Chocolate Baileys cake
Ingredients
250g good quality white chocolate, finely chopped
200g unsalted butter, diced
150ml whole milk
50ml Baileys Original Irish Cream (or another Irish cream liqueur)
220g caster sugar
1½ tsp vanilla bean paste
3 medium free-range eggs, lightly beaten
300g plain flour
2 tsp baking powder
½ tsp grated nutmeg
Gold leaf, white, milk and dark chocolate Lindor balls and edible gold pearls to decorate (optional)
For the ganache
- 400g good quality milk chocolate, finely chopped
- 200ml double cream
- 4 tbsp Baileys Original Irish Cream (or another Irish cream liqueur)
For the mascarpone buttercream
- 370g unsalted butter, cut into 2cm cubes, at room temperature
- 500g icing sugar, sifted
- 500g mascarpone, at room temperature
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 3 tbsp espresso powder, dissolved in 1½ tbsp boiling water, cooled
You’ll also need
- 2 x 20cm round cake tins, greased with butter and lined
Method
- Heat the oven to 160°C fan/gas 4. For the cake, put the white chocolate, butter, milk and Baileys in a pan and warm over a medium heat, stirring until melted and smooth. Add the sugar, vanilla and a pinch of salt. Use a balloon whisk to combine, then pour into a large mixing bowl and set aside to cool.
Add the eggs to the cooled chocolate mixture, then whisk until combined. Sift in the flour, baking powder and nutmeg, then stir until just combined. Divide the batter evenly between the prepared cake tins, then bake for 30-40 minutes until well risen, golden and a skewer pushed into the middle comes out clean. Cool the cakes in the tins for 10 minutes, then turn out onto a cooling rack and cool completely.
