This Baileys Irish cream cake is made completely from scratch and can be made with all-purpose flour or with 100% whole grain flour. Perfect for St. Patrick’s Day!
I bought a bottle of Irish cream on Saturday night and it’s almost gone. I think most of it went into this Irish cream cake! It’s pretty boozy. I took this totally from scratch rum cake and halved it, which involved some funky calculations, and exchanged the rum for Irish cream.
I used Carolans Irish cream here, which is smoother than Baileys. That means it’s great for drinking, at least in my opinion, but when you bake with it, the alcohol isn’t that apparent. And when I bake with booze, I want my goodies to actually taste boozy. So use Baileys!
I wanted my Irish cream cake to be drenched in syrup so only make half of the syrup if you just want a little. Mr. Texanerin actually complained that, “It’s dripping!” when he picked it up. But then he took a bite and stopped complaining. :D
It’s kind of hard to make a Baileys cake healthy but I did what I could. No cake mix, no pudding mix, and it’s 100% whole wheat. I used white whole wheat and you absolutely can’t taste it! But it’s important to use white whole wheat here and not regular whole wheat. If you use regular whole wheat, you will be able to tell it’s been made healthier. You could also do a mix of all-purpose and regular whole wheat if you don’t have access to white whole wheat. I’ve also made this with all-purpose and it tastes exactly the same.
And this Irish cream cake is SO moist. I tried it before I drowned it in syrup (see here on my method :D) and it was fluffy, light and not very boozy (hence the syrup!)
I used a 6-cup bundt pan here but you could bake these in cupcake form (I’m just guessing that it’d yield 8-12 cupcakes) or if you want a full-sized bundt cake, go check out my rum cake and use Baileys instead of rum. Easy!
So there. A St. Patrick’s Day dessert recipe without food coloring! And I have at least one more dye-free St. Patrick’s Day recipe coming up. But for next time – something with chocolate and peanut butter for my grain-free friends. :)
Totally From Scratch Irish Cream Cake
- Prep Time:
- Cook Time:
- Ready in:
- Yield: 8 pieces
Ingredients
- 3/4 cup + 2 tablespoons (114 grams) white whole wheat flour or all-purpose flour
- 1/4 cup (25 grams) non-fat or whole-milk dry milk powder
- 3 tablespoons (26 grams ) cornstarch
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 stick (1/4 cup or 56 grams) butter, room temperature
- 3/4 cup (168 grams) granulated or unrefined sugar
- 1/3 cup (78ml) canola oil
- 1/4 cup + 2 tablespoons (90ml) milk
- 2 large eggs
- 1/4 cup + 2 tablespoons (90ml) Irish cream
- 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1/2 stick (1/4 cup or 56 grams) butter
- 1/4 cup + 2 tablespoons (75 grams) granulated or unrefined sugar
- 1/4 cup (60ml) water
- 1/8 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 cup (60ml) Irish cream
For the cake:
For the syrup:
Directions
- Preheat your oven to 325°F (162°C). Spray a 6 cup bundt pan very well and set aside.
- In a large bowl, combine the flour, dry milk powder, cornstarch, baking powder and salt. Set this aside.
- In a large bowl with a stand mixer or electric mixer, cream the butter and sugar for about 2 minutes.
- Add the dry flour mix to this. It will resemble fine crumbs at this point.
- In the bowl that just had the flour mix, whisk together the oil, milk, eggs, Irish cream, and vanilla extract. Add this to the crumb mixture and beat until well combined. The batter will be very thin.
- Pour the batter into the greased bundt pan and bake for 25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean.
- When there are about 15 minutes remaining on the timer, start the syrup. In a medium saucepan, combine the butter, sugar, water and salt over medium heat. Bring to a boil and continue boiling for 5 minutes, stirring constantly. Remove from heat and stir in 1/4 cup Irish cream.
- Let the cake cool in the pan for about 10 minutes and then invert onto a wire rack. Wash and thoroughly dry the bundt pan and place the cake back into the pan. Poke holes into the cake (I used a meat thermometer) and pour the syrup slowly over the cake. Let it sit in the pan for one hour to properly absorb the liquid. It might seem soggy at first (there's a lot of syrup!) but will eventually be absorbed by the cake.
- Serve immediately or cover the cake and refrigerate for up to 5 days.
Adapted from Totally from Scratch Rum Cake, which was adapted from Rum Cake from Scratch From Always Order Dessert
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47 comments on “Totally From Scratch Irish Cream Cake (whole grain option)” — Add one!
