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This Baileys Chocolate Poke Cake uses my best chocolate cake recipe as a base and is topped with Baileys whipped cream! The chocolate cake is soaked in even more chocolate and Baileys Irish Cream. You won’t be able to stop eating this one!
Baileys Chocolate Poke Cake
This is a cake that I will definitely need to make again. As with everything else you are seeing pop up on the blog since the twins were born, this recipe was created while I was pregnant. While I did take a little taste (naturally, I have to know just how good it is), because of the alcohol I wasn’t able to indulge as I would’ve liked. And believe me, I really wanted to indulge!
Not only is this cake full of chocolate, it’s full of one of my other favorite things – Baileys! You may have noticed that I’ve shared quite a few Baileys desserts over the years like this Baileys chocolate mousse cake, caramel Baileys pound cake, Baileys chocolate cupcakes, Baileys fudge brownies, cake and mini Baileys chocolate cheesecakes. It’s a love affair, I must say. So to not be able to eat even one full piece was a bummer because it’s SO SO good! Not only is there Baileys baked into the cake, it’s also soaked with more Baileys and then topped with it. Go big or go home, right? 😉
How to Make Chocolate Poke Cake
So to make this cake, you start with a chocolate cake from scratch. I used my very favorite chocolate cake, modified to include Baileys. If you’ve ever had that chocolate cake, you know how amazing and moist it is. If you haven’t made it, don’t be alarmed by the thin batter and lower baking temperature. It’s all normal and makes one amazing cake.
Once the cake is baked, it’s poked with holes (hence a “poke” cake) and covered with a mixture of melted chocolate, Baileys and sweetened condensed milk. Are you drooling yet?!
The mixture should soak into the holes of the cake, but be sure that the cake is still warm and that the Baileys and chocolate mixture is still warm. The mixture will thicken as it cools, making it harder to soak into the holes. I also would recommend Eagle Brand sweetened condensed milk in this cake. I’ve tried a few others and some are thicker than others. Eagle Brand is thinner, which is ideal for soaking into the cake. If you use another brand or have trouble, just add some additional milk (or Baileys) to thin it out a bit. You may still have a thin layer of the mixture on top of the cake, but that’s fine.
The final step is the delicious Baileys chocolate whipped cream. With such a rich cake, the light whipped cream topping is the perfect way to finish it off! The whole combination is pure heaven and a cake I’ll definitely be making again and again – when I can drink alcohol again. 🙂
Watch How To Make It
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Baileys Chocolate Poke Cake
- Prep Time: 30 minutes
- Cook Time: 45 minutes
- Total Time: 1 hour 15 minutes
- Yield: 12-15 Slices
- Category: Dessert
- Method: Oven
- Cuisine: American
Description
This Baileys Chocolate Poke Cake uses my best chocolate cake recipe as a base and is topped with Baileys whipped cream! The chocolate cake is soaked in even more chocolate and Baileys Irish Cream. You won’t be able to stop eating this one!
Ingredients
BAILEYS CHOCOLATE CAKE
- 2 cups (260g) all purpose flour
- 2 cups (414g) sugar
- 3/4 cup (85g) natural unsweetened cocoa powder
- 2 tsp baking soda
- 1 tsp salt
- 2 large eggs
- 3/4 cup (180ml) milk
- 1 cup (240ml) vegetable oil
- 1 cup (240ml) Baileys Irish Cream, divided
- 1 tsp vanilla
- 3/4 cup (180ml) boiling water
- 1 cup (240ml) sweetened condensed milk
- 3/4 cup (127g) semi sweet chocolate chips
WHIPPED CREAM TOPPING
- 2 cups (480) heavy whipping cream, cold
- 3/4 cup (86g) powdered sugar
- 1/4 cup (29g) natural unsweetened cocoa powder
- 2 tbsp (30ml) Baileys Irish Cream, optional
- 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
ADDITIONAL
- Mini chocolate chips
- Chocolate sauce
Instructions
1. Prepare a 9×13 inch cake pan by greasing the sides. Preheat oven to 300°F (148°C).
2. Add all dry ingredients to a large bowl and combine.
3. Add eggs, milk, vegetable oil, 1/2 cup of Irish cream and vanilla to the dry ingredients and mix well.
4. Slowly pour the water into the batter, mixing well and being careful of splashing.
5. Pour the batter into the cake pan and bake for about 40-45 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out with a few crumbs.
6. Remove the cake from the oven and poke holes all over. I use a knife sharpening rod, but you could also use a straw.
7. While the cake is still warm, add the chocolate chips to a medium sized bowl. Set aside.
8. Add the sweetened condensed milk and remaining 1/2 cup of Irish cream to a microwave safe measuring cup. Heat heat the milk and cream until they begin to boil, then pour over the chocolate chips.
9. Whisk the chocolate until smooth, then immediately pour over the cake, spreading it into the holes. Don’t let the mixture sit before pouring it over the cake or it’ll start to thicken and not soak in the holes as well.
10. Set the cake in the fridge to cool and soak.
11. When the cake has cooled, add the ingredients for the whipped cream topping to a large mixer bowl. Whip on high speed until stiff peaks form.
12. Spread the whipped cream evenly over the cake. Top the cake with mini chocolate chips and a drizzle of chocolate sauce, if desired. Refrigerate until ready to serve. Cake is best if eaten within 4-5 days.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 slice
- Calories: 634
- Sugar: 54.3 g
- Sodium: 233.1 mg
- Fat: 35.5 g
- Carbohydrates: 72 g
- Protein: 8.8 g
- Cholesterol: 76.6 mg
Categories
Enjoy!
