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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!
Please can I double this rd Ope for a 12 inch round cake pan?
I haven’t tried it but I think that should be fine.
Omg i made this the other day and YUMMM. The cake was so moist and the whole thing was amazing. Didn’t have one complaint from any family member. It barely lasted one day. I will 100% be making this again.
Made the Baileys Chocolate Poke Cake to take to a dance. It was “to die for” and disappeared almost as fast as I put it on the table. Big Hit!
Super tasty recipe, my mums favourite, I have made this for her several times and it also froze well too! I don’t like baileys as a drink but love the cake! I’ve even made it into a celebration cake for mother’s day x
So glad you’ve enjoyed it!
Made it for a Bailey’s lover birthday cake. Not a crumb left afterwards!
Can this recipe be made into cupcakes?
I haven’t done a poke cake as cupcakes, but it might be ok. Just depends on how much moisture you add to each one and if they’ll hold up well.
The best cake ever!!!
Can you freeze this though as I have quite a bit left
To follow up about my question re the bundt pan, it turned out FANTASTIC. I wish I could share pictures. The pan also had a beautiful design, and the cake came out perfect. I did make 2X the recipe, and had a second, smaller rectangle pan to take the extra batter.
I’m so glad to hear it turned out well!
Hi!
I am planned to make this cake for my birthday next week !
I am really excited to bake it, but I got a question…
Can I swap sugar for coconut sugar?
I haven’t tried it to be able to say, but it seems like it’d be fine.
Hi There,
This is the 2nd time i am making this and its a hit with my family. I love the taste of the chocolate and Baileys richness.
I added some coffee powder to the hot water and it taste amazing.
Thank you for sharing this recipe.
Hi Lindsay,
For years I have been baking cakes but something or the other always used to go wrong. It took me time to figure out the mistakes I’ve been making and I’m still learning. I baked your Baileys chocolate poke cake this Easter and it was perfect. My whole family loved it. I’ve been trying your receipes ever since and they’ve all turned out to be great. Thank you very much for your recipes and for explaining everything in such detail. The alternatives you provide are very helpful. The measurements written in cups is what I love because it’s so handy and since you use a hand mixer for mixing the ingredients I feel more confident trying out your recipes since I use the same.
Thank you😊
I’m so glad to hear that you’ve enjoyed everything!
Hi! I am learning to cook and bake and I made this cake a few weeks ago and it was awesome! My parents loved it. I took a slice of it to my boss who shared it with his wife, and later that night I got a text from him asking me to make a whole cake for him and his family. I told my parents about it and they said “Well…since you are making him one, make us another one.” So this is definitely a great cake and a really big hit!
The only thing I have noticed is that, when baking it at 300 degrees, it takes 55 minutes to bake. Not complaining though. It’s the only adjustment I have had to make on the recipe and its such a small adjustment, it’s not that big of a deal for me.
Thank you again for sharing this awesome recipe!
I’m so glad it’s been a hit!
Hi again! This is still one of my favorite things to make and it’s always a big hit.
I started wondering the other day if it would be possible to use this recipe to make a tequila rose strawberry poke cake. You could swap out the baileys for tequila rose and use white chocolate chips instead of regular chocolate chips and omitting the cocoa powder.
I am just not sure what I would use in place of the cocoa powder…like a strawberry milk powder mix?…for the whipped topping and the cake base.
Any ideas or suggestions?
For a vanilla version of this chocolate cake that you can add flavor to, I’d recommend this coconut poke cake. Just swap out the coconut extract for vanilla extract. You could swap out some of the water for tequila. You could try strawberry jello (just the dry mix) in the cake batter, or add it to the sweetened condensed milk. I’d leave out the cream of coconut that’s mixed with the sweetened condensed milk and just use a full can of sweetened condensed milk (or the white chocolate chips, like you mention). I can say for sure that it’ll all turn out well, but given what you mention, that’s probably what I’d try first. I hope that helps!
Could this be made Glutein free. With alternative flour. Has anyone tried this? Looks delish!
Hi, I baked this once and it turned out amazingly well. Now I have forgotten at what point the cake needs to be taken out of the pan. Help!!
There’s no need to remove the cake from the pan.
Why is the cake being baked at 300 degrees?
Delicious! Easy to follow recipe (thanks for the warning with the hot water). BUT – next time please omit the nutrition information! This is over the top yummy chocolate cake and sometimes we just don’t need to know the calorie count. 🙂