Kentucky Bourbon Butter Cake
I don’t know about you, but rum cake was a dining room table staple at my grandma’s for as far back as I can remember. It showed up early and often for Sunday dinners and holidays. My great aunt was the designated rum cake-maker and to my knowledge, she used a box cake mix and Bacaradi, a recipe which has certainly made its round from index cards to recipe books and now, the Internet. A couple of years ago, I made a homemade version that pretty much knocked everyone’s socks off. My family loved it, and many of you have since made it and shared with me how much your families have loved it.
Given the popularity of the rum cake, I had a feeling that bourbon cake would be a terrific follow-up. I saw this bourbon cake nearly two years ago, and subsequently bought the cookbook where it had originated. Once I realized that the Kentucky Derby was right around the corner, I dusted off the recipe and whipped it up using Kentucky bourbon; any excuse to be festive, right?!
I don’t need to tell you how fabulous this is, do I? I mean… BUTTER. BOURBON. CAKE.
You can absolutely taste the butter in this cake and I mean that in the most phenomenal way imaginable. It’s moist, and absolutely bursting with bourbon flavor.
If you’re having a Kentucky Derby party, this is a must for your menu.
I also imagine no one would complain if you served it up for the holidays or any other get together where people appreciate cake, butter and bourbon.
One year ago: Kentucky Derby Pie Cupcakes
Two years ago: Alfajores
Three years ago: Homemade Restaurant Style Salsa
Four years ago: Pecan Sandies
Six years ago: Yellow Cake with Chocolate-Hazelnut Filling & Chocolate Frosting
Kentucky Bourbon Butter Cake
A wonderfully boozy bourbon cake, much like its rum cousin.
Ingredients:
For the Cake:
- 3½ cups sifted cake flour
- 1¼ teaspoons baking powder
- ¾ teaspoon baking soda
- 1¼ teaspoons kosher salt
- 1¼ cups unsalted butter, at room temperature
- 1¾ cups granulated sugar
- ⅔ cup light brown sugar
- 5 eggs, at room temperature
- ⅓ cup bourbon
- 1¼ cups buttermilk, at room temperature
For the Glaze:
- 7 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- ⅓ cup bourbon
Directions:
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease and flour a 12-cup fluted Bundt pan; set aside.
- Sift together the flour, baking powder and baking soda into a medium bowl. Add the salt and whisk to combine; set aside.
- With an electric mixer, cream together the butter and both sugars on medium-high speed for 5 minutes, until fluffy, stopping occasionally to scrape the sides of the bowl. Add the eggs one at a time, mixing well after each addition and scraping the sides of the bowl before adding the next.
- Combine the buttermilk and bourbon in a small bowl. Reduce the mixer speed to low and add the flour mixture in three parts, alternating with the buttermilk-bourbon mixture in two parts, beginning and ending with the flour. After each addition, mix until just barely blended and stop and scrape the bowl. Stop the mixer before the last of the flour has been incorporated and complete the blending by hand with a rubber spatula.
- Pour the batter into the prepared pan and spread it out evenly. Bake until the cake is golden brown and springs back when lightly pressed with a finger, 40 to 45 minutes.
- Towards the end of the baking time, prepare the glaze. Combine the butter, sugar and bourbon in a small saucepan over low heat until the butter melts and the sugar dissolves, whisking to combine.
- Remove the cake from the oven and immediately poke holes all over the top of the cake using a long skewer. Pour three-quarters of the glaze slowly over the cake, allowing it to seep into the holes. Place the cake on a wire rack and cool for 30 minutes, then turn it out onto a serving platter. Immediately brush the remaining glaze all over the top and sides of the cake (if the glaze has thickened, rewarm over low heat). Serve the cake warm or at room temperature. Leftover cake can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 5 days.
Did you make this recipe?
Leave a review below, then snap a picture and tag @thebrowneyedbaker on Instagram so I can see it!
