Bailey's Irish Cream Cake

My youngest brother-in-law had a birthday over the weekend. He requested my Bailey's Irish Cream cake several months ago, so I obliged (after gentle reminding from my mother-in-law). The cake has wow factor, so it's always nice to make it just for the reactions to its appearance alone. The taste is also pretty fabulous, so I continue to make it. The thanks for this cake goes to a former co-worker of my father, Barbara. She made this one year for our family at Christmas...and that's all it took. It's been at least 16 years, and we are all still making it. My Mom does it best, and I try my hardest. I know at least 2 of my friends make it now. I'll share the recipe with you with the hope that you will get the same sense of satisfaction from the ohs and ahs that I do.















Ingredients:
Box of Yellow Cake Mix
1/4 Cup + 3 Tablespoons Bailey's Irish Cream
2 Large Containers Heavy Whipping Cream
Powdered Sugar
1 Teaspoon Vanilla
1 King Size Chocolate Bar
2 Tins Pepperidge Farm Pirouette Cookies
Decorative Wired Ribbon

Make the cake, according to the package, in two 9-inch round pans. Let cakes cool completely. Split each of the 2 layers in half so that you have four layers. Rather than use a knife to split the layers, I use unflavored dental floss. I start at the side of the cake away from me and pull the dental floss towards me.

In mixer, whip one container of the heavy whipping cream until almost stiff. Add 1/4 cup Bailey's to the whipped cream and powdered sugar to your taste. Set the whipped cream aside.

Put one layer on the cake plate, and drizzle with one tablespoon of Bailey's. Top the layer with whipped cream. Repeat this process with 2 more layers.

Put the final layer on top. Clean your whipped cream bowl. Add the second container of heavy whipping cream and begin mixing. Mix until almost stiff, then add powdered sugar (to your taste) and 1 teaspoon of vanilla. Mix until stiff.

Top the cake with the fresh whipped cream, and bring it down the sides. Place cookies along the sides of the cake (I find that my cookies are a little long, so I end up cutting them first). Secure the cookies with ribbon.

Top the cake with chocolate curls. For this cake, I used a Hershey bar and a vegetable peeler. My mom bought me a fancy wheel of chocolate and a nifty little machine to make beautiful curls without much effort, but my wheel of chocolate broke...

Mom, if you are reading this, I need a new wheel of chocolate!