Vanilla Kahlua Cake with Kahlua Chocolate Buttercream

Name: Vanilla Kahlua Cake with Kahlua Chocolate Buttercream
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 37 min
Total time: 47 min
Yield: 12 servings
Ingredients: 228 grams Butter (unsalted); 330 grams Light brown sugar; 3 Eggs (large); 320 grams All-purpose flour; 1 1/2 tsp Baking soda; 1 tsp Baking powder; 1/2 tsp Salt; 2 tsp Vanilla; 60 ml Kahlua; 120 ml Sour cream; 250 grams Butter; 500 grams Powdered sugar; 60 ml Kahlua; 250 grams Chocolate – semi-sweet; 2 tsp Vanilla; 60 ml Simple syrup; 10 Chocolate balls ((white & milk chocolate))

May 4, 2019 *Updated* May 13, 2019 By Veena Azmanov 40 Comments

Recipe Print

Vanilla Kahlua Cake with Kahlua Chocolate Buttercream

This moist, rich vanilla Kahlua cake is a light and airy butter-based layer cake. Frosted with Kahlua chocolate buttercream frosting this is perfect for a weekend treat, a celebration cake or when you need that coffee flavored zing.

Layer Cake, Kahlua Coffee Liquor, Vanilla Cake, Kahlua Chocolate Buttercream Frosting — Kahlua Liquor Cake, Vanilla Cake with Kahlua, Kahlua Chocolate Frosting

What is Kahlua?

Kahlua is a coffee liquor made from Mexican coffee beans and other ingredients like rum, corn syrup, vodka, and sugar. It has a high amount of caffeine. I believe Kahlua goes thru a seven-year process of making and has a long shelf life of four years.

About this cake

This is a light and airy butter-based vanilla cake infused with Kahlua coffee liquor. The cake is surprisingly simple and easy to make using sour cream for richness and Kahlua for that added edge. Topped with a Kahlua buttercream frosting this cake is perfect for a weekend dessert or any celebration with family and friends.

There are so many variations you can do with this cake, such as making it a chocolate Kahlua cake instead of vanilla. Or you may prefer to keep it a vanilla Kahlua cake with vanilla frosting instead of chocolate. Add some espresso to enhance the coffee flavor, or add chocolate chips and make it a chocolate chip kahlua cake.

Let’s talk ingredients and substitutes (Save/Pin)

All-purpose flour – Yes, regular plain flour (maida) is all you need for these cakes. Do not use any self-raising flour since those contain more leavening.
Butter – I prefer to use unsalted butter so I can control the quantity of sugar in my recipe. And yet, if salted butter is all you have to go ahead and use it. Just omit salt in the recipe.
Sour cream – Gives the cake a soft crumb. If you don’t get sour cream where you are, you can also make sour cream at home. Here’s how to make sour cream at home for baking. And if you must, yogurt is always a great substitute for sour cream. Buttermilk is another choice but is less thick than sour cream or yogurt, try my homemade buttermilk in 5 minutes.
Brown sugar – The molasses in the brown sugar contributes to the soft texture. You can also add dark brown sugar, and yet the cake will get a deeper color.
Eggs – Always use large size eggs when baking unless specified. The size of eggs varies significantly these days, so as a guide, a large egg weighs between 50 to 60 grams.
Vanilla – A good quality vanilla will make a huge difference in anything you make. Premium vanilla can be expensive, which is why I make my own homemade vanilla extract, bean paste or sugar.

What other frosting cake can I use for this Kahlua cake?

There are so many other choices for frosting. I have over 30 plus frosting recipes on this blog. And I highly recommend checking them out.

Over 30 homemade buttercream frosting recipes by Veena Azmanov all in one place.

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Useful Tips and Tools

If you bake often, it would be a good idea to invest in a cake mixer. Because often we try to mix by hand and then we are too tired to give it enough creaming or mixing. So, if you are making this cake go ahead and remove that K-Mix or Kitchen Aid from your kitchen cabinet. You don’t have to buy an expensive stand mixer, a simple hand mixer works great too.
Personally, I believe in measuring ingredients by weight, which makes my kitchen scale one of the most valuable items when baking.
And the same goes for my measuring cups and measuring spoons. It’s always a good idea to have these handy and use them when baking rather than trying to guess measurements.
Also, I think one set of baking pans is a must for any home baker. Personally, I like to bake three layers rather than torte my cakes and it bakes faster too. So for most of my layer cake recipes on this blog I use 3 x 6-inch round pans or 2 x 8-inch round pans.
Once baked, always invert your cakes on a cooling rack. This encourages air circulation and prevents the steam from pooling at the bottom of the pan.
Every oven works differently. So the baking times are just guidelines. In the case of cakes, a skewer inserted in the center is a great indication. And if the cake bakes too quick or too slow compared to the time given it might be a good idea to check if your oven needs calibration.
An oven thermometer is a great little gadget to help keep the oven temperature in check. All you need to do then is adjust the temperature accordingly.