2 comments are awaiting moderation!
Would like to try this out. Any substitute for the corn starch and butter?
You could use 7.5 tbsp of refined coconut oil in the cake, but the problem is the syrup. I think butter is really needed for the flavor. Instead of cornstarch, you can use arrowroot or tapioca starch. Sorry for my slow reply! I’m on vacation.
Thank you. I actually tried it with plain Greek yoghurt in place of the butter since there’s already oil in the recipe, I didn’t want to use coconut oil. Enjoyed the cake and trying it again today with less sugar (too sweet for me lol) and “light” butter.
This looks so good, and would probably be great for gifting! All of the ingredients are common in my kitchen except dry milk, and it’s not a common ingredient where I live. Is there a way to make it with regular milk? I’d love to try making this!
Hi! I’m so sorry for just now seeing your question. I unfortunately haven’t found a good sub for dry milk powder in this recipe. There’s this page that tells you how to sub it using water or regular milk, but there’s not enough milk in this recipe to omit to make up for the added liquid. That probably doesn’t make sense but it will if you read the link. Sorry again!
Hi again! I just tried it with some modifications, so I’ll share in case anyone else is having similar thoughts.
I mixed regular flour and ww pastry flour, mixed cornstarch and arrowroot powder (because i was low on cornstarch), and mixed beet sugar and coconut sugar (for the syrup i only used beet sugar). I also used butter flavoured coconut oil instead of butter, powdered coconut milk instead of regular dry milk, and used 1/3 c applesauce in place of the canola oil. I bet pumpkin puree or mashed banana might work as well. I wanted rum cake, so I subbed rum for the Irish cream like you said. I didn’t even have a bundt pan, so i just baked it in a regular round pan. It needed about five minutes longer than the listed cooking time. Even with all that, it came out wonderfully, and I’ll definitely use this recipe again. Thanks again for posting such a great (and forgiving) recipe! Happy holidays!
Oops, forgot to mention that i used oat milk as well. ^^
Hello, I don’t have 1/4 cup (25 grams) non-fat or whole-milk dry milk powder. Can I just use regular milk? I noticed 1/4 cup + 2 tablespoons (90ml) milk is already in the recipe though so I am not sure what the purpose of the milk powder is…do you know a good substitute? Thanks!
I’m so sorry for just now seeing your comment! It landed in spam for some weird reason. I’m way too late but in case anyone else is wondering – no, I’ve never found a good sub for dry milk powder. :( Sorry about that!
Absolutely love this cake. Already make three for friends. They just love the Bailey’s in it.
Thanks
You’re welcome! I’m very happy to hear that you and your friends have been enjoying it. :) Thanks for your feedback!
Thank you for making this recipe in grams to. We always bake in grams and ml. in the Netherlands. I do have cups but that is for a European girl a bit tricky. Going to make the cake today but with the rum.
Regards
Lis
I hope you enjoyed the cake! It’s really great with rum. :) I’m an American living in Germany and I hate cups. They’re not precise enough. Drives me crazy when recipes don’t have grams! Thanks for your comment.
I have made this cake a few times, and everyone always just raves about it! It is always very moist and so delicious. Thank you for sharing this recipe. I have added it to my collection. :)
On a side note, I noticed a measurement was missing under the Syrup instructions. You have “1/4 + 2 tablespoons (75 grams) granulated or unrefined sugar” and based on the gram amount, I think you meant to say “1/4 cup + 2 tablespoons….” Just thought I’d let you know.
Happy St. Patrick’s Day!
Oh my word. Thank you for catching that! It’s been up all these years and nobody said a word. I’m so happy that you’ve been enjoying the cake! Thanks a ton for your help and the feedback. :) And happy St. Patrick’s Day to you, too!
my family now thinks I’m the best baker in the world thanks to this recipe. I took it to a family reunion and even the crumbs were gone at the end of the night! thanks Erin!
That’s wonderful! I’m happy it was such a hit. Thanks a bunch for your feedback! I’m thrilled that you all enjoyed it. :)
Hi, I really want to make this cake, but I don’t have a bundt pan and I’m not willing to buy one. Do you think this recipe would work in a different kind of cake pan? If yes, which would you recommend?
Hello! I think any kind of pan would work. You’d just need to adjust the baking time. I know someone has made these as cupcakes (but I’m not sure of the yield or baking time). I think an 8×8 would also work. This recipe is only for a 6-cup bundt pan (bundt pans are usually 12-cups) so it’s not so huge.
