This post may contain affiliate sales links. Please read my disclosure policy.
This Caramel Baileys Pound Cake is so good, it just about melts in your mouth. The soft, moist Baileys pound cake with the caramel icing is a match made in heaven!
So this cake was actually born out of another cake. One of my very best friends since forever has been battling cancer since last summer. At the age of 31, she has cancer for the second time. Let’s not even go into how I just can’t even on that one. Instead let’s talk about the fact that this girl is still one of the spunkiest, most fabulous women alive!
Unfortunately, she lives about 4 hours from me so I haven’t been able to see her as often as I’d like. However a few weeks ago her family was out of town, so I went to spend the weekend with her. The only thing she’d been requesting for weeks was a pound cake. For a person who barely has an appetite and really hasn’t eaten many sweets, it was big that she wanted anything – let alone a pound cake. Naturally, I had to come through for her.
Not having any pound cakes on the blog as of yet, I went to the master of pound cakes – my friend Jocelyn over at Grandbaby Cakes. My friend wanted nothing to do with crazy fun versions of pound cake (I was SO tempted to make the Cinnamon Roll Pound Cake in Jocelyn’s cookbook), so I made her the Brown Sugar Pound Cake.
Not only was she thrilled to have a pound cake, she LOVED this one! She got her first stomach ache in a loooonnnggg time. 🙂 #worthit
So of course once I got home I had to make it again – but with alcohol. Apparently that’s what I do. 🙂 For someone who really doesn’t drink often, it was pointed out to me that I bake with alcohol a lot. What can I say? I happen to like the flavor it gives baked goods. Baileys in particular is a fave!
And the Baileys is amazing in this pound cake! The pound cake itself is so easy to put together. Like many cakes, it starts with the creaming of the butter and sugars. Don’t skimp on this step! There’s no leavener in this pound cake so any lift in the cake is coming from the air added to the batter through the creaming. Important step, my friends.
Next are the eggs and then the dry ingredients. Pretty standard stuff.
Then the Baileys! While I can’t say I sit around drinking Baileys much, I LOVE it in this cake! Yum, yum, yum! I even brushed a little more Baileys on top after it baked. Extra moisture, extra Baileys – what’s not to love? You could leave it off though, if you prefer. And then the caramel icing is an added bonus! Two of my very favorite flavors in one cake. Of course I had to freeze some for my friend.
I also took some to our church group and it was hit there as well! I can’t even describe how good it is. You just have to trust me – you want to make this cake.
Watch How To Make It
Print
Caramel Baileys Pound Cake
- Prep Time: 30 minutes
- Cook Time: 82 minutes
- Total Time: 1 hour 52 minutes
- Yield: 12-14 Slices
- Category: Cake
- Method: Oven
- Cuisine: American
Description
Caramel Baileys Pound Cake is so good it almost melts in your mouth. Soft, moist Baileys pound cake with the caramel icing is a match made in heaven!
Ingredients
BAILEYS POUND CAKE
- 1 1/2 cups (336g) unsalted butter, room temperature
- 2 cups (450g) light brown sugar, packed
- 1 cup (207g) sugar
- 5 large eggs
- 3 cups (390g) all purpose flour
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 cup (240ml) Baileys Irish Cream
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
CARAMEL ICING
- 2 tbsp (28g) salted butter
- 1/3 cup (75g) light brown sugar, packed
- 1/2 cup (120ml) heavy whipping cream
- 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
- 2 tsp corn syrup
- 1 1/4 – 2 cups (144g-230g) powdered sugar
Instructions
1. Preheat oven to 325°F (163°C) and prepare a 10-14 cup bundt pan with non-stick baking spray.
2. In a large mixer bowl, cream butter and both sugars together on medium speed until light and fluffy, for about 5 minutes.
3. Add eggs one at a time, mixing until well incorporated after each. Scrape down the sides of the bowl as needed to make sure things are well combined.
4. With the mixer on low, carefully add the flour and salt and mix until just combined.
5. Add the Baileys and vanilla extract and mix until combined.
6. Spread the batter evenly into bundt pan and bake for 78-82 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out moist but mostly clean.
