Irish Coffee Cake with Bailey's Filling

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.

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.

Love coffee in your desserts? Check out this Coffee Crème Brûlée!

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

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.