Kentucky Bourbon Cake Recipes

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 275 degrees F (135 degrees C). Grease a 10 inch tube pan and line bottom with parchment paper.
• Soak raisins and cherries in 2 cups of bourbon or whiskey for 48 hours. Before making cake, drain well and reserve the bourbon.
• In a separate bowl, mix flour, nutmeg and baking powder. Set aside.
• In a small bowl, cream butter with the white sugar. In a separate small bowl, cream yolks and brown sugar until very light.
• In a very large bowl, combine the two sugar mixtures and blend well.
• Alternately add flour mixture and reserved bourbon in three stages, mixing well with each addition.
• Add soaked fruit and fold in. Add nuts and fold in.
• In a clean medium bowl, whip egg whites until stiff but not dry. Fold into batter until evenly distributed.
• Pour into prepared 10 inch tube pan. Place a pan of water in the bottom of the oven and bake for 4 to 5 hours at 275 degrees F (135 degrees C). Ovens vary, so watch the baking time. Test cake with wooden pick. (May take longer than 5 hours).
• Remove from oven and allow to cool for 15 minutes before turning out. When almost cool, brush sides and inside hole heavily with bourbon. Wrap cake with bourbon soaked cheesecloth, then with plastic wrap. Refrigerate overnight and saturate again with bourbon. Cover with plastic wrap and then with foil and store for at least 2 weeks in a cool dry place.

Steps:

• Pour 2 cups bourbon or whiskey over raisins and cherries.
• Soak in covered container for 48 hours.
• Before mixing in cake, drain well, reserve bourbon.
• Soften butter at room temp.
• cream until light.
• Add sugar,beat until fluffy.
• Beat egg yolks until very light, than add brown sugar.
• Beat well to dissolve sugar.
• In a very large bowl, combine the 2 sugar mixtures blend well.
• Mix nutmeg baking powder with 4-1/2 cups flour.
• Mix other 1/2 cup flour with nuts.
• Add flour mixture alternately with bourbon to sugar,butter, egg mixture, mixing well after each addition.
• Add soaked fruit, fold in, then add the nuts fold in.
• Beat egg whites until stiff but not dry.
• Fold into batter until evenly distributed.
• Pour in greased 10" tube pan lined with greased brown paper.
• Place a pan of water in bottom of oven.
• Bake 4-5 hours at 275.
• Test with toothpick about 2" from outer edge of cake.
• May take longer than 5 hours.
• Remove from oven and allow to cool for 15 minutes before turning out.
• When almost cool, sponge sides inside hole heavily with bourbon-saturated cheesecloth.
• Cover cake with this cloth, then in plastic wrap Let set overnight saturate again.
• Recover tightly with plastic wrap.
• Store at least 2 weeks.

Steps:

• Heat oven to 325 degrees. Generously butter and flour (or spray with nonstick cooking spray) a 10-inch tube pan or a 12-cup bundt pan.
• In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, or using a handheld mixer, combine the remaining cake ingredients and beat for 3 minutes at medium speed. Pour into prepared pan, level with a spatula and bake until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, 60 to 70 minutes.
• Shortly before the cake is done baking, make the butter sauce: Combine the granulated sugar, butter and vanilla with 3 tablespoons water in a saucepan over low heat until the butter just melts. (Do not let the mixture boil, as you do not want the sugar to completely dissolve.)
• As soon as the cake comes out of the oven, leave the cake in its pan and gently poke it all the way through 15 to 20 times with a long wooden skewer or a long-tined fork. Slowly pour warm butter sauce over the cake. Let cool for at least 3 hours before unmolding from pan. Just before serving, sprinkle with confectioners' sugar, if desired.