(Recipe adapted from Vintage Cakes; originally seen on Hummingbird High)
All images and text ©
That crumb looks perfect! Wish I had a slice now!
Wow This cake looks so soft and delicious! Perfect for weekend treat!
If you don’t have a bundt pan, can you make this in a regular cake pan? Or loaf pan?
Hi Marcella, I think you could do a 9×13 pan (reduce baking time, though!), but it would be too much batter for a loaf pan.
Just stick me in a corner with a few slices of this and a mint julep and I will be happy forver! This cake looks perfect in every way.
This cake looks absolutely fabulous. SO yummy!!
Between the bourbon in the cake AND The glaze, this has gotta be one moist, wonderful cake. I love having my drinks, via cake :) This looks like an amazing cake! And blows the pants off any rum cake I’ve ever tried, no doubt. Pinned
I don’t know why this always confuses me…I sift the flour first, then measure, right?
Also, if I wanted to, but I’m not sure why I would want to…can the 1/3 cup of alcohol in the cake batter be replaced with anything? Thank you :)
Hi Sharon, Yes, you are correct! If the recipe would state “3.5 cups cake flour, sifted” then you would measure first, then sift. I would probably just omit the alcohol if you don’t want it, since there is already a good bit of milk in the recipe.
Do you have the weight of the flour? That gets rid of any questions of pre vs post sifting.
Hi Sam, I do not have the weight for the flour.
The flour will essentially be sifted twice…sift, measure, sift with baking powder and soda?
Yes, that’s correct!
This is perfect for my Dad (and me, too)!! We are huge KY bourbon fans!! Thanks for the recipe! My Dad’s birthday is right around the corner and now I know what cake he is getting!!
this cake looks sooooo sooo good. reminds me of a family favorite!
This is JUST the kind of cake I was hoping would come my way. I have the bourbon and I’m not into the real sweet cakes right now. Buttermilk, bourbon, brown sugar, three great ingredients. This will be my Mothers Day Baking.
Wow – you are certainly giving us the tools for an awesome Kentucky Derby gathering. Between the popcorn yesterday, this yummy cake today and the Kentucky Derby cupcakes from last year, I will make our friends VERY happy. :)
that looks amazing! My mom made a rum cake this weekend and I just loved it. I can’t wait to try this one! :)
I love the simplicity of this cake! Bourbon and butter are such fabulous ingredients that they don’t need to sit on the sideline – I imagine they turn this cake into something quite incredible.
Rum cake totally makes me think of my grandma too! (She serves hers every Christmas with peppermint ice cream). I’m a bourbon fiend (shhhh don’t tell), so I know I’d devour this!
I feel like I can taste the butter and bourbon in this cake just by looking at it — it looks so moist and scrumptious!
The cake looks really moist. Love adding bourbon to most anything.
This looks really good. I really enjoy your blog, and your recipes have been a lot of fun to make. I’ve been weighing my ingredients to ensure consistency. Is there a simple way to convert this recipe?
Hi Arlene, I use this chart from King Arthur Flour to convert pretty much anything that I want to weigh: http://www.kingarthurflour.com/recipe/master-weight-chart.html
My mouth is watering… this is an acceptable breakfast food, right?
How do you think this would work with brown butter? Would you suggest any changes to the recipe to ensure that the crumb bakes up the way yours did?
xo
a
It is absolutely an acceptable breakfast food :) As for the browned butter, I think it would be great! I’m not sure that you’d need to make any changes.
Thanks, Michelle! I can’t wait to make this :) xox
Thanks for sharing some Derby themed recipes this week; this Louisville girl is loving it!
Absolutely gorgeous. Can’t wait to try this. And, I love your recipe format, too. Smart!
I love alcohol in desserts any day!
MICHELLE! Your cake looks amazing!!! Thanks for the shout-out, and I’m glad you liked it!
This is such a beautiful cake, and perfect for Derby season, love it!
