Bailey's Irish Cream Bundt Cake

Yield: enough frosting to frost a 9 inch round layer cake or a 10 inch Bundt or tube cake

Ingredients

Cake

• 1 (18.25 ounce) box yellow or chocolate cake mix*
• 1 (3.4 ounce) box instant vanilla or chocolate pudding and pie filling mix
• 4 eggs
• 1/2 cup vegetable oil
• 3/4 cup Bailey's Irish Cream liqueur**
• Sifted confectioners' sugar or Bailey's Irish Cream Glaze or Bailey's Cream Cheese Frosting
• Small St. Patrick's Day cake decorations (optional)

Bailey's Irish Cream Glaze

• About 1/2 (16 ounce) package confectioners' sugar, sifted
• 1 tablespoon butter or margarine, at room temperature
• 3 to 4 tablespoons Bailey's Irish Cream liqueur or as desired

Bailey's Cream Cheese Frosting

• 6 ounces cream cheese or reduced-fat cream cheese, at room temperature
• About 2 tablespoons Bailey's Irish Cream liqueur
• Pinch of salt
• 1 (16 ounce) package confectioners' sugar, sifted (about 4 1/2 cups)
• 1 cup coarsely chopped pecans or English walnuts (optional)

Instructions

Cake

1. In a large bowl, combine cake mix, pudding mix, eggs and oil. Beat at medium speed of an electric mixer, scraping down sides of bowl as necessary.
2. Beat in liqueur. Spoon into a greased 10 inch Bundt or tube pan.
3. Bake in a preheated moderate oven (350 degrees F) for about 50 minutes, or until a cake tester inserted into the middle of the cake comes out clean.
4. Cool in pan for 10 minutes, then turn out into a wire rack to finish cooling.
5. Turn Bundt cake upside-down and tube cake, right side up or upside down as desired. Sift confectioners' sugar over top of cake or drizzle Bailey's Irish Cream Glaze over top and down sides of cake. Or, frost cake with Bailey's Irish Cream Frosting. Garnish cake with small St. Patrick's Day cake decorations, if desired.

Bailey's Irish Cream Glaze

1. In a deep small bowl, beat confectioners' sugar and butter together.
2. Gradually beat in liqueur until desired drizzling consistency is achieved and glaze is smooth.

Bailey's Cream Cheese Frosting

1. In a medium bowl, combine the first four ingredients, beating until smooth.
2. Gradually add confectioners' sugar, beating until mixture is smooth and fluffy. Add additional cream as needed to achieve desired spreading consistency.
3. Fold in nuts, if desired.
4. Store in an airtight container at room temperature or in the refrigerator.
5. May also freeze cake, tightly wrapped in aluminum foil, for up to 3 months.

Notes

* 18.25 ounce boxes of cake mix have been replaced by 16.5 ounce and 15.25 ounce boxes. To compensate for the volume loss in a 16 ounce box, whisk 6 tablespoons all-purpose flour into the dry cake mix before proceeding with the recipe. To compensate for the volume loss in a 15.25 ounce box, add 1/2 cup + 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour and 1/4 teaspoon baking powder.

** Omit Bailey's Irish Cream, add 3/4 cup Kahlua or Amaretto liqueur to batter and use Kahlua or Amaretto in the glaze.