Kentucky Butter Cake
This old-fashioned Kentucky butter cake is super moist, ultra buttery, and infused with the best butter-sugar sauce. It creates a sugary, crunchy crust that you won’t be able to get enough of! Below are tons of tips for achieving the ultimate butter cake, as well as tricks for perfectly prepping Bundt pans, making a boozy bourbon version, freezing instructions, and more.
Are you a cake person? Or an “I eat the cake for the frosting” person?
I am unequivocally, unapologetically the latter.
But when I land on a cake that I actually crave that doesn’t have ANY frosting? You know it’s a certified winner.
Enter this butter cake. Simple ingredients, simple preparation, and a knock-your-socks-off glaze that takes it over the top. Enjoy it as-is (oh that sugary crust!) or with a dollop of whipped cream or vanilla ice cream. This is a cake that deserves a permanent home in your recipe box.
What is butter cake?
Butter cake is an absolutely quintessential cake in your dessert arsenal. It is loaded with butter and then rounded out with standard ingredients like granulated sugar, eggs, vanilla, flour, and leaveners. It bakes up buttery, moist, and absolutely delicious.
Butter Cake vs Pound Cake
While butter and pound cake look similar on the surface, there is one key difference that separates them:
Pound cakes have historically contained one pound of each main ingredient (butter, sugar, and flour); while butter cakes have mostly the same ingredients, the ratios are slightly different.
Traditional butter cake is also sometimes referred to as 1-2-3-4 cake, which is an easy reminder of the ratios – 1 cup butter, 2 cups sugar, 3 cups flour, and 4 eggs. I love old-fashioned baking!
Kentucky Butter Cake
Kentucky butter cake takes it one step further by infusing the delicious, buttery cake with a butter-sugar sauce after it comes out of the oven. Left to cool and then flipped over, the glaze creates a buttery, sugary, crunchy exterior that is TO DIE FOR. Use the bourbon option (see below) for a phenomenal cake to enjoy while watching the Kentucky Derby that gives off rum cake vibes.
Butter cake ingredients
The best part about butter cakes? There’s a 99% chance you already have everything you need right in your pantry and refrigerator.
Here’s the list:
- Butter – Of course, it’s the star of the show! It’s a flavorful cake, so use your favorite butter (mine is Kerrygold).
- Sugar – We’re making a wonderfully sweet cake, so we need sugar.
- Eggs – To bring it all together and add extra richness.
- Vanilla – Flavor, flavor, flavor!
- Buttermilk – It makes the cake even more tender, but you can substitute regular whole or 2% milk if you’re in a pinch.
- Flour – We’re using all-purpose flour, but you can use cake flour (sifted) for a lighter and more tender version of this cake.
- Baking powder + baking soda – Leaveners to get that cake to rise!
- Salt – For flavor, always.
Let’s make it from scratch!
This cake comes together incredibly easy using a traditional creaming method, here’s how we do it:
- Grease and flour your pan – Literally THE most important step! You need to liberally grease every nook and cranny of your Bundt pan, and then dust it with flour, tapping out any excess. Since we glaze this upside-down IN the pan, it needs to be properly prepared to make sure it doesn’t stick when you turn it out of the pan.
- Whisk together dry ingredients – The flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt get a quick whisk in a medium bowl.
- Cream butter + sugar – It’ll take a few minutes to get it really light and fluffy.
- Add eggs + vanilla – Eggs two at a time and then the vanilla until everything is thoroughly combined.
- Alternate flour mixture and buttermilk – Mixing on low until just barely combined, then giving it a final mix with a rubber spatula. Don’t overmix!
- Bake – Spread the batter into the prepared pan and bake until a toothpick inserted halfway between the edge and center comes out clean, 45 to 55 minutes.
- Make the butter sauce – Heat the butter, sugar, and water in a saucepan over medium-low heat until the sugar is dissolved (don’t let it boil!), then remove from heat and stir in the vanilla.
