Leprechaun Root Beer Chocolate Bundt Cake (Gluten-Free)

Today we are saluting St. Patrick’s Day and the 27th celebration of day The Artist and I first met. I have a wonderful and easy root beer chocolate bundt cake for you … spiked with Bailey’s Irish Cream. This is one treat that you will want to make all year long!

Because St. Pat’s is coming up, I combined Bailey’s with root beer in this cake. It was a great combination with just enough kick to elevate this cake to party status.

When I was growing up, celebrating our Irish heritage every March was taken very seriously. As the youngest in the family, my brothers had the advantage of age and experience. It took me a few years to figure out that if I didn’t wear a nightgown with some green on it the night before, when I got up on St. Patrick’s Day, I was going to get pinched, a lot!

The tradition in our house was if someone wasn’t wearing green, they could be pinched. But if you pinched them and they had some hidden green on, they got to pinch you back twice! Needless to say, we often had bruises when the day was over, LOL. My nemesis was the green stripes on the elastic band of my brother’s underwear – it got me in more trouble ha ha ha. 

My mom was even sneakier – she got up early and put on green eyeshadow! Until we wised up, we all got pinched twice by her. 🙂

Don’t forget to wear your green on Thursday. Everyone is an honorary leprechaun on March 17th! And make sure you wrap up this cake tightly and store it in the refrigerator. The leprechauns have been known to sneak off with it in the night, the little hooligans! 

This year The Artist and I will be celebrating an amazing 27 years together, toasting the day we met.  It was a fun and memorable evening. I hope you have an equally fun St. Paddy’s Day! 

Did you enjoy this story and recipe? Let me know in the comments, I love hearing from you!

 

Key Ingredients for Root Beer Chocolate Bundt Cake:

• Gluten-free flour blend, baking soda, salt, root beer, butter
• Bailey’s Irish Cream or more root beer, mayonnaise, cocoa
• Sugar, brown sugar, eggs, melted butter, powdered sugar

 

PRO Tip:

When pouring root beer, it will foam up. Wait for it to dissipate before measuring. Measure the actual liquid level, not the top of the foam. One way to reduce the foam is to open the bottle of root beer earlier in the day and leave it out to flatten. You’ll get less foam and all the flavor.

 

How to make Root Beer Chocolate Bundt Cake:

1. Heavily butter a bundt pan and set aside; whisk together the flour, baking soda, and salt until blended, then set aside
2. Combine the root beer, Bailey’s (if using), butter, and cocoa powder in a saucepan; cook over medium-low heat until butter is melted and stir until evenly blended
3. Pour into the bowl of your stand mixer or a large mixing bowl if using a hand mixer, cool about 5 minutes; add both sugars and beat until smooth and creamy and you can easily hold the bowl in the palm of your hand
4. Add the eggs one at a time, mixing after each addition, until completely incorporated before adding the next egg; add half the flour mixture and mix on low until fully incorporated, then add remaining flour blend and mix in, then turn up the speed and beat until fluffy, about 30 seconds
5. Pour batter into the buttered bundt pan and bake for 40 minutes in a 325°F oven or until a toothpick comes out clean; cool 15 minutes on a wire rack then invert the cake out of the pan and onto the rack to fully cool
6. Gently move the cake to a serving plate or platter and spoon the glaze of the top of the cake, making sure the entire top is coated and use the back of a spoon to gently nudge the glaze over the outer edge of the cake; let the glaze set up before slicing and serving

 

PRO Tip:

Sometimes a recipe can benefit from a little extra moisture but adding liquid will throw off the ratio of dry to wet ingredients. That’s when adding 1 tbsp of mayonnaise (NOT salad dressing or Miracle Whip!) really helps. It gives you a little more egg and some oil without affecting the flavor of the batter, especially in chocolate cakes. If your gluten-free cakes are coming out dryer than you want, try this trick and see if it helps.

 

Recommended Tools (affiliate links; no extra cost to you):

• Kitchen scale
• Bundt pan
• Mixing bowls
• Medium saucepan
• Stand mixer or hand mixer
• Wire cooling rack
• Parchment paper

 

Gluten-Free Tips:

You can adjust any recipe to gluten-free by using 120 grams per cup of my favorite gluten-free flour blend. If you are using another brand of gluten-free flour, whisk the mix, spoon it lightly into a measuring cup until mounded, level off the top with a straight edge, and weigh the flour left in the cup. Use that weight as your standard per cup of that specific flour. Commercial blends such as Pamela’s, Bob’s Red Mill 1-to-1, or King Arthur Measure for Measure are all good choices.

If you are using a gluten-free flour blend with rice flour that is not super-finely ground (like my favorite products from Authentic Foods), setting the batter aside for 15 minutes to rest before putting the pan in the oven will help. It gives the flours time to more fully absorb the liquids, reducing the sense of grittiness common in many gluten-free baked goods.

 

 

 

 

Create a New Tradition Today!

 

 Here are more recipes from The Secret Recipe Club just for you! 

 

Welcome! The suggestions here are not intended as dietary advice or as a substitute for consulting a dietician, physician, or other medical professional. Please see the Disclaimers/Privacy Policy page for additional details. Unauthorized use, distribution, and/or duplication of proprietary material from The Heritage Cook without prior approval is prohibited. If you have any questions or would like permission, please contact me. We participate in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to amazon.com. As an Amazon Associate, I earn a small amount from qualifying purchases. This page may contain affiliate links. This post was first shared in Mar 2015. The article was updated in 2022.