Chocolate Cake with Baileys
Every new beginning deserves to be celebrated. As the first post on the new blog, I chose this perfect chocolate cake: dense, aromatic sponges covered with a velvety Baileys cream. The sweet drink is often used in desserts, and although I do not like alcohol, combined with chocolate and mascarpone it is an irresistible combination.
Ingredients
| 2 cups | 480 ml | flour |
| 2 cups | 480 ml | sugar |
| 3/4 cup | 180 ml | cocoa |
| 2 tsp | 10 ml | baking powder |
| 1 1/2 tsp | 7.5 ml | baking soda |
| 1 tsp | 5 ml | salt |
| 1 cup | 240 ml | very hot water |
| 3 tbsp | 45 ml | vinegar |
| 1/2 cup | 120 ml | Baileys liqueur (for sponge) |
| 1/2 cup | 120 ml | oil |
| 2 | eggs (room temperature) | |
| 2 tsp | 10 ml | vanilla extract |
| 500 ml | mascarpone | |
| 200 g | cream cheese | |
| 10 tbsp | 150 ml | Baileys liqueur (for cream) |
| 10 tbsp | 150 ml | icing sugar (for cream) |
| 3/4 cup | 180 ml | warm water (for soaking) |
| 3 tbsp | 45 ml | Baileys liqueur (for soaking) |
| 3 tbsp | 45 ml | icing sugar (for soaking) |
| 200 g | dark chocolate (for decoration) |
Instructions
For the sponge: Sift the flour and cocoa, then mix them with the sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Separately combine the water, vinegar and oil, and add them to the dry ingredients, mixing well. Add the two lightly beaten eggs and mix again. Finally add the liqueur and the vanilla extract. Mix to a homogeneous batter and transfer to a cake tin (24 cm) lined with baking paper and lightly greased walls. Bake in a preheated oven at 180°C until a toothpick comes out dry (30-35 min.).
For the Baileys cream: Mix the mascarpone and cream cheese with a whisk, then add the liqueur and finally the sugar. I gave the "measures" in tablespoons because I added gradually until I got the taste I wanted. I advise you to do the same and adjust the proportions to your preference.
Assembling the cake: Once the sponge is baked and cooled, cut it in half to get two layers. Soak the first layer with warm water in which you have dissolved icing sugar and Baileys liqueur. Spread half of the cream and place the second layer, soaking it again. Cover the top and sides of the cake with the remaining cream.
As always, I went for simple decoration, namely delicate chocolate tongues with which I surrounded the cake. They are made as follows: Melt 200 g of dark chocolate over a water bath and, using a tablespoon, spread it onto baking paper. When spreading the chocolate onto the paper, be careful not to make too thin a layer. Also take into account the height of the resulting cake, and if necessary, mark the paper before spreading the chocolate. I needed exactly 20 chocolate tongues for the circumference of the whole cake. After spreading the chocolate into the desired shape and size, leave it in the fridge for 10 minutes. When it is hardened enough, remove it from the paper and decorate the cake. I also added crumbs from levelling the sponge.
After a few hours in the fridge, the cake is ready to delight anyone who loves sweets, chocolate and the aromatic liqueur. Enjoy!