- Glaze the cake! – Using a skewer, poke holes all over the surface of the cake while it is still in the pan. Then very, very slowly drizzle the glaze over the surface of the cake, allowing it to absorb the liquid before pouring more.
- Cool & turn out – Allow the cake to cool completely, then invert it onto a serving plate.
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The bourbon option
If you want to add a kick to this cake, you can substitute bourbon for the water in the glaze.
You’ll get a punch of bourbon flavor throughout the cake and you don’t need to make any other adjustments to the cake.
Glaze options
If you’d prefer not to do a glaze and leave the cake as-is, it is certainly fabulous plain served with some whipped cream or vanilla ice cream.
If frosting is more your style, here are some options:
- Vanilla buttercream
- Chocolate buttercream
- Swiss meringue buttercream
- Chocolate ganache
- 7-Minute frosting
Troubleshooting Bundt cakes
Most people have issues with Bundt cakes when it comes to turning them out of the pan. To avoid broken cakes, it is super important that you prep the pan correctly. In my experience, you cannot simply spray a Bundt with non-stick cooking spray (like Pam) and expect it to do the trick.
Bundt pans need a bit more TLC. My standard formula is to grease with vegetable shortening (solid Crisco) and then flour liberally, tapping out the excess. You want to make sure every nook and cranny is covered in both grease and butter. Some folks swear by the baking sprays that have flour in them, but I’ve never been a fan. You can also find recipes online for “homemade cake pan release” which is a mixture of fat and flour that you can keep on hand. I have not used these, so can’t swear by them, but it’s an option!
Recommended Pans
I love, love, love Bundt pans! They are gorgeous and can create such unique, intricate designs. Below are some of my recommendations:
- Nordic Ware Kugelhopf Pan (the one featured in these photos)
- Nordic Ware Heritage Pan (the one shown in my homemade rum cake photos)
- Nordic Ware Anniversary Pan – My go-to “standard” Bundt pan!
Make-ahead and freezing options
This is a perfect cake for making the day before serving; allowing the butter sauce to completely soak into the cake and getting that amazing crust on the outside is superb.
The cake also freezes extremely well. You can freeze the entire cake or individual slices; to freeze the entire cake, wrap tightly with plastic wrap, then a layer of aluminum foil and place in a zip-top freezer bag. For individual slices, wrap tightly in plastic wrap then place in a zip-top freezer bag. Both will keep well in the freezer for up to 3 months; thaw at room temperature.
More recipes for the Kentucky Derby:
- Kentucky Derby Chocolate Bourbon Walnut Pie
- Bourbon Slush
- Kentucky Derby Pie Cupcakes
- Mint Julep Jell-O Shots
If you make this butter cake recipe and love it, I would so appreciate it if you would take a moment to leave a rating below. Thank you so much! ❤️️
Kentucky Butter Cake
Ingredients
For the Cake:
- 3 cups (437.5 g) all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon (1.25 teaspoons) baking powder
- ½ teaspoon (0.75 teaspoon) baking soda
- 1 teaspoon (1.25 teaspoons) salt
- 1 cup (283.75 g) unsalted butter, at room temperature
- 2 cups (350 g) granulated sugar
- 4 (5) eggs, at room temperature
- 2 teaspoons (80 ml) vanilla extract
- 1 cup (300 ml) buttermilk, at room temperature
For the Butter Sauce:
- ½ cup (7 tablespoons) unsalted butter, cubed
- 1 cup (200 g) granulated sugar
- ¼ cup (80 ml) water
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 325 degrees F. Liberally grease and flour a standard 10 to 12-cup Bundt pan.
- Make the Cake: In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.
- In a large mixing bowl, beat the butter and sugar on medium speed until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add the eggs, two at a time, until thoroughly combined. Add the vanilla extract and beat to combine.
- Reduce the mixer speed to low and add the flour mixture in three parts, alternating with the buttermilk 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.
