Layers of bold coffee layer cake filled with whiskey whipped cream and frosted with a coffee whiskey buttercream. Inspired by the famous Irish Coffee at The Buena Vista in San Francisco, this cake is just the right amount of sweet and creamy with bold coffee and whiskey flavors—a must for St. Patricks’s Day!

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Have you ever been to The Buena Vista in San Francisco? It may not seem like much from the outside, but it’s an iconic stop you need to try if you’re ever in our city. It’s near Ghirardelli Square and Fisherman’s Wharf and not too far from the Presidio and The Golden Gate Bridge. So no excuses—try it sometime! It’s usually bustling inside, with people crammed into every seat in the surprisingly spacious cafe.

And they almost always have a slew of ready-made Irish Coffees sitting at the bar, because they go through them that fast. It’s the drink that made them famous, and for good reason. It combines rich local coffee with smooth Irish whiskey, with two sugar cubes swirled into the bottom and a nice float of cream on top.

If you like coffee or whiskey or both, this is the drink for you. If you’re not a coffee person, I still suggest you give it a try. My husband dislikes the flavor of coffee but will do an Irish coffee from time to time. They’re that good!

Which brings me to this cake. I’ve been better about sharing thematic desserts with enough time readers to actually make them for said holiday. While you may not care, I feel like that’s a life win worth mentioning. (And I also really want to insert a laugh cry emoji, but the Mean Girls of TikTok say I can’t.)

I chose to make a plain coffee layer cake, since it’s quite a science to use liquor in a cake and have the flavor sufficiently shine through without altering the cake’s texture. So instead, I added some (Kentucky) whiskey to the buttercream and whipped cream filling.

It was perfection.

While this isn’t suitable for children (I had to either eat my cake in the kitchen in the dark or distract my daughter with Teddy Grahams so she wouldn’t try to steal any), it’s so worth the time it takes to make this cake!

How to make Buena Vista Irish Coffee Cake

I suggest making the buttercream ahead of time, so the flavor can deepen in the fridge for a few days. You can also make the cake layers ahead, to save time.

First, sift and whisk together your dry ingredients. Sifting is necessary to create a tender crumb.

Next, beat the butter on high until smooth then beat in the sugars until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Scrape the bowl and add the eggs, one at a time, until well-blended. Add the vanilla and oil (balances the coffee to help the cake stay moist).

Next, make a very strong shot of espresso and combine it with your milk (or dissolve instant coffee or espresso into your milk when you take it out to warm up).

Add half of the flour to the butter-egg mixture, blending on low just until combined. Add the coffee/milk and mix on low just until combined. Add the rest of the flour and (you guessed it) mix on low just until combined. Scrape the sides and bottom of the bowl and mix on low for 2-3 seconds just to combine things.

Divide between prepared cake pans and bake until a toothpick comes out with moist crumbs (which is a sweet spot between still raw and overbaked/no crumbs). Let cool in the cake pans 5-10 minutes then remove and let cool completely.

Once cakes are completely cool, make the whiskey whipped cream by combining all ingredients in a chilled bowl. Stir until combined and taste. Adjust flavors as desired. Whisk vigorously (or use a hand/stand mixer with the whisk attachment) until stiff peaks form.

Assemble cake by spreading a thin layer of frosting on the bottom cake layer. Form a ring of frosting around the edge using a piping bag or plastic baggie with a small corner cut off. Fill with whiskey whipped cream just to the top of the ring.

Continue until top layer of cake is on, then frost with a crumb coat. Chill for at least 20 minutes to set the cake. Frost to desired thickness and chill again to set.

Pair this with:

While I made all of the elements to complement each other perfectly, you can absolutely make the delicious coffee cake layers and pair them with any of the following fillings/frostings.

Brown Sugar Spice Buttercream

Salted Caramel Buttercream

Whipped Sea Salt Vanilla Bean Buttercream

Chocolate Ganache Buttercream

White Chocolate Buttercream

Tips and notes for this recipe

Use quality coffee and whiskey

Please, for the love of all that is coffee, don’t use Nescafe. For the instant coffee route, I like Starbucks Via Pike Place, because I found a good deal on Amazon when the whole dalgona coffee craze was dominating our pandemic life. For fresh coffee, I tend to buy local in a roast I prefer (usually with notes of chocolate, nuts, and caramel). But there are some really great brands out there, so go searching! I like to keep instant coffee on hand for baking, as you only need about 1 packet per recipe. And of course I always have a variety of coffee beans—regular and decaf—on hand. As for the whiskey, you don’t need the super expensive stuff, but try to get something decent. I like to use Bulleit or Maker’s Mark, because they’re at Costco and #costcoislife.

Sub espresso powder

You can create your 1 cup of milk and coffee by combining one cup of whole milk with 1 tablespoon instant coffee or espresso (use high quality!). Do this when you take the milk out to warm up (same time as the eggs and butter). It might clump up a bit, so you may need to let it rest then whisk again later until it’s blended. I used up the last of my espresso powder in my coffee whiskey buttercream, so I had to go the strong espresso shot route, which still worked perfectly.

