My slow cooker Baileys chocolate cake is fudgy and indulgent and perfect to enjoy in the Christmas holidays and for a festive occasion.
Its Boxing Day, there is food all around me, and a lot of booze.
So my thoughts seem to turn to making a rich and velvety chocolate cake spiked with Baileys, with Baileys buttercream! It is the holidays after all I tell myself!
Baileys icing
A velvety soft and fudgy cake made with buttermilk and Baileys, it is more like a dessert than a cake, and the thick layer of Baileys chocolate buttercream on top adds to the deliciousness!
Perfect to make for a festive get together or of course just for yourself if you are a Baileys fan like me!
The cake recipe is based on my slow cooker creme egg chocolate cake which is a great one for Easter time, the basic cake works so well.
For the icing, a basic buttercream is livened up with a spoonful of Baileys and some cocoa powder to give it a lovely rich colour. All my favourite things together!
If you have some left over from Christmas Day Baileys double cream would be lovely over this Baileys chocolate cake too.
Or ice cream when the cake is still warm…. I must stop!
Slow cooker baking
Slow cooker cakes are something I love to make, you can go and do other jobs in the house while you are baking without that fear of the cake burning.
Check out all my slow cooker recipes in my Recipe Index. My YouTube channel is here if you’d like to subscribe too.
Ingredients
Here’s what you will need.
- butter
- caster/superfine sugar
- eggs
- self-raising/self-rising flour
- cocoa powder
- buttermilk
- Baileys Irish Cream
- icing/powdered sugar (used in the frosting)
Step by step
- Cream together the butter and sugar until soft and fluffy.
- Add the eggs one by one and mix well.
- In a separate small bowl, mix together the flour and cocoa powder. Add about a third of the flour and cocoa powder and mix, then add a third of the buttermilk. Continue adding the flour and cocoa powder and buttermilk alternately until it is all used up.
- Add the Baileys and mix well.
- Prepare your slow cooker. Spray the slow cooker pot with cake release spray to prevent the cake sticking if it comes out of the cake case. Place two large cake cases in the slow cooker pot. These fit well in a round 3.5 litre slow cooker.
- Spoon the cake mixture into the case.
- Place a tea towel under the lid and cook on high for approx 1.5 hours or until a cake tester or skewer comes out clean. Keep an eye on it as the time taken really depends on your slow cooker, and do watch out for burning.
- Once done, take the cake out and place it on a cooling rack to cool fully.
- In the meantime, make your icing. I used a stand mixer for this, beating the butter well until very soft, then adding the icing sugar little by little on low speed until light and fluffy. Then add the Baileys and cocoa powder and beat again.
- Once the cake is cool, spread the icing over the top of it.
Recipe tips
- Slow cooker size: I made this in a round 3.5 litre slow cooker, to produce a round cake. If you are using a different size or shape slow cooker you’ll get different results and most likely a less deep cake. If using a 6.5 litre slow cooker double the ingredients!
- Using a tin: If you are using a large slow cooker you could put the cake cases in a metal or silicone cake tin, instead of directly into the slow cooker pot.
- Catch moisture: Add a tea towel or squares of paper kitchen roll under the lid to stop drips falling onto the cake.
- Removing the cake in one piece: To remove your cake from the pot, first remove the slow cooker pot from the slow cooker using oven gloves. Wait a few minutes for the pot to cool down, then use the edges of the cake case to remove the cake from the pot.
Why not try
- amaretto slow cooker fudge
- salted caramel slow cooker fudge
- slow cooker Christmas fruit cake
- thick and creamy slow cooker hot chocolate
Don’t forget to pin this Slow Cooker Baileys Chocolate Cake recipe for later!!
Recipe
Slow Cooker Baileys Chocolate Cake
Ingredients
For the cake:
- 100 g butter softened
- 125 g caster sugar (superfine sugar) I used golden
- 2 medium eggs
- 120 g self-raising flour
- 30 g cocoa powder
- 80 ml buttermilk
- 3 tbsp Baileys Irish Cream
For the icing:
- 50 g butter softened
- 100 g icing sugar
- 1 tsp Baileys Irish Cream
- 1 tsp cocoa powder
Equipment
Instructions
- Cream together the butter and sugar until soft and fluffy.100 g butter, 125 g caster sugar (superfine sugar)
- Add the eggs one by one and mix well.2 medium eggs
- In a separate small bowl, mix together the flour and cocoa powder. Add about a third of the flour and cocoa powder to the first bowl and mix, then add a third of the buttermilk. Continue adding the flour and cocoa powder and buttermilk alternately until it is all used up.120 g self-raising flour, 30 g cocoa powder, 80 ml buttermilk
- Add the Baileys and mix well.3 tbsp Baileys Irish Cream
- Prepare your slow cooker. I made this in a round 3.5 litre slow cooker, to produce a round cake. If you are using a different size or shape slow cooker you’ll get different results and most likely a less deep cake. If using a 6.5 litre slow cooker double the ingredients!
