This festive season, wow your guests with a showstopper they’ll be sure to remember. Flying in to be the star of the Christmas dinner table are Baileys Chocolate Reindeer – made from luxurious velvety smooth chocolate crafted by premium chocolatiers, Lir, the reindeer are hollow in the middle, perfect for filling up with your most-loved variant of deliciously decadent Baileys topped with swirls of whipped cream, sumptuous melted marshmallows or chocolate pretzels – get creative and let your imagination run wild!
Guaranteed to be the most wanted after-dinner treat, star baker and food writer Edd Kimber has created the ultimate seasonal showpiece for your Christmas dinner table. A winter world of lavish and extra treat-worthy toppings with lashings of gold-coated, dripping white chocolate ganache and piped dark chocolate trees with the Baileys Reindeer nestled in the heart of the scene.
Edd’s showpiece is an Instagrammable Baileys creation to add the wow-factor to your post-feast celebrations. Follow the recipe below to create your own show-stopping centrepiece with easy to try steps for baking at home and just made for tucking into after your Christmas feast.
Baileys Original Irish Cream & Baileys Chocolate Reindeer are available now for a limited time only. In selected Asda stores, you can buy a bottle of Baileys 1l Original Irish Cream and get a Free Reindeer for £12. Subject to availability, whilst stocks last. Get them before they’re gone!
Edd’s Baileys Reindeer Cake serves 12… or less if you have any Baileys loving chocoholics in the house!
Chocolate Cake
- 110g unsalted butter, room temperature
- 100g dark chocolate
- 280ml hot coffee
- 3 tbsp cocoa powder
- 140ml buttermilk
- 280g plain flour
- 2 tsp bicarbonate of soda
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 340g light brown sugar
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- 3 large eggs
Baileys Eggnog Buttercream
- 3 large egg whites
- 165g caster sugar
- 75g light brown sugar
- 360g unsalted butter, room temperature
- 1/4-1/2 tsp freshly ground nutmeg
- 100ml Baileys Original Irish Cream – 1.8 units
White Chocolate Baileys Drips
- 100g white chocolate
- 50ml Baileys Original Irish Cream – 0.9 units
Decoration
- Edible gold lustre powder
- 2x Baileys Reindeer
- 50g dark chocolate
For the Chocolate Cake:
Preheat the oven to 180ºC (160ºC Fan) and lightly grease 3x20cm round cake tins, lining the bases with parchment paper.
Melt the chocolate in a bowl and set aside to cool. In another bowl, whisk the coffee and cocoa powder, then add the buttermilk and whisk to combine. Set both aside.
In a large bowl, cream together the butter, sugar and vanilla until light and fluffy (approx 5 minutes). Beat in the eggs one by one. Once combined, pour in the cooled chocolate and mix until smooth.
In a separate bowl, sift together the flour, bicarbonate of soda and salt. Add this in three additions to the wet ingredients, alternating with the buttermilk mixture so you start and finish with the flour mixture.
Divide the cake batter evenly between the tins and spread into an even layer. Bake in the preheated oven for 25-30 minutes or until a skewer inserted into the middle of the cake comes out clean. Allow the cakes to cool for 10 minutes in their tins before turning out onto a wire rack to cool completely.
For the Baileys Eggnog Buttercream:
Combine the egg whites and sugars in a heatproof bowl over a pan of simmering water and whisk until the sugar has dissolved (you should no longer be able to feel the sugar grains when rubbing some mixture between your fingers).
Remove the bowl from the heat and whisk with an electric mixer on high speed for 7-10 minutes, or until the meringue is stiff and glossy and at room temperature.
With the mixer still running, add the butter a little at a time until combined and the buttercream is smooth.
Add the ground nutmeg and Baileys Original Irish Cream, then mix gently until combined.
To assemble:
Place one cake layer onto a serving plate and spread with a thin layer of buttercream. Repeat with the rest of the layers, smoothing most of the remaining buttercream over the top and side of the cake once the final layer is stacked.
Place the iced cake in the fridge for 20 minutes until the buttercream is cold and firm.
To make the white chocolate Baileys drips, heat the white chocolate and Baileys Original Irish Cream together until the chocolate has melted. Stir the resulting ganache until smooth and silky.
Once the iced cake is firm, pour the ganache on top, spreading evenly out to the edges and teasing it over the sides to encourage it to drip. Return the cake to the fridge to set the ganache.
Mix two teaspoons of gold powder with two teaspoons of a clear vodka to make a paint-like consistency. Carefully paint the white chocolate with the gold mixture.
Melt the dark chocolate and pour into a piping bag. Line a baking tray with parchment and use the piping bag to draw simple tree shapes. Put these into the fridge to set fully.
Chop the antlers off two Baileys Reindeers. Fill with 50ml of Baileys and top with the remaining buttercream. Arrange on top of the cake.
Using the rest of the buttercream, pipe a few peaks around the reindeer. Remove the set chocolate trees from the fridge and carefully remove from the parchment, nestling them around the reindeer into the buttercream peaks.
Slice and enjoy!
Top Tip: If you don’t have a piping bag to pipe the dark chocolate trees, simply create your own at home by using baking paper and rolling the sheet to create the perfect nozzle. It’s an easy but effective way to create the delicious decorations.