March is the month of everything green! I know that St. Patrick’s Day is only one day of the month, but the great bombardment of green will begin March 1^st, if not a few days before. This year I’m not able to celebrate the way I would like because I’m about nine months pregnant, but that doesn’t mean I can’t make a yummy dessert. This Irish Cream and Mint Cake includes homemade alcohol-free Irish cream and, if you like, you can add a little Irish whiskey to kick it up a notch. Enjoy!

Irish Cream and Mint Cake

Ingredients

For the Cake
2 ½ Cups Cake Flour
1 ¼ Cup Granulated Sugar
3 ½ Tsp. Baking Powder
1 Tsp. Salt
1 ¼ Cup Whole Milk
2/3 Cup Coconut Oil
1 Tsp. Vanilla Extract
3 Eggs Beaten
For the Irish Cream
½ Cup Sweetened Condensed Milk
¼ Cup Heavy Whipping Cream
¼ Cup Chocolate Syrup
3 Tbsp. Instant Coffee I used decaf 2 Tsp. Vanilla Extract
For the Frosting
24 Oz. Whipped Topping Softened
3.4 Oz. Instant Vanilla Pudding
2 ½ Tsp. Mint Extract
30 Drops Green Food Coloring or amount desired to your liking
**Optional: Chocolate Syrup for Drizzling

Instructions

For the Cake
Preheat oven to 350° and grease a 9x13 baking dish. In a large mixing bowl, combine flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt. On low to medium speed, blend in milk, oil, extract, and eggs until completely mixed. Evenly pour batter into prepared dish and bake for 30-35 minutes or until cake test is passed. Remove cake from oven and allow to cool. Once cool, using wooden skewer, poke holes evenly throughout the cake.
For the Irish Cream
In a microwavable bowl, mix condensed milk, cream, syrup, and coffee. Heat for 1 minute in microwave. Stir until coffee is completely dissolved. Set aside and let cool to room temperature. Evenly pour the cream on top of the cake.
For the Frosting
In a food processor, over medium speed, mix cool whip, pudding, extract, and food coloring until color is even throughout. Place mixture in freezer for 5 minutes to slightly stiffen. (Don’t leave frosting in freezer too long or it will be too hard to spread.) Using rubber spatula, evenly spread frosting over cooled cake. Store cake in refrigerator. Drizzle with chocolate syrup before serving.