Kentucky Bourbon Buttermilk Cake
A boozy bourbon cake with a light and tender crumb and the most to die for buttery-bourbon glaze.
Ingredients
- Cake:
- 3 cups (12 ounces) sifted cake flour*
- 1 tsp. baking powder
- 1/2 tsp. baking soda
- 1 tsp. salt
- 1 cup (8 ounces) unsalted butter
- 1 1/2 cups (10 1/2 ounces) sugar
- 1/2 cup (3 3/4 ounces) packed brown sugar
- 4 eggs, at room temperature
- 1/4 cup bourbon*
- 1 cup buttermilk, at room temperature
- Glaze:
- 6 Tbsp. (3 ounces) salted butter*
- 3/4 cup (5 1/4 ounces) sugar
- 1/4 cup bourbon
Instructions
Use butter to thoroughly grease a 10 inch bundt pan, (get in all the nooks and crannies.) Preheat oven to 350F and move a shelf to the middle.
For the cake:
Stir together the flour, baking powder, soda, and salt in a bowl and set aside.
In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, (or a large bowl with a hand mixer,) cream the butter and sugars together on medium-high speed until fluffy, about 5 minutes, scraping the bowl with a rubber spatula as you go.
Add the eggs one at a time, mixing well between each addition.
Combine the bourbon and buttermilk in a small bowl or liquid measuring cup.
With the mixer on low, add the flour mixture in three parts, alternating with the buttermilk-bourbon mixture, beginning and ending with the flour. With each addition, only mix until batter is mostly blended but not fully- making sure not to over-mix. After the last flour addition, finish mixing by hand.
Spoon the batter into the pan and spread it out evenly. Bake until the cake is golden and and a cake tester comes back with a few moist crumbs, 40 to 45 minutes.
For the glaze:
Make the glaze by combining the butter, sugar, and bourbon in a small saucepan over low heat just until the butter melts and the sugar dissolves, whisking to combine.
When the cake is done, set it on a cooling rack. Poke holes all over the top of the cake with a fork. Pour three-quarters of the glaze slowly over the cake, making sure it really soaks in.
Allow the cake to cool for 30 minutes, then flip it out onto a serving plate. Brush the top with the rest of the glaze. Rewarm the glaze if needed to keep it thin and brush-able
Notes
*If you don't have cake flour, you can make it like this: take 3 cups of AP flour and remove 3 tablespoons, add 3 tablespoon of cornstarch and whisk/sift it together.
*Irish whiskey, scotch, or rum would work well too!
*If you don't have salted butter, use unsalted and add a nice pinch of salt!
Recipe barely adapted from Vintage Cakes