For a wonderfully rich dense sweet treat, you must try my Baileys Irish cream pound cake. It has a mild Irish Cream flavor topped with an unforgettable glaze.
This wonderful pound cake is rich, dense, and wonderfully sweet. Flavored magnificently with Irish Cream. I think I’m in heaven! Oh, and did I mention this cake is made totally from scratch.
As with all my favorite pound cakes, this has just the right crumb: tender and buttery-pound cake perfection. I adore pound cakes and make them a lot! I hope you try my classic old fashioned pound cake, peach pound cake (one of my most popular cake recipes!), and brown sugar pound vake! These are not only loved by my family but read the comments and see all the other people that make and love these cakes!
Baileys Irish Cream Pound Cake Ingredients
- All-Purpose Flour: All-purpose flours are not all the same. They vary in protein levels. I use moderate protein flour, like Gold Medal unbleached all-purpose flour or Pillsbury unbleached all-purpose flour.
- Baking Powder: This is a chemical leavening agent that helps the pound cake to rise!
- Salt: This adds flavor and is used to activate the baking powder, making the cake rise.
- Irish Cream Liqueur: My preference is the Carolinas brand. Baileys, is of course, great too!
- Milk: Use whole rather than a lower-fat version. The extra fat will provide the best flavor. Make sure your milk is at room temperature before mixing it in!
- Butter: I only have unsalted butter in my house and that’s what I’ve used every time I make a pound cake. I find the taste is superior and the salt ratio in this cake is spot on.
- Brown Sugar: This adds another profile of flavor, with wonderful nuances of molasses, and extra moisture to the pound cake.
- Sugar: This is plain ol’ granulated sugar. The combo of sugars is wonderful in this cake!
- Eggs: I make this with large eggs. For best results, it’s important to have the eggs at room temperature!
- Powdered Sugar
Notes + Tips
- Glaze: The glaze is a little gray in color. It’s not a huge deal but I just want you to be forewarned. I believe the color is caused by the color of the Irish Cream. The flavor of the glaze made it absolutely worth adding!!!
- Size: I use a 12-cup Bundt pan for this recipe.
- Room Temperature: Start with room temperature ingredients. This will ensure everything mixes properly and you will get the maximum volume from the ingredients.
- Over Beating: This may sound strange after you read the recipe and see that the first thing you do is beat the butter for 6 minutes! After the eggs are added you need to beat the eggs just to incorporate them. Do NOT over beat your eggs! Add your eggs and mix until the yolk disappears.
- Baking: It’s very easy to over-bake a pound cake. I like to bake it until a skewer inserted into the center of the cake comes out with a few moist crumbs.
- Cake Release: I use Baker Joy non-stick spray. This cake always releases from the pan perfectly for me with this spray. I spray the pan heavily after I make the batter, just before I pour it into the pan. That way the spray doesn’t have time to slide down the pan. That said, I’ve just had a reader say that she had problems with the cake release. It’s not clear to me if, indeed, she used a specific baking spray nonstick or a regular nonstick spray. There’s actually a huge difference in how the cake will release. She suggested greasing and flouring the bundt pan. Frankly, I’ll leave it up to you. I haven’t found that that method works as well as the specific baking spray nonstick. I’d love to hear from you about what’s working best for you!!! ♥
Storing + Freezing + make-Ahead
- How Long Can You Keep This In The Fridge? Pound cakes can be stored at room temperate. Refrigerating will extend the shelf life of your cake. Remember though, as with all butter cakes, it’s best served at room temperature. It will last up to 2 days at room temperature and up to a week in the fridge.
- Can You Freeze This Old Fashioned Pound Cake Recipe? Pound cakes freeze beautifully. Wrap it well and it will last up to 6 months.
- Make-Ahead: This cake is perfect for making ahead. It can either be made and refrigerated or frozen.
- Food Safety: If you’d like more info on food safety check out this link.
How To Make Baileys Irish Cream Pound Cake
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Combine flour (3 cups), baking powder (1 teaspoon), and salt (1/2 teaspoon) in a small bowl and set aside. In a small liquid measuring cup mix Irish Cream (1/2 cup) and milk (1/2 cup) and set aside.
- In a large bowl, using a hand-held electric mixer beat butter (1 1/2 cups) and sugars (2 cups brown sugar + 1 cup) at medium speed until fluffy about 3 minutes. Add the eggs (5), one at a time, and beat well to incorporate after each addition
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To the butter mixture, gradually add half the flour mixture and then half the milk mixture. Repeat with remaining flour, then milk, and mix until incorporated.
