The Cake That Didn't Last

I made this oh-so-good, aromatic, dense, tender, sweet, but not too sweet, pretty petal cake for Rach's March Baking Challenge. Ingrid, I can not stress enough how good this cake is. Seriously. And it doesn't contain any chocolate, that's a bonus for you! But the cappuccino chips could easily be subbed with chocolate chips.

I wanted to make something that related to St. Patrick's Day, but I didn't want it to be so cliche. Not that there's anything wrong with green frosted, leprechaun topped cupcakes because they're fun, it's just not my baking style. I like to focus on flavors rather than decoration. So I turned to my favorite flavors, coffee, cake, and Irish cream. Who am I kidding? Irish Cream is so cliche. Whatev.

Back to the cake. It was consumed in one afternoon. I'm not even kidding. I only baked one layer cake for this because I assumed it would just be the two of us, but then my mom, brother, and cousin came over. We all had a slice. Some of us, two. I was sad when it was all gone. Make this, but don't share. Keep it your little secret :-)

Bailey's Cappuccino Chip Cake

loosely adapted from Baking Bites

For the Cake:

• 2/3 cup all purpose flour
• 1/4 tsp. baking powder
• 1/8 tsp. baking soda
• 1/8 tsp. salt
• 3 Tbsp. unsalted butter, softened
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1 large egg
• 1/2 tsp. vanilla
• 1/4 cup Bailey's Irish Cream
• 1/8 cup milk
• 1/3 cup Guittard Cappuccino Chips

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Spray 8-inch pan with non-stick spray and set aside.

In a small bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. In a large bowl, cream together butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in egg, followed by vanilla extract. Mix in half of the flour mixture, followed by the Irish cream and milk. Then mix the cappuccino chips into the remaining flour mixture and mix til well blended. Pour batter into prepared pan.

Bake for approximately 24 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool in pan on a wire rack until completely cool. Turn out cooled cake onto a platter and pour glaze over cake.

For the Glaze:

• 2 Tbsp. butter, softened
• 3/4 cup powdered sugar
• 1 Tbsp. Bailey's Irish Cream
• 1 tsp. milk or half-n-half, or more if needed
• 1/4 cup Guittard Cappuccino Chips (optional)

Add all the ingredients in a small bowl except the cappuccino chips and mix until smooth and pourable. Add more milk a half teaspoon at a time if needed. Top the cake with Cappuccino chips before the glaze sets up.

The inspiration and full recipe for Bailey's Mint Chocolate Chip Cupcakes can be found here.

I can't wait to see what the theme for April is! You should join too!