This Irish cream coffee cake recipe has a tender sour cream cake base with Irish cream for extra flavor and moisture. It's topped with a thick, buttery crumble and finished with a cream cheese Irish cream glaze! Pair this coffee cake with your morning coffee for a delicious St. Patrick's Day treat.
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Why You'll Love This Recipe
- Buttery crumble topping- Like all good coffee cakes, this Irish cream coffee cake has a generous amount of cinnamon streusel sprinkled on top. Most streusel recipes require a pastry cutter to cut cold butter into the flour, but this one is super easy to make with melted butter!
- Moist and tender texture- This coffee cake is so moist and tender, it almost melts in your mouth! It's truly delicious contrasted with the crunchy streusel. The combination of sour cream and Irish cream liqueur makes the cake ultra rich and tender.
- Bold Irish cream flavor- Most coffee cake recipes are made with milk or another liquid, but you can easily swap it for Irish cream! The coffee cake alone has a quite subtle Irish whiskey flavor, so I decided to add cream cheese icing spiked with even more Irish cream to really amp up the flavor.
If you love coffee cake, try my almond coffee cake and pumpkin coffee cake recipes too!
Ingredient Notes
- The base of the cake is made with a combination of unsalted butter and oil. I like using both because you get a rich flavor from the butter and more moisture from the oil. You can use any neutral oil, like avocado, canola, or vegetable oil (which I used).
- The cake is sweetened with granulated sugar and brown sugar. I used light brown sugar, but dark works too.
- You need 2 large eggs to bind the ingredients together and add more richness.
- I use Five Farms Irish Cream, but Baileys works too. Five Farms has a higher percentage of cream, which makes it delicious and great for baking. I highly recommend splurging on it!
- For dry ingredients, you need all purpose flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and a little ground nutmeg. Make sure to measure the flour in grams for the best results! I test all my recipes by weight, plus flour is super easy to pack into a measuring cup and overmeasure. A kitchen scale is always your best bet.
- For the icing, make sure to use full-fat cream cheese for the best flavor and texture.
For the full list of ingredients and measurements, see the recipe card below.
Step by Step Instructions
Step 1: To make the crumble, whisk the flour, cinnamon, sugar, and brown sugar together with a fork. Then mix in the melted butter until well combined. Chill in the fridge while you make the cake. The streusel will look wet but forms into a nice crumbly texture when it cools.
Step 2: For the coffee cake, cream the butter, oil, granulated sugar, and brown sugar together on medium high speed for about 3-4 minutes in a large bowl.
The butter and sugar are properly creamed when the mixture is light and fluffy with a pale, almost pearlescent sheen. This means enough air has been beat in to create a soft, fluffy structure!
Step 3: Beat in the eggs and vanilla extract on medium speed until well combined, then scrape down the sides of the bowl.
Step 4: Mix in the sour cream and Irish cream. The batter should look smooth and glossy.
Bring your refrigerated ingredients to room temperature before you start baking. Room temperature butter, eggs, and sour cream blend together much easier for a batter that bakes up evenly with a tender texture.
No sour cream? You can substitute it with Plain Greek yogurt!
Step 5: Gently fold the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients with a rubber spatula.
Step 6: Use an offset spatula to spread the cake batter into an even layer in a 9-inch springform pan lined with parchment paper (or a 9x9 square pan), then sprinkle the crumble mixture on top. You'll have to break up the streusel with a fork to create crumbles.
Not a nutmeg fan? You can use ground cinnamon instead. I personally love how the nutmeg complements the Irish cream, almost like a spiked eggnog vibe.
Don't overmix! Stop mixing right when the last dry bits of flour disappear into the batter. Overmixing can make the cake tough and dense.
Step 7: Bake the coffee cake at 350ยฐF for 25-40 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean with a few moist crumbs attached.
Let the cake cool in the pan for 10 minutes, then release the sides and transfer it to a wire rack to cool completely.
