Tuesday, January 25, 2011

Kahlua Chocolate Cake with Homemade Bailey's Infused Whipping Cream

If that title doesn't grab your attention, I don't know what will. If you follow me on Twitter then you already know that I baked this muy delicioso cake for my brother-in-law's 25th birthday over the weekend. Typically, I detest bringing first-time recipes to family functions because although they come with directions, I'm not usually very good at following them. What I mean to say is, I very loosely follow recipes when I bake. Often times, I look up two, three and sometimes four recipes for similar desserts and end up incorporating bits and pieces of each of them into the final product. Call it a recipe mash-up, if you will. Therefore, you never truly know what you're going to get the first time around. Needless to say, we lucked out this weekend. The cake was absolutely delicious- yummy, moist, cake-y.. all the things the perfect cake should be. If you're looking for a spicy, sweet decadent treat and you love both the Kahlua and Bailey's flavors, then darlings? This recipe is for you. 
 
Kahlua Chocolate Cake
 
1 c. butter
1/2 c. unsweetened cocoa (I used a bit less, more like 1/4c)
1 c. water
2 1/4 c. unsifted flour
1 1/2 c. sugar
1 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 c. buttermilk
2 eggs
1 tsp. vanilla (I used a bit more, say 2 1/2tsp.)
1/3 c. Kahlua (Kahlua does not bake out as easily as other alcohols may. Do not use any  more Kahlua than the 1/3c. Just take my word for it)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In small sauce pan, melt 1 cup of butter, stir in cocoa plus water. Bring to boil and remove from heat. In large mixing bowl combine flour, sugar, baking soda and salt. Add cocoa mixture; beat well. Stir in buttermilk, eggs, vanilla, and kahlua. Pour into cake pan and bake 25 minutes or until cake springs back when lightly touched.  (I baked for thirty-five minutes which resulted in a super moist very dense cake, almost like the consistency of poundcake).


I searched high and low for the perfect frosting to compliment the cake. Initially I was thinking of doing a light Kahlua-infused whipped topping. Then I thought that perhaps a homemade vanilla buttercream might be tasty. After a bit of thinking and rummaging through our liquor cabinet, I decided on a Bailey's infused light whipping cream. In restrospect, I probably could have used more heavy whipping cream to make a thicker topping but because I used half whipping cream and half half-and-half, my cake was topped with more of a Bailey's infused whipping foam. Either case, very, very delicious. Here's the improvised recipe for the icing. And where the ingredients and the process become a bit hazy...

Bailey's Infused Whipping Cream

1c heavy whipping cream
1/2c half-and-half (thicker whipped cream? use additional heavy whipping cream)
2 tbsp. Bailey's Coffee Liquor (Hello, Bailey's! Once again, you do NOT need to play games here. Do not add any extra Bailey's. Believe me, you). Whew!
1 tsp unsweetened cocoa
2, maybe 3, sometimes 4 cups of confectioner's sugar (I know, I suck. But sometimes you just need to run with it and taste it after every cup. Start with one.. and just keep adding until you get your desired texture/sweetness).

I have a funny feeling this is the last time you guys are going to ask that I post my recipes on the ol' blog. Sorry, but I like to sort of just do my thang in the kitchen and not be tethered by exactness. This just reaffirms my love for baking and my utter loathe of cooking.

Beat on high heavy whipping cream/half-and-half and Bailey's until mixture appears thick and creamy. Add in cocoa and desired amount of confectioner's sugar. Continue to beat on high until desired texture is acheived. Be sure to wait until cake is fully cooled before icing! 

Enjoy!



 
 
 

 
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6 comments :

  1. I was hoping you would post this as I eyed the bottle of Kahlua my parents have over the weekend!

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  2. I've been wanting a piece of this cake since you tweeted about it!

    I must make it soon! YUMMY!

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  3. I'm impressed that you can improv with baking recipes!! I'm the opposite-- I never, ever follow cooking recipes exactly... and so I'm terrified of baking because it sounds like such an exact science. Eek.

    By the way, don't hesitate to post more recipes in the future! I love reading recipes that have a lot of "footnotes." : ) And it sounds delicious!!

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  4. I swear to heaven above I was drooling already before the page even loaded. Holy Moly I need this. NOW.

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  5. What a great recipe! Im planning on making this for my friends 21st birthday. I was wondering if you had any pictures of the cake. I want to make sure its not suppose to look dark and almost burned :P

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  6. What size cake pan did you use?

    ReplyDelete

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