- Scrape the batter into the prepared Bundt pan and bake until a toothpick inserted halfway between the edge and center comes out clean, 45 to 55 minutes.
- Make the Butter Sauce: When the cake comes out of the oven, begin making the butter sauce. Place the butter, sugar, and water in a saucepan and warm over medium-low heat until the butter is completely melted and the sugar is dissolved. Do not allow the mixture to boil. Remove from the heat and stir in the vanilla extract.
- Using a skewer, poke holes all over the top of the cake. Very slowly pour the glaze all over the cake, allowing time for it to soak in before pouring more. Allow the cake to cool completely in the pan, then invert onto a serving plate.
Notes
Did you make this recipe?
Leave a review below, then snap a picture and tag @thebrowneyedbaker on Instagram so I can see it!
A previous version of this cake was posted in April 2014. It has since been updated and the recipe improved upon based on reader feedback.
[Photography by Dee of One Sarcastic Baker]
This was amazing!!
Hi,
Did you have another recipe for the Kentucky Bourbon Butter Cake that called for cake flour and it had brown sugar in it also. I can’t find the other recipe on your blog and I swear it was yours.
Thank you!
Chris
Hi Chris, Yes, I updated the recipe but shared the old one a few comments down!
Really great recipe. I cut back on the sugar in the cake a tad and made 3/4 of the glaze since I just prefer my desserts a little less sweet than normal plus I added a little something extra (the glazed strawberries from your fresh strawberry pie recipe)- perfect. Definitely adding this to my repertoire. Thanks!
Hi Michelle,
I look forward to making this version but my family absolutely LOVES the version you posted back in April 2014 and I cannot seem to get to that previous version now on your website. Can you please share a link to it?
Thank you,
Michele
Hi Michele, Sure, here you go:
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
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease and flour a 12-cup fluted Bundt pan; set aside.
2. Sift together the flour, baking powder and baking soda into a medium bowl. Add the salt and whisk to combine; set aside.
3. 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.
4. 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.
5. 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.
6. 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.
7. 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.
I got up this morning and baked this cake for my husband’s 70th birthday. It is a beautiful cake. I used a regular bundt pan and it was just the right size, the baked cake filling the pan. My husband doesn’t like overly sweet things but even with the sugar syrup it’s not too sweet. He even commented that it wasn’t too sweet. I served it with some freshly whipped cream and we both enjoyed it immensely. Thanks for posting this recipe. It’s going into my recipe file to make again. I think it would be excellent for a church potluck.
I don’t own a Bundt pan. Could this be made as a regular round or a loaf?
Hi Randy, Yes, you can. You would need two 8-inch or 9-inch round pans. If you do a loaf pan, you would need two 8.5 x 4.5 -inch pans. A 9×5-inch pan would hold about ¾ of the batter. I hope that helps!
When I printed the recipe, it does not appear to be the same. The one that printed calls for 4.2 cups cake flour instead of 3 cups all purpose flour, 6 eggs instead of 4, 1.5 cups buttermilk instead of 1 cup, and several other amount differences. Nothing prints for the butter sauce. They both reflect 12 servings. The recipe sounds really good and I want to try it but am a little confused now. Which one do I use? I am excited to do the single serving “baby bundts”.
Hi Cindy, I just tried to print and it is printing the same recipe that is showing on the screen. This should be the correct link to the printable recipe: https://www.browneyedbaker.com/wprm_print/recipe/45804
I am going to try this with Rum. I make a poppyseed rum cake that has the same glaze that you pour over the hot cake. Sooo good :)
That sounds amazing!!
Súper good and easy to make although, I had have a little trouble pouring the liquid butter/ sugar in it, other than that it’s perfect thank you 😊
Yum. I was just looking at some beautiful fresh strawberries at Costco. Boy wouldn’t they be perfect with this cake and some whipped cream. My sister recently made some cute little individual strawberry shortcakes using a buttery cake and boy were they a hit with my parents (me too) So nice and light.
