Chocolate Irish Cream Cake

Happy St. Patrick's Day, everyone! Today's recipe is a two-fer: it's appropriate for St. Patrick's Day due to the fact that it's loaded with Bailey's Irish Cream, and it also served as my birthday cake this year. I figured since my birthday falls so close to St. Patrick's Day, why not take advantage of that fact and make a liqueur-laden cake for myself?

This cake is absolutely fantastic. It's super moist thanks to the pudding and sour cream in the cake, and the chocolate chunks add yet another dimension of chocolaty flavor. There's Irish cream in the cake and in the frosting, so that flavor definitely comes through prominently -- especially in the frosting. I think if I made this again, I'd actually prefer it with just a simple chocolate frosting, although I am the only one who felt this way. Everyone who tried this absolutely loved it just as it was. I just felt bad for my little Andrew; he had to watch everyone else enjoy it without partaking in a slice himself.

Have a safe and happy St. Patrick's Day, everyone!

Chocolate Irish Cream Cake
source: Cooks.com

1 box dark chocolate fudge cake mix
2 4-ounce packages chocolate instant pudding
1 cup sour cream
4 eggs, slightly beaten
1 1/4 cups Irish cream liqueur, divided
1 10-ounce package chocolate chunks
1 quart heavy whipping cream

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Butter and flour two cake pans.

2. Blend cake mix, 1 package of pudding, sour cream, eggs, 3/4 cup Irish cream, and chocolate chips together in a large bowl. Pour mixture into prepared cake pans and bake for 45 minutes.

3. Once cake has been removed from the oven and cooled, whip together the heavy whipping cream, 1/2 cup Irish cream, and the other package of pudding until soft peaks form. Frost cake and refrigerate until serving.