Hi, if I use dutch processed cocoa powder, would I have to change anything in the recipe?
Words to describe how delicious this cake is haven’t been invented yet!!! Wow! Wow! Wow! Extra wow if you’re a chocoholic!!!!
Lol, glad you enjoyed it!
I made this cake for my big 40s (gotta celebrate big, right?). It was a major success between everyone who had a piece. I even sent a big chunk to my friend’s mom, turned out my friend’s brother, who doesn’t care for sweet stuff, was CRAZY about it.
Need to make this baby again sometime.
What did people use to poke holes? I made this 2 years ago and LOVED IT but really struggled with poking holes. I only had a knife! I still don’t have a knife sharpender rod. Just curious about using a straw, wouldn’t the middle of the straw leave cake in the hole? Would it be too weak?
I’ve seen people use straws before. I think it actually removes the part that gets into the straw. I’ve even seen people use forks and just poke a ton of holes all over.
I use the end of a wooden spoon
A Chopstick
I cannot find powdered sugar and sweetened condensed milk, is that anything I can replace them?
Can I use the Castor Sugar or Icing Sugar to replace the powdered sugar? For the sweetened condensed milk, what can I use to replace it?
Also, for the milk, can I use Almond milk?
I hope I can make this cake for my boyfriend’s birthday and it is coming soon next week.
Thanks a lot!
Powdered sugar is the same as icing sugar, so if you have that, you’re good. There isn’t really a good replacement that I know of for sweetened condensed milk though. You could use some regular milk, but having not tried it, I can’t really say how much to use or how it’d turn out. And you should be able to use almond milk in the cake.
Hi Lindsay,
Just want to say thank you so much for the recipe!
I have successfully made the cake for my boyfriend’s birthday and he loves it a lot.
Thanks a lot!! 🙂
can this recipe be used as a cupcake as well??
Yes, my only concern would be that all the liquid you pour over it would make them hard to handle.
I used Newground Hard Cafe Latte instead of Baileys! So yummy!!! Even creamier than Baileys!
To preface this, I have severe food allergies (wheat, dairy, and eggs)
I follow you on Instagram and saw this cake and knew I had to make it!!
I followed the recipe exactly except I replaced ingredients as needed: used better batter for the flour, used vegg egg replacer for the eggs, used the new vegan Bailey’s almonde, and used sweetened condensed coconut milk as well as made some homemade coconut cream for the topping.
This is by far the best cake I have ever made. GF baking is super tough and adding in the vegan makes it even tougher! This recipe translated so well. Perfectly moist fluffy cake, soft Bailey’s ganache, and light whipped cream. Just to die for.
I wanted to thank you for this amazing recipe. It ended up being my birthday cake this week! ❤️
I’m so glad to hear it worked well for you! Thank you for sharing!
Could this poke cake be made as a layer cake rather than a 9×13? Or would it be too moist to stand as a layer cake? I’d love to be able to make it as a three 6″ layer cake.
I’ve never tried to make a cake like this is a layer cake. It would be a lot of moisture. It’s hard to say for sure if it would hold up without trying it.
Thank you so much for sharing this recipe!! I’ve made it twice with no problems. Everyone that’s tried it has loved it!! When I shared it with my co-workers, word got around so fast that it was gone in about 30 mins. I even cut the pieces small enough so that everyone would get some. It was a great idea. I had at least 15 people ask for the recipe!! This is definitely my new favorite chocolate cake. The Baileys just knocks it out of the park!!
I’m glad to hear it’s been such a hit! Thanks, April!
Oh no. I just realize I put 1 cup of baileys in my batter instead of a half.
I did the same thing it was great
This is delicious. Was a huge hit last year. Just made again and not getting done in the time on the recipe. I remember this happening last year also. Center kept being to wet. Finally took it out because I was afraid edges would get too done. When I poked the holes the center collapsed. Sure it will still be yummy but just curious if anyone else was having this problem.
I made this last year for Thanksgiving (Canadian) and it was a huge hit! So, soooooo good! It’s been requested again this year! Thank-you for sharing!
Awesome! Glad it was a hit!
This cake was delicious. But I did make adjustments with the sugar since we don’t like overly sweet cakes. For the cake, I just used 1/2 cup sugar (vs 2 cups). The whipped cream I just used 1/2 tbsp (vs 3/4 cup) of sugar. No kidding! It still turned out great. The condensed milk has really more than enough sugar already to sweeten the entire cake.
And I can confirm that 40-45 minutes at 150C works with the fan ON.
Thanks for that great suggestion on decreasing the amount of sugar as we are the same. We’re having company this weekend and had thought this cake recipe sounded very easy to make. Looking forward to trying it and especially with the decreased sugar! Happy 2020!
I had a sudden craving for Baileys cake and saw this recipe and will try this weekend. To those who have tried it without changes, how would you rate the sweetness? 2c sugar + condensed milk + powdered sugar seem awfully a lot of sugar.
Just made this as a special order for it friend. It came out perfect. I used one 8-inch pan and built up the sides with parchment paper resulting in a taller cake. The baking time was extended to about 50 minutes at 325. Will decorate tomorrow. Thank you so much.
The written instruction is wrong. The recipe calls for 3/4 cups of boiling water, but the steps says nothing about adding the boiling water. It was not until I put in the oven that I realized the steps did not say when to add the boiling water. It is only when I watched the video that I realized it is in the batter. I hope the cake is not ruined with expensive Bailey’s in it. Really ANNOYING to share wrong recipes with people.
Hi Linny, step number 4 clearly states to add the water to the batter. I’m sorry you didn’t see it.