- Pour batter into prepared pan then smooth batter evenly. Bake in preheated oven for 1 hour and 15 to 1 hour and 20 minutes or until a wooden skewer inserted into the center comes with a few moist crumbs.
- Allow the cake to cool in a pan for 15 minutes. Remove the cake from the pan to a plate or serving dish and cool completely.
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Meanwhile, make the glaze by combining sugar (2 cups), Irish Cream (3 tablespoons), and 3 tablespoons of water, adding more water as needed, 1 tablespoon at a time, until smooth. Drizzle cooled cake with glaze.
***See Full Instructions Below.
More Pound Cake To Love!
- Strawberry Pound Cake
- Chocolate Pound Cake
- Blueberry Pound Cake
- Coconut Pound Cake
- Banana Pound Cake
- Eggnog Pound Cake
- Lemon Cream Cheese Pound Cake
- Bourbon Pecan Pound Cake
- Million Dollar Pound Cake
- Pineapple Pound Cake
Baileys Irish Cream Cake
Ingredients
CAKE:
- 3 cups flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 cup Irish Cream Liqueur
- 1/2 cup whole milk
- 1 1/2 cups unsalted butter at room temperature
- 2 cups brown sugar firmly packed
- 1 cup sugar
- 5 eggs large
GLAZE:
- 2 cups powdered sugar
- 3 tablespoons Irish Cream Liqueur
- 3 tablespoons water plus more as needed
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 325°F Prepare 12 cup Bundt pan by spraying with nonstick baking spray.
- Combine flour (3 cups), baking powder (1 teaspoon), and salt (1/2 teaspoon) in a small bowl and set aside. In a small liquid measuring cup mix Irish Cream (1/2 cup) and milk (1/2 cup) and set aside.
- In a large bowl, using a hand-held electric mixer beat butter (1 1/2 cups) and sugars (2 cups brown sugar + 1 cup) at medium speed until fluffy about 6 minutes. Add the eggs (5), one at a time, and beat well to incorporate after each addition.
- To the butter mixture, gradually add half the flour mixture then half the milk mixture. Repeat with remaining flour then milk and mix until incorporated.
- Pour batter into prepared pan then smooth batter evenly. Bake in preheated oven 1 hour and 15 to 20 minutes or until a wooden skewer inserted into the center comes with a few moist crumbs.
- Allow cake to cool in pan 15 minutes. Remove cake from pan to a plate or serving dish and cool completely.
- Meanwhile, make the glaze by combining sugar (2 cups), Irish Cream (3 tablespoons), and 3 tablespoons of water, adding more water as needed, 1 tablespoon at a time, until smooth. Drizzle cooled cake with glaze
Fans Also Made:
Notes
- Glaze: The glaze is a little gray in color. It's not a huge deal but I just want you to be forewarned. I believe the color is caused by the color of the Irish Cream. The flavor of the glaze made it absolutely worth adding!!!
- Size: I use a 12-cup Bundt pan for this recipe.
- Room Temperature: Start with room temperature ingredients. This will ensure everything mixes properly and you will get the maximum volume from the ingredients.
- Over Beating: This may sound strange after you read the recipe and see that the first thing you do is beat the butter for 6 minutes! After the eggs are added you need to beat the eggs just to incorporate them. Do NOT over beat your eggs! Add your eggs and mix until the yolk disappears.
- Baking: It’s very easy to over-bake a pound cake. I like to bake it until a skewer inserted into the center of the cake comes out with a few moist crumbs.
- Cake Release: I use Baker Joy non-stick spray. This cake always releases from the pan perfectly for me with this spray. I spray the pan heavily after I make the batter, just before I pour it into the pan. That way the spray doesn’t have time to slide down the pan. That said, I've just had a reader say that she had problems with the cake release. It's not clear to me if, indeed, she used a specific baking spray nonstick or a regular nonstick spray. There's actually a huge difference in how the cake will release. She suggested greasing and flouring the bundt pan. Frankly, I'll leave it up to you. I haven't found that that method works as well as the specific baking spray nonstick. I'd love to hear from you about what's working best for you!!! ♥
Nutrition
Reader Interactions
Comments
Trackbacks
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[…] to the batter and you can’t go wrong. A cake that will make you cry it is so good is this Baileys Irish Cream cake. Strap in for some […]
Suzanne says
This looks so good! What a versatile cake recipe too! I bet that goes good with a lot of stuff!