I have the Vintage Cakes book (and I love it!!), so I have made this bourbon cake and it is soooo good!
That looks so YUMMY!! Just looking at it makes my mouth water!!
Perfectly gorgeous cake! I will definitely be making this!
I’m a rum cake fiend and can’t wait to try this! Your pictures are so incredible — Thanks!
Thank you so much for posting this! My son has a nut allergy so I won’t be able to make my standard Kentucky derby pie this year for Derby. This cake will be a perfect substitute!! I can’t wait to try it.
SO GOOD!! Butter and Bourbon? Best combo!
Awesome! Did I mention that I made the rum cake from your site a while ago? Absolutely wonderful! I have complete faith this one will be as well. Cheers, Michelle!
Hi there, just wanted to tell you I made this yesterday, and am in love! Who needs icing on a cake? And I’m usually the one who doubles the icing recipe so there’s “enough”, hehe. I already had part of a bottle of whisky in the house (from my fruitcake in November) so i used that. The cake is extremely buttery, in a good way, and moist. The glaze soaked in to create luscious pockets of bliss. Thank you thank you thank you for sharing this recipe.
Wow… What an amazing cake in every way. Pinned to make as soon as possible!
Wow, you were reading my mind by posting this cake recipe today. We have family coming for the weekend and plan a big Derby party on our porch complete with juleps, and Kentucky tasty treats. Really wanted to make a cake for the occasion instead of the usual Derby pie, so I baked this today and have it stashed in an airtight container to surprise guests tomorrow night. I “might have” tripped when pouring in the glaze bourbon (ha) but I figured it would soak in nicely overnight. Had enough batter to make a few mini muffins for a test preview and i pronounce this cake delish. Thanks and hope your horse wins!
My goodness! “bourbon, butter, cake” is just music to my ears. The crumb looks so moist and tender.
Okay, I have a stupid guy question. What’s the difference between cake flour and regular ‘ol white flour? We only have “regular” flour, so can we just use that?
Hi Karl, Cake flour has cornstarch added to it, which gives it a lighter and more tender texture. If you have cornstarch, you can make your own cake flour. See the substitution here: https://www.browneyedbaker.com/substitutions/
Oh my this cake is so inviting.Pound cakes are my favorite and love the texture and crumb of this cake,first time here and I amazed I should say.Stop by at my space when you find a moment :)
Butter plus bourbon? Um, yes please!
I am going to attempt this for Mother’s Day. They want my bourbon pecan pie…but I think they will like this too. Thinking about doing something with pecans on top of the cake too…maybe a drizzle…IDK…thinking. Any suggestions?
I’ve never had rum cake or bourbon cake. I need to give them both a try. The glaze on this looks fantastic!
Made this cake this weekend its really very good and gone!
Yummy and sophisticated. Had it at a dinner party last night. I am not a baker and bought a Bundt pan just to make this. To accompany it, I whipped up some cream with a nice helping of confectioners’ sugar and a shot of bourbon, which I added after the cream got stiff. Served slices of cake with the cream and about three raspberries next to it. It made a beautiful, very genteel dessert that was never the less worthy of a face plant. Phenomenal.
This looks so good and just what I was looking for for a cookout this weekend. DO you think this cake could be made into cupcakes? I wanted to do a Strawberry filling with whipped cream.
Hi Erin, I think that would work. Be sure to reduce the baking time for the cupcakes.
I made this yesterday, OMG OMG OMG, So delicious and easy to make. I am so happy I came across your site. I also made your Funfetti Cupcakes, another winner. Thank you for the awesome recipes, I look forward to making more of your recipes.
Wondered- has anyone tried freezing? Sounds like it’d be a great christmas gift cake for co-workers!
I’ve never had rum cake – but I’m definitely going to try bourbon cake!
Can the bourbon still be substituted for a different liquor, like rum, without adjusting the other ingredients?
Hi Ryen, Yes, you could totally do that!