7. Allow the cake to cool for about 10 minutes, then invert cake onto cooling rack to cool to room temperature. Brush the top of the cake with Baileys, if desired.
8. To make the icing, combine all ingredients except for the powdered sugar in a small sauce pan.
9. Heat on low until sugar is melted, then turn heat to medium to bring to a boil.
10. Boil for 3 minutes, stirring occasionally, then remove from heat and immediately pour into a heat-proof glass bowl.
11. Whisk in 1 1/4 cups of the powdered sugar and allow to cool slightly and thicken. If your icing is too thin, add additional powdered sugar until it’s the right consistency to drizzle it. If you find your icing to be a little thick, just add a touch more water to thin it back out.
12. Drizzle the icing over the cake while the icing is still a little warm. It will be too firm to pour and get a nice drizzle if it cools completely.
Recipe modified from Grandbaby Cakes’ Brown Sugar Pound Cake recipe.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 Slice
- Calories: 617
- Sugar: 59.7 g
- Sodium: 234.9 mg
- Fat: 28.6 g
- Carbohydrates: 81.5 g
- Protein: 6 g
- Cholesterol: 139.5 mg
Categories
Enjoy!
Hi Lindsay,
I just want to say thank you sooooooo much for this recipe. I made it for my family for Christmas Dessert and to say it was a hit is an understatement. I didn’t have a piece until this morning because I was so stuffed from Christmas Dinner but I have to say I see why there was so much fuss over it. I will happily make it again and again.
Could you make this in loaf pans?
I would think so, I just haven’t tried it to be able to recommend adjustments.
Where is recipe?!? I would love to make this.
I’m so sorry for the trouble! There was an issue today that affected thousands of sites – mine included. It looks like it’s been resolved, so you should be able to access it here now. Sorry about that!
Has anyone got a picture of the Bailey’s Irish Cream that they can share, I am not familiar with it.
You can find a picture of it here on the Baileys website. I hope this helps!
Hi want to know if there J is a subutitute for the whipping cream and corn syrup thanks
The icing consistency and color may be different, but some people have had success with heavy cream and maple syrup. However, I have not tried it myself.
I used Amarula instead of Baileys and OMGoodness!! The best pound cake I have ever made, thank you so much for your ingenuity!!
Oh I bet that was delicious! So glad you enjoyed it!
Can this be made in mini Bundt cakes?
I haven’t ever tried it, but would think it’d be ok.
Does this really call for 1.5 cups of butter? Mine came out like a gooey butter cake.
Yep, that’s partly why it’s called a “pound” cake. It’s got lots of butter in it! It shouldn’t be like a gooey butter cake – it sounds like some ingredient or step was off somewhere.
I’ve made this three times. The first was perfect but the second two were very moist, with wet gluey spots. But definitely done all the way through. What could be my problem? I don’t feel I’ve done anything different from the first time. It still tastes great!! But probably shouldn’t be doing that hah
After this is cooled, should it be refrigerated or left out if we aren’t eating until the next day?
I leave it at room temperature in a cake carrier so it’s well covered.
Can make this into cupcakes?
I haven’t tried it. Might be ok, but they’ll be quite dense.
Question, this is no baking powder or soda. How does this cake rise without it?
Not all pound cakes are made with a leavening agent. In this case, the rise comes from the creaming of the butter and sugar and the eggs. Be sure to cream the butter and sugar fully.
Just made this cake n it was divine. I didnt have corn syrup so used maPle syrup.
This is an awesome 😘♥️ Bundt cake! I will try it without alcohol. Thanks for the recipe.
I hope you enjoy it!
I have made this at least a dozen times. It is always a crowd favorite. Of course, I haven’t made a recipe of yours that I didn’t like. Thank you for sharing your creations with us! ♥️
So glad to hear that!
It’s good, but soooooo sweet ( Too much sugar(
I just made thia in Australia and had a bit of trouble all round. But i want to query the conversions of quanties. In the sauce you have 1/2 (60ml) cup of heavy cream. But isn’t half a cup more like 120ml? As my sauce was not as light or thick as your either so which anount of cream is correct?
I’m so sorry – you are correct. 1/2 cup is 120 ml. It’s been fixed in the recipe.
Can i leave out the corn syrup? Thanks..