Split up your work

I try to spit up my bakes whenever possible. I made the buttercream a couple days in advance, which had the added benefit of making a richer coffee flavor. The cake can also be made ahead, but the ideal way to store it is actually in the freezer. Double wrap it in plastic wrap and freeze for up to 1-2 months. You could also make it the night before and keep it on the counter, double wrapped. But it’s best to frost it within about 12 hours or so. You can refrigerate the assembled cake overnight as well, so it’s ready to go for your celebration!

You might also like:

Salted Caramel Dark Chocolate Mocha Cake

Eggnog Latte Cake

Dark Chocolate Mocha Cupcakes

Champagne Cupcakes

Apple Pie Cake with Bourbon Apple Pie Filling

Buena Vista Irish Coffee Cake

Print

prep time: 25-30 minutes
bake time: 25-30 minutes (less if using 3 or more pans)
total time: 1 hour (includes filling and frosting)

servings: 12-16

Ingredients:

one batch coffee whiskey buttercream

for the coffee cake layers

2 cups plus 2 tablespoons flour, spooned and leveled then sifted
2 teaspoons baking powder, sifted
½ teaspoon ground sea salt
1 ½ sticks (¾ cup) unsalted European style butter, room temperature
1 cup packed light brown sugar
½ cup granulated sugar
3 large eggs, room temperature
2 tablespoons neutral oil (avocado is best, vegetable or canola will do)
1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract
¾ cup whole milk, room temperature
¼ cup very, very strong coffee or double shot of espresso (see note)

for the whiskey whipped cream

1 cup heavy whipping cream
¼ cup powdered sugar
2 tablespoons whiskey

Instructions:

If possible, make the coffee whiskey buttercream ahead of time and refrigerate to let the flavors deepen. Take it out of the fridge when you make the cake layers so it comes to room temperature by the time you're ready to assemble the cake. (Otherwise, make it while the cake cools.)

make the coffee cake layers

Preheat oven to 325. Lightly grease and flour two or three cake pans (three or four if using 6” pans). Line with parchment paper. Set aside. Note: I like to use 3 cake pans to make room for more filling without having to cut the cake in half, which I’m terrible at. If you want to make a 6” cake, you need to use at least 3 pans or they will be overfilled and your cakes won’t bake evenly.
In a medium mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt. Don’t skip sifting the flour and baking powder, as that will drastically affect the texture of the cake. As well, be sure to spoon then level your flour so you don’t pack it in. Set aside.
In the bowl of your stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment (or in a large mixing bowl and using hand beaters), beat the butter until smooth. Add the sugars and beat on high until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes, scraping the bowl as needed.
Add the eggs one at a time, beating on medium until well blended and scraping the bowl after each egg. Add the oil and vanilla extract and beat on medium until well blended, about 1 minute.
Make your strong espresso shot or coffee (see note for using instant coffee or espresso). Add to the milk. You want 1 cup total of coffee/milk, so if you end up with extra, be sure to set that aside for a miniature pick-me-up and don’t add it to the batter.
Add half of the flour to the butter/egg mixture and beat on low until just barely combined. Add the milk/coffee and beat on low until just barely combined. Then add the rest of the flour and beat on low until just barely combined. Scrape down the bowl then mix on low for 2-3 seconds just to combine all batter.
Divide evenly between prepared pans and spread evenly. Bake for 25-30 minutes (less if using 3 or more pans), until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out with a few moist crumbs. Begin checking cake around 15 minutes, and rotate at this time if not using convection. You want to catch it at the sweet spot between raw batter and no crumbs (which means it’s overbaked).
Let cakes cool in the pan 5-10 minutes then remove to a cooling rack until completely cooled.

make the whiskey whipped cream

Combine the heavy cream, powdered sugar, and whiskey in a large, chilled mixing bowl. Whisk gently to combine. Taste, adjusting sugar or whiskey until desired taste is reached (don’t add more than another 1-2 tablespoons whiskey or the cream may not whip).
Whisk vigorously (or use a hand/stand mixer with the whisk attachment) until stiff peaks begin to form.

assemble your cake

If you made the buttercream ahead of time, you may need to stir or beat it for a minute to make it pliable. Fill the cake by spreading a thin layer of buttercream on the bottom cake layer. Build a ring of buttercream around the edge using a piping bag or plastic baggie with a corner cut off. Fill with whiskey whipped cream.
If your house is warm, it may be easiest to frost the top of the next layer of cake while it’s on the cooling rack then transfer it with a large spatula or cake lifter. That way you don’t cause the layers to separate as you spread buttercream on the upper layers.
Once all layers are added, frost a thin crumb coat of buttercream then chill for at least 20 minutes to set. Frost with desired amount of buttercream (I used almost all of it--so good!). Chill until set.

Enjoy! Keep cake refrigerated until 30 minutes before serving. Alternatively, I found it easiest to cut it while chilled then let each slice warm up for 10 minutes on the counter. Store leftovers in the fridge, placing a piece of plastic directly against any cut edges then covering the whole thing with plastic wrap or storing in an airtight cake holder. Leftovers will last 3-5 days in the fridge.