Recipe – Kahlua Cake with Kahlua Chocolate Buttercream (Save/Pin)

Ingredients

For the vanilla kahlua cake

228 grams butter (1 cup or 2 sticks)
330 grams light brown sugar (1 1/2 cup)
3 large eggs
320 grams all-purpose flour (2 1/2 cups)
1 1/2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
2 tsp vanilla
60 ml Kahlua (1/4 cup)
120 ml sour cream (1/2 cup)

For the Kahlua chocolate buttercream

250 grams unsalted butter(1 cup or 2 sticks)
500 grams powdered sugar/confectioners sugar – 500 gram (4 cups)
60 ml Kahlua – 1/4 cup
250 grams chocolate – semi-sweet (8 oz)
2 tsp vanilla

Plus

60 ml simple syrup or sugar syrup
10 white and milk chocolate balls (optional)

Method

Prepare cake

Preheat the oven to 160 C/320 F.
Grease and line three 6 inch round baking pans or 2 x 7-inch round baking pans.
Combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.
Cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy.
Add vanilla and Kahlua, followed by the eggs, one at a time.
Add the flour and sour cream alternating in three batches.
Pour into the prepared baking pans.
Bake for 30 to 35 minutes until a skewer inserted comes clean.
Cool in the pan for 10 minutes then invert onto a cooling rack and cool completely before baking.

Prepare Kahlua buttercream frosting

Melt chocolate in a microwave safe bowl or double boiler – set aside to cool.
Cream the butter with Kahlua and vanilla.
Gradually add the powdered sugar and continue to cream until light and fluffy.
Lastly, combine the cooled melted chocolate.

Decorate

Prepare simple syrup – cool completely before using.
Once cooled, cut the domes off the cake layers.
Brush each layer with the cooled simple syrup.
Place a cake layer on the cake board or cake stand.
Top with a big dollop of frosting – spread evenly.
Then top the second cake layer on top followed by more filling and the last cake layer.
Place the cake in the fridge if necessary, so the layers hold together.
Spread the remaining frosting around and top of the cake.
Create a rustic buttercream look by simply swirling the spatula in a circular motion.
You can pipe any remaining frosting as swirls on top of the cake.
I decorated with white and milk chocolate balls.

Storage

Once decorated the cake does not need to be refrigerated.
It can stay at room temperature for three days or in the fridge for up to a week.
Once cut always cover the cut side of the cake with cling/plastic wrap so the cake does not dry out.

Frequently asked questions

Can I make this an eggless Kahlua cake?

Yes, you can – use my eggless vanilla cake and replace 1/4 cup liquid in the recipe with 1/4 cup Kahlua.

Can I use other alcohol instead of Kahlua?

Yes, you can use Baileys instead of Kahlua. I love to use my homemade Butterscotch Irish Cream. Other alcohol can be used as well, try Cointreau, whiskey, rum, brandy.

What other pans can I use for this vanilla kahlua cake recipe?

If you don’t want to make a layer cake like this one, you can make this into a sheet cake – a ‘Kahlua Sheet Cake’. You can also pour the batter into a well greased and dusted bundt pan for a ‘Kahlua Bundt Cake’.
This recipe can also be baked into 24 beautiful cupcakes.

Can I make this vanilla Kahlua cake a chocolate Kahlua cake?

Absolutely, just replace 2 tbsp of the flour with 2 tbsp of cocoa powder. Combine the cocoa powder to the dry ingredients before adding it to the batter.

Can I use vanilla buttercream frosting instead of chocolate?

Absolutely, if you want to make this a vanilla cake with vanilla frosting just use my Vanilla buttercream frosting instead of chocolate. I have many other frosting recipes with step by step pictures as well as videos for you to try. See my 30+ buttercream frosting recipes.

Can I add coffee to this Kahlua cake?

Kahlua is a coffee liquor but if you want to enhance the coffee flavor you can replace 2 tbsp of sour cream with 1/4 cup brewed coffee.

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Vanilla Kahlua Cake with Kahlua Chocolate Buttercream

Author: Veena Azmanov

5 from 20 votes

Print Pin Rate

Course – Dessert

Cuisine – American

Prep Time: 10 mins

Cook Time: 37 mins

Total Time: 47 mins

Calories: 533

Adjust Servings Here: 12 servings

Description

This Vanilla Kahlua cake is rich, creamy and decadent frosted with a Kahlua chocolate buttercream. A surprisingly easy recipe, perfect for a weekend dessert or special celebration.