I tried this yesterday. I’m not sure what I did wrong. I used the Nordic Ware Cathedral Bundt Pan. After 40 minutes the cake was still batter. I kept adding time and checking it. I ended up baking it for a little over an hour. Of course, me opening the oven to test it every 5-10 minutes probably brought the oven temp down too low. Good news, it tasted fine. I’ll try it again. Oh, and I could drink the glaze.
I made this as a 9×13 cake and then made it into cakeballs. It was delicious. But now I’m wanting to make cupcakes. Any idea how many cupcakes it might make?
Hi Meg, You should get somewhere around 24 cupcakes, give or take a few.
I made this yesterday and had a little issue. When I took it out of the oven I poked holes then poured some of the glaze over it. I let it set for about 10 mins then tried to turn it over and the bottom was kind of mushy from the glaze. Is there something I wasn’t doing right? I turned it into a crumble dessert and I was still amazing!
Hi Sandra, You probably didn’t let it sit long enough and the glaze didn’t have a chance to seep into the cake and was still too close to the top (bottom). Per the recipe, make sure you let it sit for at least 30 minutes.
This recipe is AMAZING. So moist, with that nice crisp edge. I serve with fresh whipped cream and berries. And eat it for breakfast because it is even better the next day (if it lasts that long). This is one of my go-to desserts, thank you for a lifesaving fail proof recipe- I am a terrible baker and have thought I ruined it several times but it always tastes divine, regardless of how it looks.
I made this. It is awesome! The recipe is definitely a keeper. I did need to bake it for 55 minutes.
Yummy!
Will the cake fit in a 10 cup bundt pan?
Hi Keely, I am not sure, I’ve only ever made it in a 12-cup Bundt.
I have made this cake twice now and it hasn’t cooked through thoroughly either time. It looks great coming out of the oven. The toothpick is clean but then it turns out that the bottom half is mush. I thought my pan wasn’t large enough so I used a bigger pan. Cake just fell again after smelling and looking so perfect! I have no idea what I did wrong. My toothpick came out clean, I used room temp ingredients, followed the recipe to the letter. Are you sure it bakes in 45 minutes?
Hi Karen, I’m wondering if the toothpick comes out clean but you’re saying the bottom is mush, try testing doneness with a long skewer or thin knife so you can reach the batter the entire way through. Baking times can vary by oven, but definitely make sure it’s cooked through.
I followed the recipe in very precise manner
45 min after, i inserted toothpick, to test oneness, it came out clean
When the cake was flipped over, batter oozed out
Had a big mess
Returned it to my oven ( wolf convection, but I did not turn convection on), another 10 min, this time i used BBQ stick to check, Some part of the cake was still sticking to my BBQ stick.
Total time for cooking was an hour!
I think 3/1/2 cup of cake flour is too much for 40 min
I do not think I will attempt this recipe again although it taste good.
I am confident my wolf oven is working properly .
I made this cake twice before, where the batter overflowed out of the pan, despite having the temperature exactly at 350F and measuring out all the ingredients precisely for a 12-cup fluted bundt cake pan. The batter is delicious (and I have an older oven!), so I experimented and found that this recipe works when all amounts are adjusted for a 10 cup pan (but baked into a 12-cup pan in any case). I’m hoping that when I have a newer oven, I won’t run into this anymore and can make the cake as per the recipe!
Hi Renee,
I read your comment and I had the exact same thing happen to me. (old over / over flow etc). and My thought was i had the wrong pan size but I dont. Would you be able to share how you converted the recipe from 12 cup bundt pan to 10 cup? did you use a 4/5 conversion or something else?
Thank you!
Leah
Can this be made into a layer cake?
Thank you
Hi Rebecca, I haven’t done so, but would love to hear your review if you do it!
I’ve made this recipe with 3 layer 10″ cake pans and it was amazing.
