Irish Coffee Cake with Bailey's Filling is a two-layered cake flavored with brewed coffee and Irish whiskey, and frosted with a homemade Bailey's whipped cream between the layers and on top. This tasty recipe is so quick and easy to make, and results in a light, fluffy cake loaded with flavor.
This recipe is perfect for your St. Patrick's Day celebrations or even a fun brunch treat! If you love Bailey's treats, you'll love these Lucky Charms Treats and these Bailey's Marshmallows.
Why this Recipe Works
Traditional coffee cake is usually a two-layer, round, coffee-flavored sponge cake with icing between the layers and on top, but what we generally know as coffee cake here in the U.S. often doesn't even have coffee in it! This Irish Coffee Cake is more similar to the traditional version, but with Irish whiskey added for a boozy Irish coffee twist!
Ingredients and Notes
Coffee - Brewed coffee provides both moisture and flavor to the simple, soft cake layers. The coffee needs to be brewed, but you can use any kind of coffee you'd like! Instant, decaf, cold brew or iced coffee (just take out the ice), whatever you have works. Just brew a little extra with your morning cup and set the leftover coffee aside to cool for this simple and delicious cake.
Irish Whiskey - A classic Irish coffee uses Irish whiskey, such as Jameson, but any whiskey will taste great in this simple homemade cake recipe. The amount needed for this super simple cake is the amount in a nip or airplane bottle.
Sugar - The sugar in the whipped cream not only adds sweetness, but helps to stabilize it, making it easier for stiff peaks to form.
Substitutions
Coffee - For a stronger coffee flavor, dissolve one to three teaspoons of espresso powder in one cup of hot water and let cool to room temperature. Use this in place of the coffee for the batter.
Irish Whiskey - Any whiskey can be used in place of the Irish whiskey. Even a bourbon could be delicious. To make this St. Patrick's Day cake without whiskey, replace the Irish whiskey with additional coffee.
Bailey's - To make this cake without alcohol, the Bailey's can be skipped or it can be replaced with vanilla. If you're not making a Bailey's filling and topping, you can also use a store-bought whipped cream!
How to Make this Recipe
Step 1: Combine coffee, whiskey, oil, and eggs.
Step 2: Add flour, sugar, salt, and baking powder and mix until just combined.
Step 3: Pour into two greased and lined 9" cake pans.
Step 4: Bake at 350°F for 25-30 minutes. Cool completely in pan.
Step 5: While the cakes are cooling, beat the Bailey's whipped cream ingredients with a whisk attachment until stiff peaks form.
Step 6: When the cakes are cooled, spread a layer of whipped cream on top of one of the cake layers, then place the other cake layer on top of the layer of filling. Spread additional whipped cream on the top of the cake.
Recipe FAQs
Irish Coffee is a coffee cocktail made with Irish whiskey, hot coffee, and sugar, topped with whipped cream. It is intended to be drunk through the topping. For this cake recipe, I added Bailey's to the whipped cream for a little extra fun.
There is coffee in the cake, so if you use caffeinated coffee there will be some caffeine in it, but there is only a cup of coffee in the entire cake so you would have to eat the entire cake to get the effects of the caffeine from one cup of coffee!
The cake layers have a nice coffee flavor with a slight kick of whiskey. The Bailey's filling adds a good texture as well as the Irish cream flavor.
Tips & Tricks
Tip #1: This cake will have a slight dome to it when baked. You can slice off the dome to have a flat surface, but I don't like to waste cake so I put the domed sides facing each other. Once the top layer is put on top of the filling, dome side down, use a piping bag to pipe extra Bailey's filling between the layers to fill the gaps.
Tip #2: Be cautious not to over-whip the whipped cream. When you notice the mixture has thickened, stop the mixer and pull the whisk straight out. If the mixture forms a peak that doesn't flop over at the top, it's ready. Err on the side of checking it more often than over-whipping it!
Tip #3: This recipe is for a naked cake, meaning the Bailey's whipped cream is like a frosting, as a filling in between the layers and spread on the top of the cake. It's the perfect amount of Bailey's flavor, but if you want to cover the sides of the cake as well, you can double the whipped cream recipe to cover the whole cake.
Tip #4: This Irish Coffee Cake can be made square instead of round by using two 8x8 baking pans.
Tip #5: If you want extra St. Patrick's Day vibes, add a couple drops of green food coloring to the Bailey's filling and topping ingredients before mixing, or top the frosted cake with green sprinkles!
Storage Tips
- If the Irish Coffee Cake is unfrosted, it can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature for 3-5 days.
- Once the Bailey's filling and topping is added, the Irish Coffee Cake should be stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator.
Related Recipes
Did you try this recipe? Leave a review below, and tag @flourdeliz on Instagram!
📖 Recipe
Irish Coffee Cake with Bailey's Filling
Equipment
- 2 9" round cake pan
- stand or hand mixer
- Mixing bowl
Ingredients
Irish Coffee Cake
- 1 cup coffee
- ¼ cup Irish whiskey
- ½ cup oil vegetable or canola
- 3 eggs
- 2 cups flour
- 1 ½ cups sugar
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 tablespoon baking powder
Bailey's Whipped Cream
- 2 cups heavy cream or whipping cream
- ¼ cup sugar
- 1 tablespoon Bailey's Irish Cream
Instructions
Irish Coffee Cake
- Preheat oven to 350℉. Grease and line 2 round cake pans.
- Combine coffee, whiskey, oil, and eggs.
- Add the flour, sugar, salt, and baking powder, and mix until just incorporated.
- Pour half the batter into each greased cake pan.
- Bake for approximately 27 minutes.
- Remove from oven and cool in pan .
Bailey's Whipped Cream
- While the cake is cooling, put all whipped cream ingredients in the bowl of a stand mixer with the whisk attachment and beat until stiff peaks form.
- When cake has fully cooled, spread approximately half the whipped topping on the top of one of the layers of cake.
- Place the other layer on top of the filling. Spread the remaining half of the Bailey's filling on top of the second layer.
Notes
Nutrition
This recipe was originally posted on March 17, 2017, but was republished with an updated recipe, new photos, and additional information about the recipe in February 2024.
Zainab says
I went to a Louisville game a few weeks ago here in Cuse. Great basketball team 🙂 I love the sound of this cake. So simple with great flavors.
Liz says
How fun! They are a lot of fun to watch. I was in Syracuse for a few hours a couple weeks ago. I'll have to take you out for coffee next time I'm there!
I was working on this cake when I read your Whiskey Caramel Cake post and you inspired me to keep going till I got this one right!
heather (delicious not gorgeous) says
yeah, i definitely don't see as many irish coffee flavored things out there, so it sounds like you made a good decision (: and i love swiss meringue buttercream, but sometimes whipped cream just works best!
Liz says
Thanks! I was trying to go with a flavor I don't see too much. And whipped cream is definitely the way to go here, but I do love a good buttercream!