Before I get to this incredible recipe - one you will want to print, laminate and tape to the inside of your kitchen cabinet door, (right next to the slip of paper with the local Mortuary name and number, like my Grandma did, because you never know when you might need a hearse!) - I have to give a little shout-out to my new BFF's, Brianna and her Mom!!  I ran into them a few days ago and they totally made my day!  They told me they love reading my blog - which was SO nice to hear!!  Seriously!  I was thrilled to pieces!  I replayed our conversation all afternoon - I'm telling you, it was like a shot of adrenaline!!  And so I came home and made cake to celebrate my good fortune in having such wonderful readers!  This cake is not just any cake but quite possibly the best cake I have had in a very long time, like forever!   I took some to my foodie friend down the street who said it was the best cake she had ever had...high praise to be sure!  So whatever dessert you were planning on serving this St. Paddy's Day, forget it and make this cake!

So what makes this cake so dang good?  As in FIVE dangs on the Dang Meter?!  One cup of Bailey's Irish Cream...yes, one full cup...Now, for all you tee-totalers out there, I'm sure you'll read this recipe and declare it not for you...but before you do, hear me out...a Bundt cake can serve 16 people...so if we do the math...one cup of Bailey's divided by 16 servings equals 3 teaspoons per serving...and since Bailey's is only 17% alcohol by volume and Vanilla Extract is 35%, I think you can see this cake is perfectly safe to imbibe, I mean eat!  Plus, I asked a scientist (dentist) if the alcohol would bake out at 350 degrees and he said it would...and who am I to argue with a man of science?!

It looks like the Bundt was cut in half, but it wasn't, that's just some weird thing my pan does...there are many recipes on line for this kind of cake, most of them use instant vanilla pudding but I used chocolate pudding - I thought it was the more delicious choice.  Plus, almost all of the recipes I read called for a Bailey's and powder sugar glaze for the top of the cake...but I wanted a little something more so I made a rum-buttercream frosting.  This is such a wonderful cake...rich, moist with a dense crumb - as any Leprechaun would say, it's magicially delicious!

Irish Cream Cake with Butter-Rum Frosting - Pots and Pins - Adapted From Several Recipes

1 package (18 oz.) yellow cake mix, without pudding in the mix

4 oz. instant chocolate pudding mix

3/4 cup vegetable oil

2 tablespoons water

1 cup Bailey's Irish Cream

4 eggs

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Grease and flour a 10-inch Bundt pan.  In the bowl of an electric mixer combine cake mix, pudding mix, oil, water, Baileys and eggs.  Beat on low speed for 30 seconds, then stop mixer and scrape down sides.  Beat for two minutes on medium speed.  (Beating for longer will only add air to the batter which will dry out the cake.)  Pour batter into prepared pan and bake for 40 to 50 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean.  Let cake cool in pan for 10 minutes, then invert onto a rack to cool completely.   Frosting recipe below. 

Butter-Rum Frosting:

In the bowl of an electric mixer, beat butter until smooth.  Add in extracts and cream and slowly add in the powdered sugar, beating on low speed until incorporated and then on high speed for about 5 minutes until very, very smooth.  Add additional powdered sugar if frosting is not thick enough or add another teaspoon or so of cream if it is too thick.  Spread over cooled cake.  Serves 16.