In the words of Hannibal from the A Team…”I love it when a plan comes together.”
Yes, I am a product of the 80′s. I wore scrunchies in my hair, big sweaters, neon colors, stir-up pants and my Sony Disc man was the coolest thing ever! Or should I say it was totally bitchin’. My bangs were super high and sprayed with so much hairspray that I must have killed at least a dozen brain cells a day inhaling all that Aquanet. My hair was badly permed and my goal was to dress like Jeanie, Ferris Bueller’s sister. Watching the movie now makes me cringe…her pants were pretty much up to her boobs. Very attractive.
The 80′s was the first time I ever had Bailey’s Irish Cream. Now before you envision some teenager doing shots of Bailey’s(yuck could you imagine?), it was simply a sip of my mom’s coffee that was spiked with Bailey’s. But I remember it being good. Not like any of the other “yucky” alcohol I had tasted thus far. The flavor stuck with me and whenever my mom would make them(which was usually only around the Holidays) I would beg for a sip. I was an annoyingly squeaky clean kid so it never dawned on me just to make one of my own when the parental unit was not around. I’m still a squeaky clean nerd now too. Bailey’s to this day is still my favorite liquor. So when they came out with new flavors I had to buy them. I have one mint and one caramel.
I had baked something else(will be on blog later) that involved making a chocolate-caramel ganache. I had some leftover and it got my head spinning as to what I could make with it. Caramel, caramel, caramel just kept going through my head and there in the refrigerator door was the answer(yes, I have booze and not healthy things like milk or orange juice in the fridge door 
) Bailey’s Original is still my favorite but both the mint and the caramel versions are something that should be in everyone’s home bar.
I keep this cake in the fridge because the frosting can start to slide a bit as it warms up. But you could serve it at room temperature just fine. If you don’t have any caramel sauce don’t worry, that was just a last minute addition on my part to add some contrast for the camera.
If you are a Bailey’s lover too, you should try this cake.
Bailey’s Caramel Irish Cream Cake
Chocolate Cake(recipe follows)
Chocolate-Caramel Ganache(recipe follows)
Bailey’s Buttercream Frosting(recipe follows)
Store bought Caramel Sauce
Deeply Dark Devil’sFood Cake
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
2 tsp baking powder
3/4 tsp baking soda
3/4 tsp salt
11 TBSP unsalted butter, softened
1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
2/3 cup Dutch-processed cocoa powder
2 large eggs
1 tsp vanilla
1 1/3 cups warm water
1. Preheat oven to 325F. Grease two 9 inch cake rounds and dust with flour.
2. Sift together the flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt in a medium bowl. Mix to incorporate.
3. Beat the butter at medium speed until creamy. Gradually add the sugar and beat on high speed for about 3 minutes. Add the cocoa powder and beat for 1 minute. Scrape down the sides with a spatula. Beat in the eggs one at a time. Beat in the vanilla. On low speed, add the flour mixture in three additons alternating with the warm water in two additions. Scrape down the sides of the bowl and mix at low speed for 30 seconds. Pour batter into prepared pans.
4. Bake cake for 45-55 mintues. Cool cake for 20 minutes after baking.
5. Remove cake from pan and let cool completely before frosting.
Source: The Cake Book by Tish Boyle
Bailey’s Buttercream Frosting
3 large eggs
4 large egg yolks
½ cup water
2 cups sugar
3 cups of butter, at room temperature
½ tsp salt
4 TBSP Bailey’s Caramel Irish Cream
Using a mixer fitted with a whisk attachment, whip the eggs and yolks in a large bowl on high speed for about 5 minutes. In a medium saucepan, combine the water and sugar; simmer until it reaches the soft ball stage, registering between 234 and 240F on a candy thermometer. Immediately transfer the syrup to a large heatproof liquid measuring cup. In a slow, thin stream, add the sugar mixture to the egg mixture., mixing on low speed the entire time. Increase the speed to medium and beat about 7 minutes, until the syrup has cooled. Add the butter, half a stick at a time, beating on medium after each addition. Once all of the butter has been added, beat on medium speed until the frosting thickens slightly, about 3 minutes. Stir in the salt and Irish Cream.
