Bourbon Pecan Cake Recipes

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 325ºF.
• Grease and flour a 9-inch springform pan.
• Melt the chocolate and butter in a small bowl over a double boiler.
• Remove from heat, and set pot aside leaving the bowl on top of pot.
• Whisk egg yolks and 1/2 of the sugar in a metal mixing bowl.
• Place bowl over slightly simmering water, and whisk until yolks reach 140ºF.
• Remove bowl from heat and beat egg and sugar mixture with an electric mixer to a ribbon stage.
• Add the Bourbon to the chocolate mixture, then fold the yolk and sugar mixture into the chocolate mixture.
• Mix flour with pecans and fold into chocolate mixture.
• Using an electric mixer, beat egg whites and the remaining sugar to form soft peaks, then fold into chocolate mixture.
• Pour batter into prepared pan and bake for 20 to 25 minutes.
• Allow cake to cool in pan and then place in the freezer for at least 2 hours.
• Once it's frozen, remove sides of springform pan.
• Invert cake onto a wire rack and remove bottom of springform pan.
• Prepare ganache by bringing heavy cream to a boil and pouring cream over chocolate chips in a bowl.
• Whisk until completely smooth.
• Set wire rack with cake on top of sheetpan.
• Pour warm lukewarm ganache over cake, coating cake completely, recoating if necessary.
• Gently jiggle wire rack to help drain excess ganache.
• Remove cake from wire rack with spatula and place on a serving plate.

Steps:

• Position oven rack in the lower middle position; preheat to 350°; prepare Bundt pan by making a paste from 1 tablespoon melted butter and 1 tablespoon flour; apply it with a pastry brush so you can thoroughly coat the surface of the pan, including all the nooks and crannies.
• Nut filling: Toss all the filling ingredients together in a bowl.
• Cake: Whisk the flour, salt, baking powder, and baking soda together in a bowl; in a small bowl, whisk buttermilk, molasses, bourbon, and vanilla together.
• In a big bowl, beat the butter and sugar together with an electric mixer on medium speed until light and fluffy--3 to 6 minutes.
• Beat in the eggs and egg yolk, one at a time, until combined, about 1 minute.
• Decrease mixer speed to low; beat in 1/3 of the flour mixture, followed by half of the buttermilk mixture; repeat with half the remaining flour mixture and the remaining buttermilk mixture.
• Beat in the remaining flour mixture until just incorporated.
• Scrape half the batter into the prepared pan, smooth the top; sprinkle evenly with the nut filling.
• Scrape the remaining batter over the nuts and smooth the top.
• Wipe any drops of batter off the sides of the pan and gently tap the pan on the counter to settle the batter.
• Bake the cake until a wooden pick comes out with a few moist crumbs attached, 50-60 minutes, rotating pan halfway through baking.
• Let cake cool in the pan for 10 minutes, then turn out onto a wire rack; let cake cool completely, about 2 hours.
• Glaze: Whisk all the glaze ingredients together until smooth, then let sit until thickened, about 25 minutes.
• Drizzle the bourbon glaze over the top and sides of the cake; let glaze set, about 25 minutes, before serving.

Steps:

• Cake: In a large mixing bowl, beat together the butter, sugar, spices and baking powder. Add one egg and beat until smooth. Scrape the bowl and add the remaining eggs, one at a time, beating until the mixture is smooth and fluffy after each egg is added.
• Add the flour, about 1/3 at a time, alternately with the liquids (milk and bourbon). Be sure to scrape the bottom and sides of the bowl after each addition. Blend in the nuts, if you're using them.
• Grease and flour your pan(s); use one (2.8L, 11 cup) bundt-style pan, a 10-inch tube pan, or two 8 1/2 x 4 1/2-inch loaf pans. Preheat your oven to 180°C
• Scoop the batter into the pan(s) and level it with a spatula. Bake the cake for 70 to 75 minutes, until a tester inserted in the center comes out clean. Remove the cake from the oven, and let it cool it in the pan(s) for 10 minutes.
• Syrup: While the cake is cooling, heat the butter, sugar and bourbon together in a small saucepan set over low heat. Stir until the butter is melted and the sugar is dissolved, then bring the mixture to a boil. CAUTION: The bourbon is likely to burst into flame when it reaches the boiling point. This process, while quite impressive, calls for a few notes of caution. Don't lean over the pan while you're stirring; it also might be a good idea to have a lid handy to quiet the flame. This process will burn off the alcohol. When the flame goes out, remove the glaze from the heat. Note: the bourbon may not ever burst into flame; that's OK. Just boil it for about 15 seconds, then remove it from the heat.
• After the cake has cooled for 10 minutes, turn it out of the pan and onto a rack, then poke small toothpick-sized holes all over the top surface. Brush the top of the cake with the still-warm glaze. It'll drizzle down into the holes to make a very moist cake.
• You can certainly eat the cake as soon as it's cooled, but it does improve with a "rest period" of 1 or 2 days. Do let the cake cool for several hours, to allow the glaze to set before wrapping well in plastic wrap. (No need to refrigerate it.) Before serving, dust the cake with a non-melting sugar, if desired, or ice with Bourbon White Chocolate Ganache. Yield: one cake or two "loaves," about 32 servings.

Steps:

• In medium size bowl, mix cherries, raisins and bourbon.
• Cover and refrigerate for 8-24 hour.
• Grease and flour 12 cup fluted tube pan.
• Heat oven to 325 degrees.
• Drain fruits, reserving bourbon.
• In small bowl, toss ¼ flour and pecans.
• In medium size bowl, mix remaining 2 ¼ cups flour with nutmeg, baking powder and salt.
• In large bowl with electric mixer at high speed, beat butter until light and fluffy.
• Add sugar, ½ cup at a time, beating well after each addition.
• Add eggyolks, one at a time, beating well after each addition.
• Beat in 1 cup flour mixture.
• With mixer at medium speed, add ¼ cup reserved bourbon alternately with remaining 2 cups flour mixture, beating well each addition.
• Batter will be thick.
• In another large bowl with mixer at high speed, beat egg whites until stiff peaks form when beaters are lifted.
• Stir about ¼ beaten egg whites into batter and fold in remaining egg whites.
• Fold in cherries, raisins and nuts.
• Turn batter into prepared pan and bake about 1 ½ hours or until toothpick inserted comes out clean.
• Remove cake from pan and brush remaining reserved bourbon.
• Drizzle glaze down sides.
• Cut candied cherries and pecans into quarters and garnish cake.
• NOTE: For stronger bourbon flavor, saturate piece of cheesecloth with additional bourbon.
• Wrap cake in cheesecloth then with foil or plastic wrap.
• Store in refrigerator in tightly covered container for 2-3 weeks.
• Unwrap cake, place on serving platter.
• Drizzle with glaze and garnish as desired.
• CONFECTIONER’S SUGAR GLAZE: In a small bowl, beat 1 cup confectioner’s sugar, 4 tsp milk and ¼ tsp vanilla extract until smooth.