Step 8: For the boozy cream cheese icing, beat cream cheese, powdered sugar, Irish cream, and heavy cream together in a small bowl and drizzle it over the cooled coffee cake.
The icing is on the thicker side. If you prefer a thinner glaze, mix in more heavy cream until it easily drizzles off the back of a spoon.
Storage
Store the Irish cream coffee cake in a large airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 5 days. It needs to be refrigerated because of the cream cheese in the icing.
More Breakfast Recipes to Try
๐ Recipe
Irish Cream Coffee Cake
Equipment
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Ingredients
Crumble Topping
- 75 grams all purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 60 grams granulated sugar
- 50 grams brown sugar
- 70 grams unsalted butter melted
Coffee Cake
- 113 grams unsalted butter room temperature
- 60 grams oil
- 100 grams granulated sugar
- 50 grams light brown sugar
- 2 large eggs room temperature
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 120 grams sour cream room temperature
- 120 grams Irish cream
- 240 grams all purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ยฝ teaspoon baking soda
- ยฝ teaspoon salt
- ยฝ teaspoon nutmeg
Cream Cheese Icing
- 45 grams cream cheese full-fat, room temperature
- 65 grams powdered sugar
- 2 tablespoons Irish cream
- 4 tablespoons heavy cream room temperature
Instructions
Crumble Topping
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, granulated sugar, brown sugar, and cinnamon. Pour in the melted butter and mix with a fork until small clumps begin to form. The streusel will look soft and slightly wet. Chill uncovered in the refrigerator while you prepare the cake.75 grams all purpose flour, 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon, 60 grams granulated sugar, 50 grams brown sugar, 70 grams unsalted butter
Coffee Cake
- Preheat the oven to 350ยฐF and line a 9-inch springform pan (or 9x9-inch square pan) with parchment paper and lightly grease the sides. Set aside.
- In a large mixing bowl or the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the butter, vegetable oil, granulated sugar, and brown sugar on medium-high speed for 3-4 minutes. The mixture should look pale, light, and fluffy.113 grams unsalted butter, 60 grams oil, 100 grams granulated sugar, 50 grams light brown sugar
- Add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. Mix in the vanilla extract until combined, then scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl to ensure everything is evenly incorporated.1 teaspoon vanilla extract, 2 large eggs
- Add the sour cream and Irish cream. Mix on medium speed until the batter is smooth and glossy.120 grams sour cream, 120 grams Irish cream
- In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and nutmeg. Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and gently fold them together with a rubber spatula until just combined. Stop mixing as soon as the last streaks of flour disappear to avoid overmixing.240 grams all purpose flour, 1 teaspoon baking powder, ยฝ teaspoon baking soda, ยฝ teaspoon salt, ยฝ teaspoon nutmeg
- Add the batter to the prepared pan, spreading it into an even layer with an offset spatula. Break the streusel into small crumbles with a fork, then sprinkle it evenly over the top of the batter.
- Bake for 25-40 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean with a few moist crumbs attached. Let the cake cool in the pan for about 10 minutes, then release the springform sides (if using) and transfer the cake to a wire rack to cool completely.
Cream Cheese Icing
- Beat the cream cheese, powdered sugar, Irish cream, and heavy cream together in a small bowl until smooth.45 grams cream cheese, 65 grams powdered sugar, 2 tablespoons Irish cream, 4 tablespoons heavy cream
- Drizzle the icing over the completely cooled coffee cake. Slice and enjoy!
Notes
- Measuring flour:ย Weigh the flour in grams with a kitchen scale for the best results. If using measuring cups, fluff the flour in the bag, then gently scoop it into the measuring cup. Once overflowing, swipe the excess back into the bag with the back of a knife.
- Check the cake toward the earlier side of the bake time. The temperature of each oven can vary, and overbaking can dry out coffee cake. The center should spring back lightly when touched. If it isn't done, bake for another 5 minutes and check again.
- If the streusel begins to brown too quickly, loosely tent the cake with foil during the last 10-15 minutes of baking.
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