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.
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
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.
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 also works great.
- 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 anyone a home baker. I often use three 6-inch round cakes, which I often split into 4 layers for a tall display. Some times, I use three 8-inch round pans or three 7-inch cakes.
- Once baked, always invert your cakes on a cooling rack. This enables air circulation and prevents the steam from pooling at the bottom of the pan.
- Lastly, 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. If the cake bakes too fast 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.
How to make Kahlua cake with Kahlua chocolate buttercream (Save/Pin)
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.
Vanilla Kahlua Cake with Kahlua Chocolate Buttercream
Print Pin RateDescription
Ingredients
Make one - 6"x3 layer cake or 7"x 2 layer cake
For the cake
- 228 grams (1 cups) Butter (2 sticks) unsalted, room-temperature
- 330 grams (1.5 cups) Light brown sugar
- 3 Eggs large
- 320 grams (2.50 cups) All-purpose flour
- 1 1/2 tsp Baking soda
- 1 tsp Baking powder
- 1/2 tsp Salt
- 2 tsp Vanilla
- 60 ml (0.25 cups) Kahlua
- 120 ml (0.50 cups) Sour cream
For the Kahlua chocolate buttercream
Plus
- 60 ml (0.25 cups) Simple syrup
- 10 Chocolate balls (white or milk chocolate)
Instructions
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.
Equipment
Nutrition Information
The nutrition information and metric conversion are calculated automatically. I cannot guarantee its accuracy. If this data is important to you please verify with your trusted nutrition calculator. Thank you
Frequently asked questions
Yes, you can - use my eggless vanilla cake and replace 1/4 cup liquid in the recipe with 1/4 cup Kahlua.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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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Daniela
Wowie what a fun looking cake recipe!!! And I really appreciate that you showed us what it actually looks like on the inside too! Definitely inspired to get my cake baking on :)!
Veena Azmanov
Thank you, Daniela. Yes, it's always nice to see the inside of the cake so know what the recipe looks like.
Dee
Hi, tried this recipe and loved how the cake turned out. Super soft, moist with the perfect crumb! I like the texture of the cake so much that I was wondering if I can substitute the kahlua for orange juice to make it an orange cake? I've already tried your orange cake recipe, but the texture doesn't come anytime close to this.
Veena Azmanov
Thank you, Dee. I am happy you enjoyed this cake. Yes. I think you can use orange juice and orange zest to make this an orange cake.
Amanda Mason
Loving all these tips!! So helpful and I love the detail you went into about kahula! This cake looks amazing! Something I would like to make for my friends and family!!
Veena Azmanov
Thank you, Amanda. Happy you liked my detailed post.
Marisa F. Stewart
What a fantastic looking cake -- it's perfect. Every cake you make sounds better than the other. I do love my coffee flavor so I KNOW that this cake would be one that I'd love. You certainly make it easy even for a cake novice to know how to make a perfect cake. Another one of your recipes I'm saving.
Veena Azmanov
Thank you, Marisa. Me too, love the coffee flavor.
Carrie | Clean Eating Kitchen
What a beautiful looking cake, perfect for any celebration! I love you have used kahlua in this, it sounds really yummy!
Veena Azmanov
Thanks Carrie. Yes, we love Kahlua too.
Claire | The Simple, Sweet Life
My dad and I always like to add a little kahlua to our chocolate ice cream so I can only imagine how delicious this vanilla cake with chocolate frosting must taste with kahlua!
Veena Azmanov
I love Chocolate Kahlua ice cream too Claire. So good.
Tammy
This cake is a dream! That buttercream is swoon worthy and the kahlua is a fabulous addition!
Veena Azmanov
Thank you, Tammy. We love this cake.
Nicoletta
Your posts are always so informative! I feel I can make a beautiful layer cake like this following your directions. Love the flavors and also the presentation.
Veena Azmanov
Thank you, Nicoletta. You sure can make a beautiful cake.
Tisha
Kahlua is amazing! Using it in a cake is perfection!!
Veena Azmanov
Thanks, Tisha.
Jane Saunders
This cake looks fantastic and I love the flavours you've incorporated into it. kahlua is such a great liqueur. I love cakes that use buttermilk, yoghurt or soured cream to tenderise the crumb so I'm looking forward to baking this one up soon.
Veena Azmanov
Thank you, Jane. I love using buttermilk in my cakes too.
Noelle
Wow, I just made this for a birthday cake and it was a hit! I had multiple people ask me for the recipe after!!
Veena Azmanov
Thanks, Noelle. So happy you tried and enjoyed this recipe. It's always a hit in our family too. Thanks so much for coming back to write this feedback. Love hearing from those who try my recipes.
Sara Welch
What a decadent cake! Love your presentation; looks professionally perfect!
Veena Azmanov
Thank you, Sara. Yes, it is very decadent
Aleta
I definitely need this cake in my life!! With mother’s came coming up and how much my mom loves Kahlua, this will be perfect for the weekend!
Veena Azmanov
Yes, you must try this for mother's day. It would be perfect.
Jenni LeBaron
I bet the sour cream makes this cake extremely moist and delicious. I love the Kahlua flavors going on here. This is the perfect cake for an adult birthday!
Veena Azmanov
Thank you, Jenni. It is a moist and delicious cake.
Elaine Benoit
This cake looks so scrumptious! I love the flavors and how perfectly they must combine together! Another awesome cake recipe, Veena!
Veena Azmanov
Thanks, Elaine. Yes, Kahlua is such an amazing combination with chocolate
Gloria | Homemade & Yummy
What a great cake to make for a birthday celebration. I would be all over this. Now, if only I could get someone to bake it for me? If I do it ... I'm not sharing LOL!!
Veena Azmanov
Absolutely Gloria. I'd love this cake for my birthday <3
Dan from Platter Talk
We love anything with Kahlua in it but have never made a cake with this favorite liqueur of ours. Looking forward to making this beautify to add to our cake collection; thanks so much for sharing!
Veena Azmanov
Thank you, Dan. You must try Kahlua in a cake. So good.
Heidy L. McCallum
What an amazing cake with an amazing flavor! Made it the other day the entire family loved it. Definitely will make again soon.
Veena Azmanov
Thanks, Heidy. So happy to hear you and the enjoyed this recipe. Thank you so much for coming back to write this feedback. Love hearing from those who tried my recipes.
Shashi at SavorySpin
My breakfast of PB and jam on toast is not keeping me from drooling all over my keyboard at THIS cake! Wow - so love the flavors you have here - a slice of this would make my monday merry!
Veena Azmanov
Thanks, Shashi. I love cake for breakfast too.
Alexandra Cook
That buttercream looks to die for! Yum! I love kahlua, so I can only imagine it would beautifully in this cake. And your presentation is superb!
Veena Azmanov
Me too, Alexandra. Love Kahlua. This was loaded with it.
Natalie
I love Kahlua! This cake looks and sounds so delicious - I love how festive it is!
Veena Azmanov
Me too, Natalie. Love Kahlua.