This rich chocolate cake is kicked up a notch with the delicious flavor of Baileys Irish Cream.
Nordic Ware sent me this Pine Forest Bundt pan to try out, but have not compensated me monetarily for this recipe. All opinions are my own.
Holiday baking season is in full swing, and I have been loving every minute of it. I mentioned a couple of weeks ago how I missed out on most of last year’s Holiday season, so I’m sparing no expense this year. I kicked it off a with these Snow Capped Gingersnaps and am continuing the festivities with this Baileys Hot Chocolate Bundt Cake!
This month’s #BundtBakers theme — Hot Chocolate — comes to us from the lovely Tara over at Noshing with the Nolands.
It didn’t take me a long time to decide that I wanted to do another Baileys dessert. Baileys is a staple around our place most of the year, especially during the Christmas season, and it’s a perfect pairing for hot chocolate on those cold winter nights. The flavor goes so well with anything chocolate!
Holiday recipes also mean holiday bakeware! If you’ve been following my blog for any period of time, you know I have a minor Bundt addiction. So I was super excited when the wonderful folks over at Nordic Ware sent me this Pine Forest Bundt to test out for the holiday season.
I have an ever-growing Nordic Ware Bundt pan collection (they are the BEST) and I’ve just added another one to my Christmas wish list. Not only are the styles and shapes unique and stunning, the quality is unbeatable. I never have to worry about my cake sticking to the pans. It never does. Ever! And cleanup is a breeze, even in the most intricately detailed Bundt pans like this one. If you’re looking to jazz up your holiday table, this Pine Forest Bundt pan is the perfect addition.
One important note about this pan is that it has a lot of little crevices (which is part of what makes it so pretty). The batter for this Bundt recipe is quite thick and I took extra care to nudge it into every nook and cranny. Still though, I had some minor holes in the tops of some of the trees. If your batter is thinner, you likely won’t have this issue, but I recommend pouring a bit of batter in first and nudging it around with a spatula. Once you’ve done that, fill the pan with the rest of the batter and give it a good whack against the counter to get rid of any extra air pockets (I do this will all my Bundts).
This Baileys Hot Chocolate Bundt cake recipe is simple and delicious. There’s a generous amount of Baileys in the batter and you can really taste the flavor in every bite. The cake is dense and moist, like every good Bundt cake should be!
I kept the decoration of this Bundt simple, with just a dusting of powdered sugar to show off the details of the pretty Bundt pan. If you’d like a bit more sweetness you can pair it with some marshmallow fluff or a simple glaze made of powdered sugar and Baileys (or milk).
Baileys Hot Chocolate Bundt Cake
Ingredients
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1/2 cup Dutch-processed cocoa powder
- 3/4 tsp baking soda
- 3/4 tsp salt
- 1/3 cup Baileys Irish Cream
- 1 cup sour cream
- 1 cup unsalted butter 2 sticks
- 1 1/2 cup granulated sugar
- 3 large eggs
- 1 tsp vanilla
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350F. Grease a 9-cup bundt pan.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.
- Place butter and sugar into the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Beat on med-high until light and fluffy (approx. 3mins).
- Add eggs one at a time, fully incorporating after each addition. Add vanilla.
- Reduce speed to low. Alternate adding flour mixture with Baileys and sour cream (3 additions of flour and 2 each of Baileys and sour cream). Beat until just combined.
- Spread the batter evenly in the bundt pan.*
- Bake for approx. 45-50mins or until a cake tester comes out clean.
- Cool in bundt pan for 10mins. Whack bundt pan on the counter to loosen cake and turn out onto cooling rack to cool completely.
Abigail says
This was soooo good. I bought the pan, just so I could make this cute cake! The Bailey’s taste is immediately there. My whole family went bananas over this!
Olivia says
Hi Abigail! So happy you all loved it!
CaitJ says
I could eat the batter alone ! So so yummy
Olivia says
Thanks so much Cait!
Pearse says
For someone who doesn’t care for Bailey’s can anything be substituted?
Or even any other flavored cake like citrus or such you have tried?
TIA
Olivia says
Hi Pearse! You can replace the Baileys with any other liqueur or liquid.
Nicole says
Wat een mooie cake. Die ga ik zeker proberen, moet lekker zijn. Ik heb wel nordic ware vormen, doch deze niet en zal ik me ook aanschaffen. Ik heb de vorm met 2 kleine kersthuisjes aan elkaar. Waarschijnlijk zal daar maar half zoveel deeg in passen. Hoe lang zou ik die bakken ? Wat denk je, zou het goed zijn op 30 minuten ? Dank voor het recept.
