Well friends, I thought I would get around to posting this earlier this week, but Match Day prep got the best of me. Now here we are, on the other side of Match Day and ready to celebrate with this amazing one bowl whiskey chocolate cake with Irish cream chocolate ganache frosting, perfect for you to whip up for St. Patrick’s Day tomorrow!
It doesn’t get much easier than a one bowl cake and a three ingredient frosting. And you know you’ve hit the jackpot, or should we say the pot of gold ;), when there is whiskey in the batter and Irish cream in the frosting. While you can still impress your friends with the flavors, this one layer snacking cake is simple and unassuming. It can be thrown together quickly and doesn’t require the leveling, layering, and decorating that a traditional layer cake would. This makes it the perfect treat to bring to a St. Patrick’s day party, a spring picnic, or even movie night with the girls (or just yourself, no judgement).
Besides how easy and delicious this cake is, one of my favorite parts is the rich, decadent chocolate ganache frosting. You can really taste the Irish cream, and allowing the ganache to rest before spreading it makes the frosting so wonderfully thick. With each bite I end up wanting more and more frosting :)
Whether you are looking for a great, easy chocolate cake, the most amazing and simple frosting, or a St. Patrick’s day treat, this cake is an all-around winner. Do yourself a favor and make it today to enjoy all weekend. I’ll be there in spirit, eating the corner piece.
One Bowl Whiskey Chocolate Cake with Irish Cream Chocolate Ganache Frosting
Whiskey Chocolate Cake
½ cup hot coffee
6 tablespoons butter
2 eggs
½ cup milk
¼ cup whiskey
2 teaspoons vanilla
1 cup sugar
¾ cup flour
½ cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 ½ teaspoons baking powder
½ teaspoon baking soda
¼ teaspoon salt
4 ounces dark or semi-sweet chocolate (not chocolate chips), finely chopped*
Irish Cream Chocolate Ganache Frosting
10 ounces dark chocolate, chopped
1 cup heavy cream
¼ cup Irish cream
sprinkles, for topping (optional)
Whiskey Chocolate Cake
Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F. Generously coat an 8×8-inch pan with nonstick spray and set aside.
In your measuring cup or mug, carefully whisk the hot coffee and the butter together until the butter melts. If your coffee is not hot enough to melt the butter fully, microwave it for 20 seconds at a time, stirring in between, until the butter is fully melted. It should smell amazing.
In the bowl of your electric mixer, mix together the eggs, milk, whiskey, and vanilla. Stir in the sugar, flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Once the ingredients are about halfway incorporated, but there are still streaks of dry ingredients, mix in the coffee/butter mixture and stir until the batter is smooth. Stir in the chopped chocolate.*
Pour the batter into your prepared pan and bake for 25-30 minutes, or until the cake is set in the center and a skewer or cake tester comes out clean when inserted into the center of the cake. Let the cake cool completely before frosting.
Irish Cream Chocolate Ganache Frosting
Place your chopped chocolate in a bowl.
In a small saucepan over low heat, heat the heavy cream and Irish cream until it just begins to bubble around the edges. You don’t want it to boil, or a skin from the dairy will form on the top of your mixture.
Pour the cream over the chocolate and let it sit for one minute. After one minute of resting, stir the cream and chocolate mixture continuously until the chocolate melts into the cream and the mixture forms a ganache. Let the ganache sit for about an hour at room temperature, or until very thick (under time pressure, I have sped up this process by placing the frosting in the fridge – just don’t leave it in there too long or it will be too difficult to spread). Spread the chocolate ganache evenly across the cake. The frosting will be very thick. If using, pour your sprinkles on top of the frosting while it is still wet. Enjoy!
*The chopped chocolate melts some but doesn’t always melt fully, especially if it is more coarsely chopped. If you don’t want a few chocolate chunks in your cake, you can melt the chocolate and fold it into the batter in the last step of mixing instead, or leave it out completely (though, who doesn’t want more chocolate?). I wasn’t sure about it the first time, but found myself wanting a piece with some chopped chocolate in it the second time around.
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