Whether or not you’ve tried the original Best Butter Cake, you MUST try this Bailey’s version! Perfect for St. Patrick’s Day, or anytime you want a delectable cake!
Okay, so I may be a little ahead of myself, already posting a St. Patty’s Day recipe and all. But before you light your pitchforks, hear me out!
Writing these posts requires them to gain proper momentum in the internet world. Meaning, I basically have to make Christmas cookies before Halloween in order for anyone to notice or care by the time Christmas baking comes around. Capiche?
And also? I could not wait to share this cake with you!
This Bailey’s Kentucky Butter Cake is positively divine. It’s a homemade, from-scratch vanilla cake flavored with Bailey’s and LOTS of butter! After baking, the real magic happens: you pour on a homemade Bailey’s butter sauce and let it soak into the cake overnight. Lemme tell you, crazy wizardry basically happens and you’re left with this thick layer of solid gold. And everything’s made with Bailey’s, so of course it’s delicious.
Now – you can also make this completely non-alcoholic if you’re worried about that. Simply use Irish Creme coffee creamer throughout the whole recipe and you’ve got yourself a virgin cake! I really like International Delight’s Irish Creme Cafe creamer – not sponsored, but it’s my fave!
And one quick tip before we get to business: Make sure to THOROUGHLY grease your pan. Like, a lot a lot. Like, slather that sucker with shortening and dust it with flour until you can’t see the metal beneath anymore. #trust – this cake is a sucker to get out, but I promise that even if it comes out in pieces, it’s SO worth every bite!
Now who’s gonna make me another cake?
*adapted from my Butter Cake recipe
Bailey's Kentucky Butter Cake
Ingredients
- FOR THE CAKE:
- 3 cups all-purpose flour
- 2 cups granulated sugar
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 1/2 tsp cream of tartar
- 3/4 cup Irish Creme coffee creamer
- 1/4 cup Bailey's Irish Liqueur
- 1 cup (2 sticks butter) softened
- 1 Tbsp vanilla extract
- 1 tsp butter extract
- 4 eggs
- FOR THE BUTTER SAUCE:
- 3/4 cup granulated sugar
- 1/3 cup butter
- 3 Tbsp Bailey's or to make it non-alcoholic, use the coffee creamer
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 325 degrees F. Liberally grease and flour a 10 cup Bundt pan. I recommend using a generous layer of shortening and dust it lightly with flour. You really want this well greased!
- Sift together the flour, sugar, salt, baking powder, baking soda, and cream of tartar. Meanwhile, combine the Irish creme coffee creamer and the Bailey's.
- Cream the butter in a large bowl with an electric mixer until smooth, about 1 minute. Beat in the vanilla and butter extracts, followed by the eggs, one at a time. Add 1/3 of the flour/sugar mixture, beating on low speed. Add in 1/3 of the Bailey's mixture, beating well to incorporate. Repeat with the flour mixture, followed by the Bailey's mixture, until a thick batter forms.
- Pour the batter into the prepared pan and smooth out the top. Bake for approx. 50-60 minutes or until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean or with moist crumbs. Cool for about 15 minutes, then poke holes all over the cake using a skewer or cake tester.
- In a small saucepan, combine the sauce ingredients and stir lightly over low heat until bubbly and melted. Pour the butter sauce evenly over the top of the cake, allowing the sauce to seep into the holes of the cake. Cool completely. Using a butter knife, gently run the knife around the edge of the pan to release the cake. Dust with powdered sugar.
This cake is moist, tender and fluffy and flavored deliciously with that distinctive Irish liqueur flavor! Perfect for St. Patty’s Day, or anytime you have a serious cake craving!
Have a super sweet day!
xo, Hayley
cakeSpy says
You know, I’ve never made KY butter cake, bailey’s or no? This looks absolutely perfect.
thedomesticrebel says
Time to change that, girl! This cake is the real deal!
Tracy Grindle says
I’m making this for my mother’s birthday tomorrow! She is going to love it! I tasted the batter omg that is gonna be a good cake! I only had salted caramel Bailey’s…. thinking on making a salted caramel sauce to put on it….
fara says
could i remove the liqueur from recipe ?
what should i do?
i couldn’t use any alcohol beer liqueur…
thedomesticrebel says
You can try replacing it with milk, but I think you’d have better luck with my Best Butter Cake recipe since this one gets its flavor from the Bailey’s.
Annie says
You can use the Irish creamer, and just add some Rhum extract to give that Baileys flavor smell
Jean Cassidy says
QUESTION… If I am using a very detailed bundt pan with lots of nooks and crannies, am I shooting myself in the foot to get that cake out in one piece? It terrifies me! LOL
thedomesticrebel says
Hi Jean, that may be a problem! This cake tends to stick a little so I would recommend a classic, simple Bundt pan for this unless you really grease the living daylights out of it! I like to grease Bundt pans with LOTS of shortening and flour. Rub the shortening liberally over the nooks and crannies, then add in some flour and tap the flour around to coat. Tap out any excess flour, then add your batter.