- Spray the slow cooker pot with cake release spray to prevent the cake sticking if it comes out of the cake case.
- Place two large cake cases in the slow cooker pot. These fit well in a round 3.5 litre slow cooker. If you are using a large slow cooker you could put the cake cases in a metal or silicone cake tin.
- Spoon the cake mixture into the case.
- Place a tea towel under the lid (this prevents moisture from dripping onto the cake) and cook on high for approx 1.5 hours or until a cake tester or skewer comes out clean. Keep an eye on it as the time taken really depends on your slow cooker, and do watch out for burning.
- Once done, remove the slow cooker pot from the slow cooker using oven gloves. Wait a few minutes for the pot to cool down, then use the edges of the cake case to remove the cake from the pot. Place it on a cooling rack to cool fully.
- In the meantime, make your icing. I used a stand mixer for this, beating the butter well until very soft, then adding the icing sugar little by little on low speed until light and fluffy. Then add the Baileys and cocoa powder and beat again.50 g butter, 100 g icing sugar, 1 tsp Baileys Irish Cream, 1 tsp cocoa powder
- Once the cake is cool, spread the icing over the top of it.
Louise says
I have made this cake twice now. It’s amazing! The second time I doubled the ingredients as I have a large oval slow cooker. I baked it to take camping. Over a week later the cake was still amazingly moist. Love it!
bakingqueen74 says
fantastic, thanks Louise for your review!
Mary Nolan says
Hi Lucy: I would like to try your slow cooker Bailey’s chocolate cake. A very dear friend has a birthday coming up this week and I would like to bake it for her and leave it on her doorstep. Unfortunately, on February 12, I begin a major kitchen renovation. The room is completely empty, the appliances are all in the garage, and the contractor has stopped working because of the pandemic. So I have no oven in which to make her a regular cake. I do have a slow cooker though! The recipe looks quite simple and easy to do but I do have one question: what on earth is a cake case?
Thanks,
Mary
bakingqueen74 says
Hi Mary oh no sorry to hear about your kitchen. You can see a photo of a cake case or cake tin liner in the Equipment section of the recipe card at the bottom of the page. Cake tin liners are paper cases a bit like large versions of cupcake cases.
Mary Nolan says
Hi again Lucy … I messaged you last night about the cake cases, but for some reason my message didn’t send. I’ve never heard of cake cases, let alone seen them here in Canada. But I used parchment paper to line the sides and bottom of the crockpot and the cake turned out beautifully! I didn’t try it, because it was for the birthday girl, but the batter tasted amazing and the cake looked and smelled divine. I’d send you a photo if I could figure out how!
bakingqueen74 says
That’s great Mary I’m so glad the cake turned out well! Thanks for sending the photos via my Facebook page, it looks wonderful and I hope your friend enjoys it.
Christine Lawrie says
Could I put this in a loaf tin in my large slow cooker?
bakingqueen74 says
Yes sure, if you have one that will fit the mixture! I have only tried it directly in the pot so am not sure what size you would need. Let me know how you get on.
Floria lena says
Wow, this looks amazing –
Belinda McGrath says
Hi just after putting this in the slow cooker. Can’t wait for it to be done. Just wondering for the icing did u mean cocoa powder not baking powder? Thanks.
bakingqueen74 says
Ooh yes I think I did sorry I will change it ASAP! Hope yours turns out well.
Belinda McGrath says
Thanks so much for the speedy response. It didn’t disappoint. Every one loved it.
bakingqueen74 says
Oh great news Belinda so glad you enjoyed it!
Louise - Cooking with kids says
Wow, this looks amazing – I had 3 bottles of Baileys for Christmas – as much as I love it I think I’m going to have to start cooking with it to use it up!
Carrie says
looks amazing!