We feel pretty confident about our chocolate sheet cake; it’s a tried-and-true dessert recipe that we practically know by heart. And when you’re sitting on a great chocolate cake recipe, we generally live by the mantra: if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it. But we do like to enhance and embellish whenever we can. So, we took our favorite and most delicious chocolate cake recipe and decided to add a little something special to make it even more amazing: Baileys liqueur. Yes, this creamy, chocolatey coffee libation is just right for our classic chocolate sheet cake recipe.

Let’s not forget the frosting, adding another layer of chocolate only adds to decadence of the cake as a whole. So naturally we needed to add a little of this dreamy liqueur to the frosting as well. While the cake cools, a quick frosting is super easy to whip up and adds both a little sweetness but also a nice sugary glaze. Pour over the cake and let it set briefly before serving. One bite will reveal a creamy richness of moist chocolate cake topped with an icing made with sweet coffee liqueur.

One might only think of Baileys around the holidays; usually Baileys comes out as a digestif after a big holiday dinner, and naturally we think of this Irish liqueur around St. Patrick’s Day. But we don’t like to limit ourselves to holiday standards and traditions. This chocolate cake is appropriate for any gathering; from a potluck to a book club, you can never go wrong with a cake that is as good as this one. Serve up a slice and grab a cup of coffee, or even a scoop of cool vanilla ice cream and dive into a divinely delicious chocolate cake experience.

Baileys Chocolate Sheet Cake

16-20

1 hour

Ingredients
  • 2 cups all-purpose flour
  • 1 3/4 cups sugar
  • 1 cup hot water
  • 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, melted
  • 1/2 cup Baileys Irish Cream
  • 1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
  • 2 large eggs, room temperature
  • 1 teaspoon instant espresso granules
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
  • Icing:
  • 2 cups powdered sugar
  • 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature
  • 1/2 cup Baileys Irish Cream
  • 1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract, optional
Preparation
  1. Preheat oven to 400º F, then use non-stick spray and cocoa powder to grease and flour a standard sheet pan.
  2. In a large bowl, whisk together flour, sugar, cocoa powder, espresso powder, baking soda and salt until combined.
  3. Pour hot (almost boiling) water and melted butter over mixture and mix until everything is just incorporated.
  4. Beat in Baileys, then eggs (one at a time), then stir in vanilla extract.
  5. Pour mixture into floured, rimmed baking sheet and place in oven.
  6. Bake for 18-20 minutes, or until toothpick inserted in center comes out mostly clean.
  7. While cake bakes, start icing by whisking together butter, cocoa powder and Baileys in a large saucepan over medium-high heat.
  8. Bring mixture to a boil, then remove from heat and stir in vanilla extract and powdered sugar.
  9. Remove cake from oven and pour icing over the top while still warm.
  10. Let cool at least 15 minutes, then slice and serve.

Recipe adapted from Lemon Tree Dwelling