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Chocolate Mudslide Cake

All the goodness of the cocktail AND chocolate cake!

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The Mudslide – an icy cold drink that’s creamy and indulgent and rich with the flavors of chocolate, coffee liqueur, and Irish cream. It’s basically a milkshake just for grown-ups and it’s one we don’t mind keeping all to ourselves. But this cake we just had to share! It borrows all the flavors of that well-loved cocktail for a cake that’s moist and chocolatey, and well, a little boozy.

This Chocolate Mudslide Cake is just sinfully delicious. It has a nice moist crumb and a rich chocolate flavor, backed by a bit of creaminess and the bite of liqueur. It’s a simple cake to mix up, no whipped egg whites or careful folding or anything like that. Just some quick mixing of a few basic ingredients gets you a smooth and decadent batter that bakes up beautifully.

We like to top it with a delicious chocolate buttercream flavored with some coffee liqueur. (You could add some Irish cream too if you’re feeling so inclined…) And, we like our cake in three tiers so that each bite is perfectly layered with that rich and creamy frosting. A few chocolate shavings or even some dark chocolate jimmies sprinkled over the top adds a nice extra bit of texture and a fun little flourish. It may not be a cake for the kiddos, but the adults should have no problem gobbling it down. We don’t think there’s any better dessert out there to serve at your next cocktail party!

Yield(s): Serves 10-12

1 hour

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Ingredients
  • For the cake:
  • 3 cups all-purpose flour
  • 3 cups granulated sugar
  • 1 1/2 cups unsweetened cocoa powder
  • 1 1/2 cups buttermilk
  • 1 cup coffee liqueur
  • 4 large eggs
  • 1/2 cup vegetable oil
  • 1/2 cup Irish cream liqueur
  • 1 tablespoon baking soda
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
  • For the frosting:
  • 7-8 cups powdered sugar
  • 2 cups (4 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
  • 1 1/2 cups unsweetened cocoa powder
  • 1/4 cup of Kahlua
Preparation
  1. Preheat oven to 350°F and grease and flour three 9-inch round cake pans. Set aside.
  2. In a large mixing bowl, combine flour, sugar, cocoa, baking soda, baking powder, and salt and beat with an electric mixer on low until thoroughly incorporated.
  3. Add eggs, buttermilk, coffee liqueur, oil, Irish cream, and vanilla and beat on medium speed until well combined.
  4. Pour batter evenly into the three pans, and bake until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean, about 30-35 minutes.
  5. Remove from oven and let cool in pans for 15 minutes before inverting onto a wire rack to cool completely.
  6. While cake cools, make frosting:
  7. In a large bowl, beat butter with an electric mixer until smooth and fluffy. Add cocoa powder and beat until incorporated.
  8. Add 2 cups of powdered sugar, mixing on low until incorporated. Add 1-2 tablespoons of coffee liqueur, mixing until well blended. Repeat with remaining powdered sugar and coffee liqueur, until desired consistency is reached.
  9. Increase mixer speed to medium-high and beat frosting for 3-5 minutes to create a fluffier frosting.
  10. Once cake has cooled completely, smooth frosting between the layers and on the outside of the cake. Sprinkle with chocolate shavings before serving, if desired. Enjoy!

Adapted from The Stay at Home Chef.