Inspired by Say Nothing by Patrick Radden Keefe
This recipe was inspired by ‘Say Nothing: A True Story of Murder and Memory in Northern Ireland’ by Patrick Radden Keefe. I read this book in 2019 and it instantly became a favorite of mine. I have recommended this book so many times to friends and strangers. Although it is about a very heavy topic, Keefe finds a way to suck you into the narrative and numerous stories that make you stay up late until you finish it. I strongly recommend you seek this book out! While there is no book review for this book yet, I still hope you enjoy the recipe!
This recipe is adapted from Little Sugar Snaps’ Bailey’s Irish Coffee Cake recipe, I used their base cake recipe as I was looking for a coffee-infused cake recipe without using Guinness or chocolate in it. Their recipe calls for instant coffee granules, which pack an intense coffee punch to the cake, while I used espresso shots as I had those available to make at home. The chocolate I wanted to save to make an Irish whiskey ganache with, which is extremely decadent and rich. The ganache recipe makes a good amount, so don’t double it even if you think you may do a two tier layer cake (using the ganache in the middle). The buttercream also makes a large amount, most likely enough to cover a two tiered cake.
Although my cake cutting skills are not to be admired by anyone as seen in the photo above, the cake’s flavor is divine. The buttercream’s sweetness paired along with the rich ganache both balance out the espresso-laden cake. I will totally admit to tasting the cake batter prior to popping it in the oven and it reminded me of a scoop of coffee ice cream. It was so good!
To pack a heftier coffee punch, I do recommend following Little Sugar Snaps’ advice of using instant coffee versus espresso shots, as the coffee flavor got a bit lost with the whiskey ganache and Bailey’s buttercream. In the future I would use the instant coffee, or in a pinch substitute in ground espresso along with the espresso shots. I also will be trying this recipe out as a two layered cake with the ganache in the middle and the Bailey’s buttercream on the top and exterior. I think having those two intense flavors separated out by the cake would help highlight their unique profiles a bit more.
If you try this recipe out, I’d love to see what you make! Please tag me on Instagram @thebooktendercafe
Irish Coffee-Inspired Cake with Bailey's Buttercream and Irish Whiskey Ganache
This Irish-coffee inspired cake features decadent Teeling whiskey-infused chocolate ganache, rich Bailey's buttercream &cream cheese frosting, all on top of an espresso cake. If you want to make this a two-tiered layer cake, you could double the cake recipe and put the ganache in the middle of the two layers. Adapted from Little Sugar Snaps' recipe.
Ingredients
Cake (For a one-tiered cake, if making two-tiered double the cake ingredients)
- 50ml/g water, boiled
- 2 espresso shots, or 4 Tbsp instant coffee granules (see Notes before making)
- 125g butter, softened (about 1 stick of butter plus an additional 1-2 tbsp/pats)
- 170g light muscovado sugar (I used brown sugar)
- 2 large eggs, room temperature (See Notes)
- 180g all-purpose flour
- 1.5 tsp baking powder (make sure it is fresh)
- 60 ml sour cream ( I found this is approximately 1/4 cup)
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- 1/2 tsp Bailey's Irish Cream liquer
Teeling Irish Whiskey Chocolate Ganache
- 2 cups semisweet chocolate chips
- 2/3 cup heavy cream
- 2 Tbsp butter
- 4-6 tsp Irish whiskey (I used Teeling, but Jameson would also work)
Bailey's Buttercream
- 4 cups powdered sugar
- 1/2cup butter (1 stick)
- 8oz cream cheese, softened
- 4 Tbsp Bailey's Irish Cream liquer
Equipment
- Deep 7" cake pan (See Notes)
- Parchment paper, or parchment cake rounds
- Fine meshed sieve
- Stand mixer or electric handheld mixer
- Small saucepan
- Offset spatula, for frosting (optional)
Instructions
Cake:
- Review the Notes below before starting this recipe
- Take out butter, eggs, and cream cheese to allow them to soften at room temperature
- Preheat your oven to 350°F
- Prepare your cake pan by rubbing some butter onto the bottom and walls of the pan, then placing the parchment in the cake pan
- Cream the butter and brown sugar together until light and fluffy, using your stand mixer. Add the eggs one at a time to the butter mixture, making sure each egg is well incorporated before adding the next in
- Add in the sour cream, vanilla, and coffee (See Notes!)
- If you are using the instant coffee granules: Boil the water, remove from heat, and let stand for about 5 minutes. Using about 40 ml/40g of the water, disslve the instant coffee granules into a cup or bowl. Stir for about 1-2 minutes until fully dissolved
- Using a fine meshed sieve over your mixing bowl, fold in the baking powder and flour to the mixture. Lightly fold in the dry ingredients just until there are no flour streaks visible
- Pour the batter into your prepared cake pan. Spread it out evenly, bake for about 35 minutes or until a knife comes out clean when you poke the center
- Let the cake cool on a cooling rack in the pan until completely cooled, roughly 30 minutes
Irish Whiskey Ganache:
- In a small saucepan, melt the butter, chocolate, and cream over low heat. Stir constantly until the mixture is smooth and thoroughly combined
- Remove from heat, mix in the Irish whiskey
- Let cool before using
Bailey's Buttercream:
- In your stand mixer, beat the butter until smooth
- Using a fine-meshed sieve over the mixing bowl, add in one cup of powdered sugar at a time to the butter. Repeat until all powdered sugar has been added to the mixture
- Cut up the cream cheese block into 4-5 pieces, then add one piece at a time to the butter mixture until incorporated before adding the next cream cheese piece
- Add in the Bailey's, beating until the frosting is smooth
Assembly:
- If doing a single layer cake: Place the cake layer on your serving tray or platter. If the cake top is not level (i.e. the middle is higher than the rest), cut off the higher parts so the top of the cake is even. Then, spread on a thick layer of the ganache. Then, carefully spread on the buttercream, trying to not smear the ganache. I also spread the frosting on the outside edges of the cake.
- If doing a two-layered cake: I would recommend having a base cake layer, then spreading the ganache on top of the base layer, then adding the second cake layer, then adding the buttercream to the top and all sides. I made a 'normal' batch (not doubling) of the ganache and buttercream and feel there is ample amounts to do a two tiered cake, so you would only need to double the cake ingredients and not the buttercream or ganache.
Notes
For the cake pan: I used an 8" deep cake pan, whereas Little Sugar Snaps' original recipe used a 7" 'loose bottomed' which I believe is a springform pan. I recommend the 7" if you have it, but the 8" worked fine for me albeit the cake was more shallow than it should have been.
For espresso: don't make the shots until right before you mix them into the batter for the cake. There's various anecdotes and research on if shots go "bad", but my own anecdote is that the shots should be a bit warm going into the cake and I also think fresh espresso is better than not-as-fresh espresso.
I am not a pro cake baker by any means, but my research from looking up baking tips led me to believe eggs and butter should be room temp when making a cake.