Who knows?
Bailey’s is however perfect for baking with. It’s also great for cocktails, and Bailey’s flavour cream is exceptional. Adding Bailey’s to cake mix works incredibly well because it’s so creamy and pretty fatty so you never have to worry about it splitting or separating in the cake mix.
Chocolate and Bailey’s Loaf Cake
Chocolate and Bailey’s work really well together. I love making Chocolate cake with Bailey’s because it’s such a simple twist to a standard chocolate cake.
You just throw in some Bailey’s, and then add a little extra flour to compensate for the extra liquid.
It also smells incredible as it cooks, and if you were to lick the spoon of your easy Bailey’s cake mix, the raw mix is absolutely divine, the only challenge is not eating it all before it gets into the oven.
How to Make Bailey’s Buttercream
Chocolate and Bailey’s Cake can be enjoyed as it is, as a deliciously moist sponge. It doesn’t need topping at all.
But, who doesn’t want Bailey’s buttercream frosting?
I like to stick to a simple Bailey’s buttercream recipe, with butter, Bailey’s and icing sugar.
I really like buttery buttercream. I know a lot of recipes use 1 part butter and 2 parts icing sugar, for a really sweet flavour.
But I prefer equal parts. It’s buttery, smooth, and really thick, so adding other ingredients, like chocolate, or in this case, Bailey’s is easy.
You can, however, alter the quantities depending on how you usually make buttercream icing.
When it’s the right taste and texture, you can either pipe or spread your icing onto the filled cooled cake.
What Flavours Should You Mix with Bailey’s?
Chocolate! For me, Irish Cream and Chocolate is the perfect pairing.
But, you can make a Bailey’s cake with other flavours if you prefer.
Coffee and Bailey’s work really well together, and you could certainly top this Chocolate and Bailey’s loaf cake with my coffee buttercream instead of Bailey’s icing.
Bailey’s and mint, or even chocolate orange could work well too. I think perhaps Irish Cream works well with anything that tastes great with chocolate. If you want to try Baking with Bailey’s, I’d say experiment, and just remember to add a little extra flour to your cake if you are adding extra liquid.
Decorating a Chocolate and Bailey’s Loaf Cake
I like to keep my Chocolate Bailey’s cake recipe easy, so I just drizzle the buttercream with melted dark chocolate.
If you prefer, you could melt while chocolate down with a splash of Bailey’s, and a tbsp of icing sugar to thicken a little to create a Bailey’s Drizzle. I recommend melting your white chocolate over a Bain Marie. I typically melt dark chocolate and sometimes milk in a small pan on the hob, but white chocolate can be harder to melt. A Bain Marie is safer.
But I think it’s a bit much. The Bailey’s buttercream is super sweet, and a simple dark chocolate drizzle complements it really well without overpowering.
Could You Make a Bailey’s and Chocolate Sandwich Cake?
Yes! This recipe for chocolate Bailey’s cake is easy to convert into a sandwich cake. You could even make a Chocolate and Bailey’s celebration cake if you wanted to.
You could make this cake mix exactly as it is but bake in two 8 inch sandwich tins instead of a loaf tin. Use the same buttercream to sandwich them together.
If you bake it like this, it will bake much faster, as the mix will be a lot thinner so check after 20-25minutes.
How to Store Bailey’s Loaf Cake
I store mine in a glass cake stand. It doesn’t need to be in the fridge, but keeping it in a sealed tub or cake stand will help it to stay moist for longer.
This cake will stay fresh for 3-4 days.
If you want it to last for longer, you can freeze the sponge. But, I’d recommend doing it before you add the buttercream.
Tips for Making this Irish Cream Cake
My top tips for Bailey’s and Chocolate cake are:
- If possible, leave the cake to cool fully in the tin to avoid sinking in the middle.
- I use a silicone loaf tin (affiliate link) because I’m shockingly bad at sticking everything. If you prefer to use a tin, grease or line it first.
- Leave the melted chocolate to cool to room temperature before pouring into the cake mix.
- Only mix until smooth, and there are no lumps of flour, avoid over mixing.
- My tin is 8inches by 5inches. If yours is bigger or smaller, your bake time might be a little different.
- Individual ovens also affect bake times and temps, so get to know yours. I bake this cake for 50 minutes at 170 degrees in my fan-assisted oven. If in doubt, I’d check after 45.
- Make sure the cake is fully cool before spreading the buttercream, so it doesn’t melt. If you are in a rush, pop the cake in the fridge, or even freezer to cool down.
- If you prefer a stronger flavour, add more Bailey’s, but remember this might mean you need to bake for longer or add a tbsp more flour.
If you like this recipe you might also enjoy my other loaf cake recipes.
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Bailey’s and Chocolate Cake
- Total Time: 1 hour 10 minutes
- Yield: 12 1x
Description
Chocolate Cake infused with Bailey’s Irish Cream, topped with sweet Irish Cream Buttercream for a fantastically easy loaf cake. A super simple recipe for a moist Bailey’s and Chocolate Cake.
Ingredients
For the cake:
- 75g Dark Chocolate
- 170g Butter or Margarine (at room temperature)
- 170g Caster Sugar
- 3 eggs
- 80ml Irish Cream
- 200g Self-Raising Flour
- 30g Cocoa
For the buttercream
- 150g Icing sugar
- 150g Unsalted Butter (at room temperature)
- 2 Tablespoons Bailey’s
- 50g Dark Chocolate (to drizzle – optional)
Instructions
For the cake
- Melt the dark chocolate, either in a pan, over a Bain Marie or in the microwave, and set to one side to cool.
- Preheat the oven to 170 degrees (fan assisted) and grease or line a cake tin.
- Cream together the butter and sugar until fluffy.
- Add the eggs one at a time and stir.
- Pour in the Baileys and stir through well.
- Sift in the flour and cocoa and mix until the cake batter is smooth.
- Pour into the loaf tin and bake for 45-50 minutes, testing with a skewer to see if it’s cooked.
- Leave in the tin to cool completely.
For the buttercream
- Beat the butter until soft.
- Add the icing sugar and Irish cream and beat until smooth, adding more Irish cream, or icing sugar as needed to achieve a thick, spreadable consistency.
- When the cake is completely cool remove from the tin and use a palette knife to spread on a thick layer of buttercream.
- To finish (optional) melt 50g of dark chocolate and use a piping bag or spoon to drizzle over the buttercream.
Notes
- If possible, leave the cake to cool fully in the tin to avoid sinking in the middle.
- Leave the melted chocolate to cool to room temperature before pouring into the cake mix.
- Only mix until smooth, and there are no lumps of flour, avoid over mixing.
- My tin is 8inches by 5inches. If yours is bigger or smaller, your bake time might be a little different.
- Individual ovens also affect bake times and temps, so get to know yours. I bake this cake for 50 minutes at 170 degrees in my fan-assisted oven. If in doubt, I’d check after 45.
- Make sure the cake is fully cool before spreading the buttercream, so it doesn’t melt. If you are in a rush, pop the cake in the fridge, or even freezer to cool down.
- If you prefer a stronger flavour, add more Bailey’s, but remember this might mean you need to bake for longer or add a tbsp more flour.
- Prep Time: 20 minutes
- Additional Time: 0 hours
- Cook Time: 50 minutes
- Category: Cakes
- Cuisine: British
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 slice
- Calories: 418kcal
- Sugar: 34g
- Sodium: 312mg
- Fat: 21g
- Saturated Fat: 13g
- Unsaturated Fat: 7g
- Trans Fat: 0
- Carbohydrates: 49g
- Fiber: 2g
- Protein: 4g
- Cholesterol: 91mg
