Chocolate Irish Cream Celebration Cake

My aunt made this cake for my mom for her birthday and we all thought it was the best cake we had ever had!  It is reminiscent of the Kahlua cake I make, but I actually like this much better.  This recipe came from www.bettycrocker.com .   I made this cake this weekend for a birthday party and the only change I made was to make it a four layer cake like I do with most all my cakes.  So doing that I doubled the frosting and added some piped rossetes on the bottom.   Be sure and use a bitter sweet chocolate to offset the sweetness of the icing.  This cake is for adults only, but my 7 year old granddaughter loved it! 

Cake

1

box Betty Crocker® SuperMoist® devil’s food cake mix

1

box (4-serving size) chocolate instant pudding and pie filling mix

4

eggs

1/3

cup vegetable oil

1

cup Irish cream liqueur

1

cup sour cream

Irish Cream Frosting

1

cup butter, softened

4

oz (half of 8-oz package) cream cheese, softened

3

cups powdered sugar

1/4

cup Irish cream liqueur

1

teaspoon vanilla

Chocolate Glaze

4

oz bittersweet baking chocolate, chopped

1/2

cup whipping cream

1/4

cup light corn syrup

2

teaspoons vanilla

1/3

cup sliced almonds, toasted

1. Heat oven to 350°F (325°F for dark or nonstick pans). Spray 2 (9-inch) round cake pans with cooking spray.
2. In large bowl, beat all cake ingredients with electric mixer on medium speed 5 minutes, scraping bowl occasionally, until well blended. Pour batter into pans. Bake 35 to 45 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool 10 minutes; remove cakes from pans to cooling racks. Cool completely.
3. In large bowl, beat butter and cream cheese with electric mixer on medium speed until light and fluffy. Reduce speed to low. Add powdered sugar, 1 cup at a time, beating until blended. Add 1/4 cup liqueur and 1 teaspoon vanilla; beat until frosting is smooth and spreadable.
4. Place 1 cake layer on serving plate; spread with one-third of the frosting. Top with second layer. Frost side and top of cake with thin layer of frosting to seal in crumbs. Refrigerate 30 minutes. Frost cake with remaining frosting.
5. Place chopped chocolate in small bowl. In small saucepan, heat whipping cream over medium heat until bubbles form around edge. Pour warm cream over chocolate; let stand 1 minute. Stir with whisk until chocolate is melted. Add corn syrup and 2 teaspoons vanilla. Stir until smooth. Let stand 10 minutes or until thickened.
6. Pour glaze on top of cake, letting some glaze drip down side. Sprinkle almonds around edge of cake. Store in refrigerator.

Makes 8 to 10 servings