Kathleen says
Thank you, Suzanne! 😀
Bre says
Hi Kathleen, what type of flour?
Kathleen says
Hi Bre, all-purpose 🙂
Tam says
Can I bake it in a 9inx4in circle pan ?
Kathleen says
Hi, Tam! A 9×4 inch pan can accommodate 6 cups or more, so a pair of these should work just fine. Happy baking!
Mellissa TAYLOR says
Can you replace the milk with Irish cream coffee creamer? I made according to the receipe and it’s barely detectable.
Kathleen says
Hi, Mellissa, I haven’t tried it. Let us know how it turns out! <3
Belinda says
So moist and delicious! Perfect!
Kathleen says
I’m so happy you enjoyed, Belinda <3
sHARON says
Made this for new year. It was absolutely lovely! Made it at 9am, served at 12.30pm, all eaten up by 1pm! Very soft, buttery and sweet. The Baileys flavour was very mild.
Kathleen says
Hi, Sharon! It was gone that fast? That’s great news! Thank you 🙂
Nicole says
Can this be made in two 9 inch pans? I don’t have a bundt pan yet but want to make this cake!
Kathleen Smith says
Hi Nicole. I haven’t tried it yet, but the volume of a 9 X 1.5 inch pan is 6 cups, so 2- 9 inch diameter pans should work just fine.
Gigi says
Hiya!
Can I make this in two 8 inch tins instead?
Kathleen Smith says
Hi Gigi. An 8 1/2 X 4 1/4 X 3 inch pan accommodates 5 cups so, no. Sorry!
Valeria says
great recipe!
I used generic brand Irish cream and it came out perfect.
i cut the amount of White sugar only by about half because it comes out a bit too sweet for my tasting.
Lastly, I added 2 Tsp of baking powder (recipe says 1Tsp). It reduced backing time by half while the cake still came out moist and fluffy.
Kathleen says
Hi Valeria Thanks for sharing all your tips. I’m so glad you liked the cake!
alex says
Okay….so I like I like Kerrygolds Irish butter and when I came across this recipe I thought what if i used that brand of butter instead of the traditional margarine or other brands of butter. The recipe calls for 1 1/2 cups of cutter. Kerrygolds sells in 8oz blocks. I used 2 blocks which equals about 2 cups of butter. Yikes, right? NOPE! Everything else I kept the same. I followed the recipe to the T. There was a lot of batter and it was thick yet “airy” and creamy/smooth.
I poured most of the batter into the bundt pan and the rest I put in a regular cake pan. I baked at 300. The small batter baked quickly and I took it out. I let it cool and cut a piece. LET ME TELL YOU! Delicious, BUTTERY, soft, moist, and awesome! I couldn’t believe it. I took the other one out and it came out of the pan clean and evenly baked. My opinion was that the Kerrygolds butter really made the cake! I’m taking it in to work! Kerrygolds is an Irish butter.
Kathleen says
Wow Alex your cake sounds amazing. I don’t bake often with European butters which is, I know, CRAZY! Thanks for sharing your results and experience here. I can’t wait to try this cake with the Kerry Gold!
Georgie says
Hi Kathleen….I am planning a St. Patty’s Day dinner in a few weeks. A couple questions I do have is: Can I make this cake a head of time & does it need to be refrigerated?
Thank you,
Georgie
Kathleen says
Hey Georgie. Yes you can make it ahead of time. I would refrigerate it so it doesn’t dry out.
Debbie says
This recipe sounds great but the picture is missing!
Kathleen says
Hi Debbie! I just checked the post and the picture is still up on the post. Not sure what happened.
SUSAN says
Yes the first picture shows a layer cake w/ frosting, on recipe page it shows Bundt cake w/ glaze? What happened to the layer cake recipe? Frosting?
Kathleen says
Hi Susan. I can’t find where you are seeing a layer cake for this recipe. I want to fix it! My recipe for Bailey’s Irish Cream Cake is a bundt cake <3
Susan says
When it came up on Pinterest the picture is a layer cake but when I opened it, it was a Bundt cake . I’m going to make this for St Patrick’s day!
sue/the view from great island says
Perfection! A little Bailys makes everything better 😉