I finally bought a tray of fresh peaches. Hoping to make one of your recent fresh peach recipes. Look forward to it.
I have been making a version of this – a salted caramel Kentucky Butter Cake from wishes and dishes – it made me think of you knowing how much you like salted caramel. I don’t make it often because I could eat the whole thing! I wasn’t sure about posting a link, but I did want to give credit to where I found it.
Hi Carol, It’s okay to post a link, boy that sounds amazing! Salted caramel would go wonderfully with this!
Hi, in point number 6 it mentions bourbon but in the ingredients bourbon is not mentioned and pont number 6 asks to make a butter sauce. A bit confusing! How much bourbon do we use and when?
So sorry about that, it was a leftover instruction from the old recipe. The bourbon is now optional. I’ve fixed it!
I have made this cake several times. Each time I make single serving size cakes and they are a big hit! Love this recipe, love your ideas. Thank you.
Just made. Looks Nice but I would not make again. I cook and bake alot I know when I taste the batter if it is good. Very dense. I wish I had of stuck with my Southern Bourbon Pecan Cake. This cake should stick as a Butter Cake I would call it a Rich Butter Cake I would not add Bourbon or Rum to it.
Would I be able to make this cake with all-purpose flour as opposed to with cake flour? I know how to convert but I’m trying to eliminate using cake flour all together and stick with all-purpose in all my recipes.
Hi Annie, The cake will certainly be a bit heavier and dense if using all-purpose flour vs cake flour.
Hi,
Your recipe posted today, July 21, 2020 calls for all purpose flour. Just took it out of the oven!
Sandy Parente
I’ve made this for many office holiday potlucks and have never had to take leftovers home. One time, I didn’t have quite enough bourbon for the glaze. I made up what I could and brought it to work. Before the potluck, I ducked out to BevMo to get a small bottle (not the tiny ones) and poured it all out over the cake. People LOVED that one. Needless to say, not a whole lot of work was done after the potluck.
Can rum be substituted for the bourbon
Yes!
I would love to know your secret to getting a light colored cake. I prefer to have my cakes to look like your cake. I have the anniversary bundt pan and my cakes always finish with a darker crust.
I just finished glazing this cake. It is tall and gorgeous. I course chopped 1 1/2 cups of pecans and spread it around the bottom of the pan like the rum version. After reading the reviews and seeing that the recommended bake time was only 40 minutes for such a large recipe, I went ahead and added 15 more minutes. I had no issue with doneness… 55 minutes is ok. I used baking spray on the pan and the cake released with no problem. My cake has more color than the picture but just as beautiful. I will be serving it tomorrow…. hope I can wait that long! Definitely a keeper!
When I tried making it the outside of the cake was a dark gold, almost brown, and the inside was still raw batter when I poked it with a skewer. I double checked everything and as far as I can tell, I followed the directions precisely. Do you know why the cake didn’t bake all the way through? Is it supposed to be runny in the middle when you poke it?
Oh no! It definitely should just come out with moist crumbs attached; it shouldn’t be runny in the middle, it may need a little more time in the oven.
Hello, this is the best cake that has ever existed. That is all.
I have this cake in the oven right now. It’s overflowed my bundt pan. That’s going to be fun to clean up later. Also, it’s taking a lot longer to bake then suggested. It’s been in over and hour and when I poked it the skewer was not “clean”.
Any suggestions?
Hi Kristen, Oh no! Unfortunately, if it overflowed your pan and is taking a long time to finish, it sounds like your pan was too small.
This cake is identical to the one created by David’s Leite at Leitesculinaria.com.
Hi Margo, I got it from a cookbook (Vintage Cakes), so perhaps that author got it from him, or vice versa?
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.
AMAZING CAKE!! Easy to make, ice and to eat 🤤 Do yourself a favor and make this cake!!
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!
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 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.
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 :)
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.
I made this cake for Christmas. My family LOVED it. New family tradition was born.