This a luxurious Irish coffee cake recipe with Bailey’s and mascarpone frosting that looks impressive, yet it’s much easier and quicker to make than you might think.
Incredibly moist and delectable Irish coffee cake filled and topped with a rich and delightful mascarpone whipped cream frosting flavored with Bailey’s Irish cream. A good-looking, decadent, and delicious cake that's super easy and quick to make, the perfect sweet treat for St. Patrick's Day.
Check out more St. Patrick’s Day recipes: Leek and Potato Soup without Cream, Guinness Soda Bread, Cottage Pie with Guinness, Guinness Chicken, or Soda Bread without Buttermilk.
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Recipe ingredients
Batter ingredients
- Buttermilk: It helps the batter rise and makes it tender.
- Bailey’s Irish cream liqueur: An alcoholic drink with Irish whiskey, cocoa, and cream.
- Oil: Use a neutral-tasting oil like canola oil, vegetable oil, or grapeseed oil. Olive oil is not a choice; its flavor is too strong.
- Coffee: You will need a very strong cup of coffee. I usually make it with one tablespoon of instant coffee granules stirred into a cup of hot water.
- Other ingredients: All-purpose flour, granulated sugar, cornstarch (or cocoa powder for a chocolate cake), baking soda, baking powder, fine sea salt, and large eggs.
Frosting ingredients
- Mascarpone, heavy cream, natural unsweetened cocoa powder, powdered sugar (icing sugar/ confectioners' sugar), and a little Bailey’s.
- Try Mascarpone Pasta, too.
How to make Irish coffee cake?
Cakes
- Preheat the oven. Lightly grease two 8-inch cake pans (20 cm) with cooking spray or a bit of butter and line them with parchment paper.
- Brew the coffee.
- Mix and sift the dry ingredients into a large bowl (flour, sugar, cornstarch, baking soda, baking powder, and salt). Lightly beat the eggs and mix them in a jug bowl with buttermilk, Bailey’s, and oil (1).
- Combine batter: Slowly pour the wet ingredients over the flour mixture, whisking with an electric mixer at a very low speed (2).
- Add the hot coffee and stir with a rubber spatula until the ingredients are just combined, scraping the bottom of the bowl as well (3).
- Bake: Pour ½ of the batter into one prepared tin and the remaining batter into the second tin. Bake the cakes in the preheated oven for about 45-50 minutes until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out relatively clean (4).
- Let Bailey's coffee cake cool in the pan for a while, then release them from the pans and place them on a wire rack. Let them cool completely before adding the frosting.
Mascarpone frosting
- Remove the mascarpone from the refrigerator 15 minutes before making the frosting to help it get a bit softer. It should still be chill, though, so don’t leave it out of the fridge for more than 15 minutes.
- Whip the cream, powdered sugar, and cocoa powder until soft peaks form. Add mascarpone and Bailey’s and whip until stiff peaks form (5).
Assemble the cake
- Trim: If the domes of the cakes are too high, trim them with a serrated knife (it should not be necessary, though; the domes on my cakes were minimal).
- Fill cake: Place one cake layer on a platter. Cover it with ½ of the frosting. Place the second slice on top and cover it nicely with the remaining frosting (6).
- Garnish with chocolate shavings or chocolate streusel (optional).
- Chill the Irish coffee cake for at least 30 minutes before cutting and serving.
Expert Tips
Always use a digital kitchen scale in baking; it guarantees the best result. This recipe was tested using both the cups and the metric system. Still, I strongly believe that weighing the ingredients is always better (Amazon affiliate link).
Make an Irish coffee chocolate cake: Replace the cornstarch with the same amount of natural unsweetened cocoa powder.
Room temperature: Eggs, buttermilk, Bailey’s, and oil should be at room temperature; they will blend better, thus improving the structure of the baked goods.
Bake immediately after stirring the batter; the leavening agents start reacting with the rest of the ingredients immediately, and they will lose their power if left for too long.
Mascarpone: It should be slightly softer but still cold. Remove it from the refrigerator 15 minutes before making the frosting, but don’t leave it on the counter for longer, or it will become too soft. The frosting will also be too soft if the mascarpone is too soft.
Recipe FAQ
Sure. You can replace it with buttermilk in the cake batter and leave it out of the frosting. The cake will taste great but without the Irish cream flavor. Add some vanilla extract to the batter and the frosting to compensate for that.
You should not serve this cake to children, pregnant women, or people struggling with alcohol issues. The alcohol in the batter bakes off, but the one in the frosting won’t.
I prefer to make the Irish coffee cake one day in advance; one night spent in the fridge helps develop the flavors and makes the cake even moister and more delightful.