Chocolate-Caramel Ganache
10 ounces bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped
1 cup heavy whipping cream
10 caramel candies, unwrapped
Place the chocolate in a medium bowl. Heat the cream and caramels over medium-low heat, stirring occasionally, until the caramels have melted completely. Pour the hot mixture over the chocolate and stir until melted.
Source: Both Ganache and Buttercream are adapted from The Pastry Queen by Rebecca Rather with Alison Oresman
To Assemble: First off I made mini cakes and therefore my cakes look different than the instructions I am going to give you. I did not put buttercream between any of the layers, nor did I make 4 layers. You can mix and match however you like.
Take your two 9-inch cake and cut each one of those layers horizontally in half(so you should have 4 layers). Place the bottom layer on a cake plate. Spread a thick blanket of frosting on top. Add the second layer. This time spread the chocolate-caramel ganache on that layer. Place third layer on top of that and spread more buttercream. Place forth layer and frost the top and sides of the cake with remaining frosting. Drizzle store bought caramel over the cake, however much you would like. Place cake in refrigerator until ready to serve.
Stirrup pants, kid. Not “stir-up.” They had stirrups at the ankle.
Thanks for this DELICIOUS recipe! I knew I had to give it a try as soon as I saw your photos.
Just made it yesterday and it is intense, filled with lovely flavors, and the texture… don’t get me started!
Heaven on earth.
Hi,
).
just to let you know I am linking to this post and also posting the recipe in my native tongue (and with metric system measurements
The credit for the original goes naturally to you. I am sure people over here in Finland will love to try out this glorious recipe!
Hi,
).
just to let you know I am linking to this post and also posting the recipe in my native tongue (and with metric system measurements
The credit for the original goes naturally to you. I am sure people over here in Finland will love to try out this glorious recipe!
And the link:
http://puolikiloavoita.blogspot.com/2007/10/enkelten-ruokaa-paholaisen-kakussa.html
Peabody, you are an inspiration! I made this cake for my dad’s fiftieth birthday. I am in Utah and made proper altitude adjustments, it worked out perfectly! Thanks you!
Wow… I made this cake (well… used a different cake, but used the ganache and frosting to make the same thing) for a friend’s birthday. Turned out GORGEOUSLY. However, i found the caramel flavour didn’t really translate into the ganache. And the frosting was really aggressively buttery… it was my first time with a buttercream frosting, so I did it as is, but if it’s possible to use less butter, I would recommend doing so, just because the frosting really had the texture of butter. But, I must say it made sure I presented a really fabulous cake. Thanks!
Tried making the frosting and it bombed!
Tried everything to save it but to no avail.
Good flavor though slightly on the salty side for my taste.
I think next time i will opt for my preferred double boiler method–and less salt.
Like, OMG!! This cake totally looks awesome. Fer sure!
I too was an 80s teen. I am looking forward to baking this for friends and family. I have Baileys Chocolate Mint, and try light minty drizzle on top.
I made this tonight and everyone went crazy over it. So delicious! I used the leftover chocolate ganache to write Happy Birthday on the top and it worked perfectly for that. The only thing I changed was the cooking time on the cake – it only took 35 minutes not 45. The buttercream frosting with the Irish Cream was to die for! Thank you for this recipe!
OMG- this looks divine and will def. be on my st. paddy’s menu. I’m also featuring it on my blog, Naloma Kitchen, in a compilation of Irish recipies for the holiday! Thanks!
I think this recipe sounds great BUT the buttercream frosting IS overloaded with butter! I believe it should read “3 sticks” of butter which would equal 1-1/2 cups not 3 cups! And, yes, they were stirrup pants! lol!
Actually @Cherie it is 3 CUPS aka 6 sticks of butter.
All I can say is AWESOME!!!
This is the best chocolate cake I’ve ever had in my life!! I agree with other comments about the frosting, though. I tasted it after I had added most of the butter and it was really, really buttery. I think next time I will only use half. I had to switch to a paddle attachment half way through. I also added some vanilla bean paste. Next time I will just use a bean and less butter, but really, best cake I’ve ever had! Making this as the bottom tier of our wedding cake!