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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
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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!
I’ve now made this cake twice and both times we’ve all thoroughly enjoyed it. Everything about it is good from the recipe instructions right through to actually eating it. Thank you so much for sharing it.
I’m so glad you’ve enjoyed it!
Can I replace the Baileys with an extract. If I use the Baileys will it cook off the alcohol?
I have never tried an extract, but you could certainly give it a try. If you don’t want to use alcohol, you’ll want to replace the Bailey’s with milk. I think there’s some debate as to whether or not alcohol really cooks off in the baking process, so I wouldn’t be able to say for sure.
Unbelievably delicious & definitely a crowd pleaser. I plan to use Salted Caramel Baileys next time!
I’m so glad you enjoyed it!
This cake is beyond delicious! My son was dubious at first, but he absolutely loved it!’
Awesome! Glad it was a hit!
Amazing recipe. My friends love it. I saw your other recipe that has vodka & baileys in it. Can I do the same ? Replace with 80g vodka 160g baileys ? Instead of 240g baileys ?
I’m so glad you enjoyed it! Yes, you could replace some of the Bailey’s with vodka.
How important is the corn syrup? 2 tsp seems rather insignificant. I do use corn syrup and hate to buy a bottle for 2 tsp if I don’t have to.
You could do without it I guess, I jus prefer the texture with it.
Hi
Can I make this using Baileys salted caramel? I would want to skip the caramel topping. I’d use the Baileys salted caramel instead of the Irish cream. Would it work?
I’ve never tasted that version of baileys and I’m not sure if the caramel flavor would come through at all. You can always try it, I just can’t say how it’ll turn out.
This is a well loved cake in the family. If it’s up to everyone I will be baking this every other day! 😱 At the moment only once a week someone asks for it! 🙂 I do leave out the icing though. Thank you for a great recipe.
So glad it’s a hit!
Just wondering, no baking powder nor baking Soda? Please confirm and why. Thank you
Hello, I made the pound cake today and it came out dense. Looks wet. I followed the steps. Any suggestions on what I could have done wrong?
Hello.i want to try this out but is the sugar amount not over powering? If I reduce the sugar will it still come out alright?
Pound cakes are known for large amounts of ingredients, including sugar. I don’t find it overwhelming. You could try reducing it but do keep in mind that sugar isn’t just about sweetness, it also influences the texture of the cake and it may be less tender and moist if you reduce it.
I tried this recipe and it tasted phenomenal 😋 Everyone loved it!
Looking forward to making this recipe. if I removed or reduced the 1 cup white sugar, will it affect the cake consistency or cooking times? thanks
I wouldn’t remove it completely and if you reduce it, I wouldn’t do too much. Sugar adds both sweetness and moisture so if you remove too much, it can affect the texture of the cake.