BAILEY'S CARAMEL IRISH CREAM CAKE RECIPE - (4.5/5)

Steps:

• Cake: 1. Preheat oven to 325F. Grease two 9 inch cake rounds and dust with flour. 2. Sift together the flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt in a medium bowl. Mix to incorporate. 3. Beat the butter at medium speed until creamy. Gradually add the sugar and beat on high speed for about 3 minutes. Add the cocoa powder and beat for 1 minute. Scrape down the sides with a spatula. Beat in the eggs one at a time. Beat in the vanilla. On low speed, add the flour mixture in three additons alternating with the warm water in two additions. Scrape down the sides of the bowl and mix at low speed for 30 seconds. Pour batter into prepared pans. 4. Bake cake for 45-55 mintues. Cool cake for 20 minutes after baking. 5. Remove cake from pan and let cool completely before frosting. Frosting: Using a mixer fitted with a whisk attachment, whip the eggs and yolks in a large bowl on high speed for about 5 minutes. In a medium saucepan, combine the water and sugar; simmer until it reaches the soft ball stage, registering between 234 and 240F on a candy thermometer. Immediately transfer the syrup to a large heatproof liquid measuring cup. In a slow, thin stream, add the sugar mixture to the egg mixture., mixing on low speed the entire time. Increase the speed to medium and beat about 7 minutes, until the syrup has cooled. Add the butter, half a stick at a time, beating on medium after each addition. Once all of the butter has been added, beat on medium speed until the frosting thickens slightly, about 3 minutes. Stir in the salt and Irish Cream. Ganache: Place the chocolate in a medium bowl. Heat the cream and caramels over medium-low heat, stirring occasionally, until the caramels have melted completely. Pour the hot mixture over the chocolate and stir until melted. To Assemble: First off I made mini cakes and therefore my cakes look different than the instructions I am going to give you. I did not put buttercream between any of the layers, nor did I make 4 layers. You can mix and match however you like. Take your two 9-inch cake and cut each one of those layers horizontally in half(so you should have 4 layers). Place the bottom layer on a cake plate. Spread a thick blanket of frosting on top. Add the second layer. This time spread the chocolate-caramel ganache on that layer. Place third layer on top of that and spread more buttercream. Place forth layer and frost the top and sides of the cake with remaining frosting. Drizzle store bought caramel over the cake, however much you would like. Place cake in refrigerator until ready to serve.