Olivia says
Hi Nicole! It depends how big they are — do you know the volume the pan holds in cups? I think if they are smaller it might be 25-30mins, but it’s always best to look in on them to see how they’re doing 🙂
Benita says
I love the combination of chocolate and orange (must be all those Terry’s Chocolate Oranges from when I was a kid)… would this cake work if I replaced the Baileys with the same amount of Grand Marnier?
Olivia says
Hi Benita! Yes, I think it would work great! Love that combo too 🙂
Dayla Rainwater says
I just ordered the Nordic Ware STAR Bundt pan just to make this cake! I cannot wait to get it & bake your delicious sounding cake! Your cakes are stunning and I am excited to try this recipe! I will post my picture once I make it!
Olivia says
Thanks so much Dayla! I can’t wait to hear how you like it 🙂
Robin says
Hi Olivia.I made this cake yesterday for a party last night. While it had great flavor, it was a little dry. Any idea what could have gone wrong? I’d appreciate some suggestions.
Olivia says
Hi Robin! Is there a chance it was overbaked? Bundt cakes are typically more on the dense side, but it should not be dry.
B Haracz says
Would you say this cake could be made a day ahead of time? If so how would you store it? Thank you!
Olivia says
Hi B! For sure, I would just keep it at room temperature covered in some way. I would dust with powdered sugar before serving as it has a tendency to dissolve into the cake.
Ally says
Hey! Are you able to taste the Baileys? Trying to decide if I should double the amount of Baileys in the recipe. If so, do you think that would work?
Olivia says
Hi Ally! You could totally double the Baileys if you like, but if you do, I would add 1/3 less sour cream so that the “liquid” amount stays the same. You could also do a glaze with powdered sugar and Baileys instead of the powdered sugar dusting I did.
Jocyl says
This was sooo good! I have never attempted in baking a cake aside from boxed cake. Home made cakes and frosting always seemed overwhelming to try. But I am so glad I tried your recipe. I feel a little more confident now.
Question, if I were to make this in 2- 6 cup bundt molds, would I keep the same timing or increase it since there will be 2 in the oven? Or is it best if I bake them individually? Also, any suggestions in how to achieve a lesser dense cake? I like cakes that are a little more moist. Thank you!
Olivia says
Hi Jocyl! So glad you broke your box cake habit with this cake! I hope you try more recipes now 😀 I would bake them at the same time but it might actually take less time since there is less batter in each. Bundt cakes are usually more on the dense side. If you’d like something lighter, take a look at any of my layer cake recipes. Most of those will work in a Bundt pan too.
Heidi says
I’ve made this cake before and love it! Would Kahlua work instead of the Baileys?
Olivia says
Hi Heidi! Kahlua would work just fine 🙂
Heidi says
Awesome, thank you!
Diana says
I am completely in love with this recipe… one question, I cannot for the life of me find dutch processed cocoa powder in any store near me, can I use regular unsweetened cocoa powder? Thanks!
Olivia says
Hi Diana! Regular cocoa powder should work fine!
Diana says
Thank you so much!
Nancy says
The olnly place I ever find it is at Walmart. Hershey’s Dutch Chocolate powder, right next to the regular. Good Luck.
Nancy says
I own 2 of these wonderful pans….would these cakes freeze well? I could get a good jump on holiday baking.
Olivia says
Hi Nancy! For sure, it should freeze fine! Just make sure it’s wrapped really well in something airtight. It should last at least 4 weeks if stored properly. I would dust with powdered sugar after thawing.
Edith Westbrook says
Hi Olive,
I baked the cake in my new bundt pan. So beautiful and the best chocolate cake I have ever eaten. Ah, I cannot say enough about the taste of this cake. This is the only recipe I will ever use now. My Christmas dessert will be ever so beautiful, tasty and I am keeping the pan and recipe a surprise until Christmas day. Thank you so very much for this recipe.
Happy Christmas everyone.
Olivia says
I’m so glad you like it,Edith! That Bundt pan is so pretty right? I am sure it will “wow” everyone on Christmas Day. Let me know how it goes! 🙂 Merry Christmas!
Edith Westbrook says
Hi, My Nordic forest bundt pan just arrived Friday and I will be baking the Bailey’s chocolate cake next week as a test run. Will bake it for Christmas also. In our family we always have Christ’s birthday cake and this will be beautiful. Thank you for the recipe.
Olivia says
Hi Edith! I’m so happy you will be trying this! That Bundt pan is so stunning just on it’s own. What a wonderful cake to use as Christ’s birthday cake for your celebration :).