Bundt cakes can be tricky! For years, mine fell apart no matter how well I greased the pan. I finally figured out that the scratches in the pan were the problem. I got a new pan and since then, everything has come out perfectly (including this cake several times :)) It does look like a lot of syrup but I think once it has time to absorb, it won’t seem like too much. I hope you’ll enjoy the cake!
Yum! I just made this for an Irish-themed get-together that my family is having today. The recipe made 14 cupcakes for me. I also used regular whole wheat flour and it doesn’t taste too healthy – the creaminess of the icing covers it up! Thanks for the recipe. :)
I’m so happy that the cupcakes worked out for you! Do you remember how long you baked them? Then I can update the recipe to include that info. :) I hope that your family will enjoy them! Thanks so much for the rating and the feedback. :)
Oh my goodness Erin this looks delicious! Perfect for St. Patricks Day! Whole Wheat Pastry Flour works for White Whole Wheat too they might even be the same just worded differently, I’ve used both interchangeably.
Thanks, Serena! I love whole wheat pastry flour, too! I often use them interchangeably, but with this recipe, I wouldn’t use it. The crumb is already so very delicate, I don’t know if the lower gluten content of whole wheat pastry flour would work. But I could be wrong! :)
So if I wanted to make a full size bundt cake would I just take your “from scratch rum cake” and swap out the rum for the Bailey’s? Oh, how I love Bailey’s!
Thanks!
That’s right! Everything else stays the same. I hope you’ll love it. :)
What does Irish cream even taste like? It looks kinda like coffee… or maybe i’m thinking of Irish cream coffee… But anywho this cake looks awesome!
My favorite underage reader. :) To me, it tastes a little bit like chocolate and coffee and vanilla-y. So. How much longer until you’re 21? :)
Now this is interesting. My family has an extra bottle of Bailey’s on hand (Irish pride!), so perhaps that is an excuse to make this. The crumb looks amazing! And if it’s whole wheat, it’s good enough for breakfast, eh? :)
Haha. Of course it’s healthy enough for breakfast! :) Do it! Make it for you and your Irish family and watch them do a little jig out of happiness. ;)
Would love a bite! Looks soft and delicious!
Thanks! It really is. :)
This cake looks so delish! I can seriously see how moist the crumb is!
Thanks, Jocelyn! And yay. So happy that the pictures brought the moist-ness across! :)
Oh wow! I love Irish cream and haven’t had it in ages! Another one of your recipes I’ll have to try :)
I hope you’ll enjoy it, Christina! :)
This cake looks so crumbly and good!! Yum!!
Crumbly?! Nooo! It’s nice and moist. Not crumbly! ;)
This look so yummy and perfect for St. Patrick’s Day! Love how you made this healthier by not using any cake or pudding mix!
Thanks, Phi! :) (and psst… part of the reason I made this cake without cake and pudding mix is that I had to! We don’t have the same mixes over here. ;))
Thanks, Megan! :)
I’m making a bday cake for a friend and was debating which recipe to try. I LOVE love this Erin! Also, a great excuse to pick up some Baily’s (as if I need one)
Haha. Yeah! You and I with our fake Irish names (as my Irish colleagues say!) should always be well-stocked with Baileys! :)
Hi Erin
What a great idea, sounds fantastic and look forward to trying it! Just had two questions:
1. If I want to use plain white flour instead of whole wheat, do I keep the same quantity (114g)?
2. I have not been able to find Canola oil in my country (CY); can I use sunflower oil instead, and if so, same quantity (78ml)?
Thanks again :)
Hi, Laura! Keep the quantity the same for the flour and oil. And how awesome that you’re from Cyrus! Don’t think I’ve ever had a commenter from there before. Neat. :) I hope you’ll love the cake!
Hi Erin
Just letting you know the cake was a real success, absolutely fantastic! The sponge was so moist and oozy :)
I just recently saw your chocolate zucchini recipe, so that will be my next experiment!
All the recipes I have tried are really good, so thanks for taking the time to share!
Looking forward to new yummy ideas :)
Hi, Laura! I’m so happy that the cake came out for you. :) Are you making the chocolate zucchini cake or brownies? Those brownies are the best! SO gooey and fudgy. But I love them both and hope you will, too. Thank you very much for your feedback, the kind comment and the rating! :)