You can bake the cakes up to 3 days in advance, let them cool completely, wrap them in plastic wrap and keep them refrigerated until ready to assemble. You can also freeze the cakes and defrost them in the refrigerator before adding the frosting.
Refrigerate the Irish cream coffee cake for 2-3 days.
I’ve never attempted to freeze the cake, so I can’t say how that works. But, theoretically, it should be possible to freeze the individual slices in an airtight container.
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📖 Recipe
Irish Coffee Cake (with Bailey’s)
Equipment
- 2 springforms or cake tins 8 inch/ 20 cm diameter
- Jug
Ingredients
Irish coffee cake:
- 1 ½ cups all-purpose flour 210 g Notes 1, 2
- 1 ½ cups granulated sugar 300 g
- ¾ cup cornstarch 85 g, Note 3
- 2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon fine sea salt
- 2 eggs large, room temperature
- ½ cup buttermilk 125 ml, room temperature
- ½ cup Bailey’s 125 ml
- ½ neutral-tasting oil like canola, 125 ml
- 1 cup strong coffee 250 ml, Note 4
Mascarpone frosting (Note 5):
- 8 oz mascarpone 225 g
- 1 cup heavy cream 250 ml
- ¾ cup powdered sugar 75 g
- 1 teaspoon unsweetened cocoa powder
- 2 tablespoons Bailey’s
- chocolate streusel or shavings for garnishing the cake
Instructions
Irish coffee cake:
- Preheat the oven to 350°F/180°C. Grease and line the springforms with parchment paper.
- Brew the coffee and set it aside while you make the cake batter.1 cup boiling water from the kettle + 1 tablespoon instant coffee (or one cup strong filter coffee)
- Dry ingredients: Mix flour, sugar, cornstarch, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. Sift them into a large bowl.1 ½ cups all-purpose flour / 210 g + 1 ½ cups granulated sugar / 300 g + ¾ cup cornstarch ( 85 g + 2 teaspoon baking soda + 1 teaspoon baking powder + ½ teaspoon fine sea salt
- Wet ingredients: Lightly beat the eggs, preferably in a jug bowl, so that you can easily pour the mixture later. Add buttermilk, Bailey’s, and oil and whisk lightly (with a fork) to combine. Slowly pour the mixture over the dry ingredients, whisking with an electric mixer at a very low speed.2 eggs + ½ cup buttermilk / 125 ml + ½ cup Bailey’s / 125 ml + ½ neutral-tasting oil / 125 ml
- Combine: Add the hot coffee and stir with a spatula very shortly until the ingredients are just combined. Scrape the bottom of the bowl as well. Divide the mixture into two equal parts and pour it into the two prepared tins.1 cup strong coffee / 250 ml
- Bake for about 45-50 minutes until a toothpick inserted in the middle of the cake comes out relatively clean, it can still be a bit wet, but it should not be covered in batter. Let cool in the pan for 15-20 minutes, then transfer the cakes to wire racks and let them cool completely.
Mascarpone frosting:
- Remove the mascarpone from the refrigerator 15 minutes before making the frosting.8 oz mascarpone 225 g
- Whip heavy cream, powdered sugar, and cocoa powder until soft peaks form. Add mascarpone and Bailey’s and whip until stiff peaks form.1 cup heavy cream / 250 ml + ¾ cup powdered sugar/ 75 g + 1 teaspoon unsweetened cocoa powder + 2 tablespoons Bailey’s
Assemble the cake:
- Trim cakes: If the domes of the cakes are too high, trim them with a serrated knife. However, the domes on my cakes were minimal, so I didn’t bother cutting them.
- Fill cake: Place one cake on a cake platter. Cover it with ½ of the mascarpone frosting. Place the second cake on top and cover it nicely with the remaining frosting.
- Decorate cake: Sprinkle the cake with chocolate shavings or chocolate streusel if desired. chocolate streusel or shavings
- Chill the cake for at least 30 minutes before cutting and serving.
Notes
- Measurements: The recipe was tested using both cup measurement and the metric system. However, I always recommend using a digital kitchen scale in baking; it guarantees for best result (the Amazon affiliate link opens in a new tab).
- Room temperature: The ingredients (eggs, buttermilk, Bailey’s, and oil) should be at room temperature.
- Chocolate cake: Replace the cornstarch with the same amount of natural unsweetened cocoa powder.
- Coffee: I brewed the coffee with 1 tablespoon of instant coffee and 1 cup of hot water boiled in a kettle. You can also use filter coffee; ensure it’s strong.
- The mascarpone should be slightly softer but still cold. Remove it from the fridge 15 minutes before you need it, but don’t leave it on the counter for longer, or it will become too soft. The frosting will also be too soft if the cheese is too soft.
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