Recipes

Baileys Chocolate Chip-Passion Fruit Layer Cake

Christina Tosi|

Baileys Chocolate Chip-Passion Fruit Layer Cake
4 (1 ratings)
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Passion fruit, chocolate, and Baileys Irish Cream is one of my favorite flavor trios. Though the combo sounds a little out there, it’s a mind-blowingly perfect fit! (Trust me, I know a thing or two…) — Christina Tosi, James Beard Award winning pastry chef of Milk BarRecipe Created by Christina Tosi for Baileys Original Irish Cream.
Servings
1
baileys cake
Ingredients
  • 8 tablespoon butter, at room temperature
  • 1 1/4 cup granulated sugar
  • 1/4 cup tightly packed light brown sugar
  • 3 eggs
  • 1/2 cup buttermilk
  • 1/2 cup grape seed oil
  • 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
  • 1 1/2 cup cake flour
  • 1 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1 teaspoon kosher salt
  • 3/4 cup mini chocolate chips
  • nonstick cooking spray (optional)
  • 1/2 cup passion fruit purée
  • 1/3 cup sugar
  • 2 eggs
  • 1 gelatin sheet
  • 12 tablespoon butter, very cold
  • 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
  • 2/3 cup flour
  • 1 teaspoon cornstarch
  • 1/2 cup sugar
  • 2/3 cup cocoa powder, such as valrhona
  • 1 teaspoon kosher salt
  • 6 tablespoon butter, melted
  • 8 tablespoon butter, at room temperature
  • 1/4 cup confectioners sugar
  • 1/4 cup irish cream, such as baileys original irish cream
  • 1/2 teaspoon instant coffee powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
  • 1 chocolate chip cake
  • passion fruit curd
  • 1/2 chocolate crumb recipe
  • baileys original irish cream frosting
  • 1/4 cup irish cream, such as baileys original irish cream
  • 1/4 cup mini chocolate chips
Directions
  1. Heat the oven to 350 degrees F.
  2. Combine the butter and sugars in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment and cream together on medium-high for 2 to 3 minutes. Scrape down the sides of the bowl, add the eggs, and mix on medium-high again for 2 to 3 minutes. Scrape down the sides of the bowl once more.
  3. On low speed, stream in the buttermilk, oil, and vanilla. Increase the mixer speed to medium-high and paddle for 4 to 6 minutes, until the mixture is practically white, twice the size of your original fluffy butter-and-sugar mixture, and completely homogenous. Don't rush the process. You're basically forcing too much liquid into an already fatty mixture that doesn't want to make room for the liquid. Stop the mixer and scrape down the sides of the bowl.
  4. On very low speed, add the cake flour, baking powder, and salt. Mix for 45 to 60 seconds, just until your batter comes together and any remnants of dry ingredients have been incorporated. Scrape down the sides of the bowl. If you see any lumps of cake flour in there while you're scraping, mix for another 45 seconds.
  5. Pam-spray a quarter sheet pan and line it with parchment, or just line the pan with a Silpat. Using a spatula, spread the cake batter in an even layer in the pan. Give the bottom of your sheet pan a tap on the countertop to even out the layer.
  6. Sprinkle the chocolate chips evenly over the cake batter.
  7. Bake the cake for 30 to 35 minutes. The cake will rise and puff, doubling in size, but will remain slightly buttery and dense. At 30 minutes, gently poke the edge of the cake with your finger: the cake should bounce back slightly and the center should no longer be jiggly. Leave the cake in the oven for an extra 3 to 5 minutes if it doesn't pass these tests.
  8. Take the cake out of the oven and cool on a wire rack or, in a pinch, in the fridge or freezer (don't worry, it's not cheating). The cooled cake can be stored in the fridge, wrapped in plastic wrap, for up to 5 days.
  9. Put the passion fruit purée and sugar in a blender and blend until the sugar granules have dissolved. Add the eggs and blend on low until you have a bright orange-yellow mixture. Transfer the contents of the blender to a medium pot or saucepan. Clean the blender canister.
  10. Bloom the gelatin.
  11. Heat the passion fruit mixture over low heat, whisking regularly. As it heats up, it will begin to thicken; keep a close eye on it. Once the mixture boils, remove it from the stove and transfer it to the blender. Add the bloomed gelatin, butter, and salt and blend until the mixture is thick shiny, and super-smooth.
  12. Transfer the mixture to a heatproof container, and put in the fridge until the curd has cooled completely, at least 30 minutes. The curd can be refrigerated for up to 1 week; do not freeze.
  13. Heat the oven to 300 degrees F.
  14. Combine the flour, cornstarch, sugar, cocoa powder, and salt in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment and paddle on low speed until mixed.
  15. Add the butter and paddle on low speed until the mixture starts to come together in small clusters.
  16. Spread the clusters on a parchment or Silpat-lined sheet pan. Bake for 20 minutes, breaking them up occasionally. The crumbs should still be slightly moist to the touch at that point; they will dry and harden as they cool.
  17. Let the crumbs cool completely before using in a recipe or eating. Stored in an airtight container, they will keep fresh for 1 week at room temperature or 1 month in the fridge or freezer.
  18. Combine the butter and confectioners sugar in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment and cream together on medium-high for 2 to 3 minutes, until fluffy and pale yellow.
  19. Meanwhile, whisk together Baileys Irish Cream, coffee powder and salt in a small bowl.
  20. Scrape down the sides of the bowl with a spatula. On low speed, gradually stream in the Bailey’s liquid. You are essentially forcing liquid into fat, so be patient, keep your mixer on. After 1-2 minutes of paddling, the results will be a wildly fluffy Baileys frosting, pale brown and super shiny. Use immediately.
  21. Layer 1: The Bottom
  22. Clean the cake ring and place it in the center of a sheet pan lined with clean parchment or a Silpat. Use 1 strip of acetate to line the inside of the cake ring.
  23. Put the cake scraps together inside the ring and use the back of your hand to tamp the scraps together into a flat even layer.
  24. Dunk a pastry brush in the Baileys Irish Cream and give the layer of cake a good, healthy bath of half of the purée.
  25. Use the back of a spoon to spread the passion fruit curd in an even layer over the cake.
  26. Sprinkle half of the chocolate crumbs evenly over the passion fruit curd. Use the back of your hand to anchor them in place.
  27. Use the back of a spoon to spread one-third of the Baileys frosting as evenly as possible over the crumbs.
  28. Layer 2: The Middle
  29. With your index finger, gently tuck the second strip of acetate between the cake ring and the top ¼ inch of the first strip of acetate, so that you have a clear ring of acetate 5 to 6 inches tall — high enough to support the height of the finished cake. Set a cake round on top of the frosting, and repeat the process for layer 1.
  30. Layer 3: The Top
  31. Nestle the remaining cake round into the frosting. Cover the top of the cake with the remaining Baileys frosting. Give it volume and swirls, or do as we do and opt for a perfectly flat top. Garnish the frosting with the remaining chocolate crumbs.
  32. Transfer the sheet pan to the freezer and freeze for a minimum of 12 hours to set the cake and filling. The cake will keep in the freezer for up to 2 weeks.
  33. At least 3 hours before you are ready to serve the cake, pull the sheet pan out of the freezer and, using your fingers and thumbs, pop the cake out of the cake ring.
  34. Gently peel off the acetate, and transfer the cake to a platter or cake stand. Let it defrost in the fridge for a minimum of 3 hours.
  35. Slice the cake into wedges and serve.
 
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