Hi! This is the second time I’ve made this and it is fantastic!! Here’s my question: due to moving and closing on my house tomorrow, I have to make the cake today, (Thursday) but can’t serve it till Saturday. I *think* I should wait until Saturday to make the glaze and pour over it just before serving. OR, should I glaze it today and let it all sit for 48 hours before serving. I don’t want it to get mushy.
Thank you for your help and for this wonderful recipe!!
Hi Laura, You should do the glaze immediately. It won’t be able to seep into the cake correctly if the cake is not hot. Enjoy!
If I don’t have buttermilk or any milk, can I use water or more Brandy
Unfortunately not, you need the buttermilk to work with the baking soda to help the cake rise.
I made this Bourbon cake for my housewarming and it was a huge hit. I barely had leftovers. The cake was super moist and didn’t have an overwhelming taste of Bourbon. It was absolutely perfect. I will be making this again. Unfortunately my husband has a milk allergy and was not able to taste it. I’m going to try vegan butter in place of the dairy butter, and almond milk with vinegar in place of the buttermilk. I will post how it comes out. Other than that, best recipe for Bourbon cake I have found so far.
What a crowd pleaser! My hubby wanted a boozy whiskey cake for his bday. He was very happy with this, as were all my Thanksgiving guests. And it wasn’t hard to make either. I’ll definitely make it again!
I made this cake for Christmas. My family LOVED it. New family tradition was born.
I have a lot of trouble with this cake sticking to my Bundt pan. I have the Anniversary pan. The first time I thought it stuck because I used regular PAM instead of Baker’s secret. Second time, it fell. This time, I used that super release you make with equal parts Crisco, oil and flour. It still stuck, and I had to use a steam release technique from the Nordic website to get it out in one piece. However several chunks pulled off. So I am going to make a thin Bourbon buttercream glaze to smooth it out. I poked the holes and spooned the glaze over the holes when the cake was still hot. I tried to turn it out after 30 minutes and it did not want to move so I gave it a bit more time. Nothin worked.
My rum cakes, lemon glazed cake, egg nog cake all use the hole poke a hot cake method and do not stick. Why does this cake stick?
Hi Claire, I have the same Nordicware anniversary bundt pan and I’ve never had an issue with sticking with this cake. I typically grease liberally with shortening, and then flour.
My husband has a collection of Bourbon whiskey and we have been looking for a good recipe for Bourbon Cake. This recipe is amazing. The flavor of the butter is perfect in combination with the Bourbon. We loved it. Mine came out a bit darker then the one in the pic, but amazing flavor. Ill be keeping this recipe :)
This cake is AWESOME!! I’ve made it seven times since the Christmas holiday. I’ve made this recipe with three layer 10″ round cakes, a half sheet cake, and loads and loads of cupcakes. I made a few modifications ~ 2/3 cup bourbon, 1 tsp vanilla extract, 1 tsp cinnamon and a 1/4 tsp nutmeg. I made sea salted caramel buttercream instead of the glaze. I then sat back and watched every crumb disappear! My new go-to cake recipe.
First let me say that this cake was EXCELLENT and got huge reviews from my co-workers. That being said, I did have problems with it. It overflowed out of my bundt cake pan, although I anticipated this with how full the pan was prior to baking so I put a cookie sheet underneath it in the oven to catch the excess. My total cooking time was an hour, and I think I should’ve gone 5 minutes longer because after removing and poking holes and pouring the glaze, the entire inner circle of the cake caved in on itself. However, you couldn’t see any of that once I flipped the pan after letting the glaze set. I will totally make this again!
This is a fantastic cake! I have made several times and have passed the recipe on to so many people. If you like bourbon this is the cake for you!
AMAZING CAKE!! Easy to make, ice and to eat 🤤 Do yourself a favor and make this cake!!
Is possible to not add the glaze at all and still have a great tasting cake?
Hi Tania, It will still be good, but you will lose some of the moistness that the glaze imparts.