Whiskey Cake

Active Time:

30 mins

Cool Time:

2 hrs

Total Time:

4 hrs 20 mins

Servings:

12 to 16 servings

This tender, moist cake is a sophisticated dessert has just enough whiskey to give you a hint of flavor in every bite. The cake itself is a brown sugar-sour cream pound cake subtly spiced with allspice, cinnamon, ginger, cardamom, and whiskey. It’s brushed with a whiskey simple syrup after it bakes, and is drizzled with a whiskey chocolate ganache and topped with bittersweet chocolate curls.

Make sure to cream your butter and sugars very well until they are light and fluffy when mixing the cake batter; that’s the secret to helping the cake rise and keep it from becoming too dense. We love this cake with an espresso or coffee; you may want to top it with some barely sweetened whipped cream, creme fraiche, or ice cream.

Cook Mode (Keep screen awake)

Ingredients

Cake

3 cups (about 12 3/4 ounces) all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon ground allspice
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1/4 teaspoon ground cardamom
3/4 cup (6 1/2 ounces) sour cream, at room temperature
1/4 cup (2 ounces) whiskey
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups (12 ounces) unsalted butter, at room temperature
2 cups (about 14 ounces) packed light brown sugar
1 cup granulated sugar
5 large eggs, at room temperature
Baking spray with flour

Syrup

1/4 cup granulated sugar
1/4 cup (2 ounces) whiskey

Ganache

1 cup (about 5 ounces) bittersweet (60% cacao) chocolate chips (from 1 [10-ounce] package), finely chopped
1/2 cup heavy whipping cream
1 tablespoon light corn syrup (optional)
1 tablespoon unsalted butter, cubed
2 tablespoons (1 ounce) whiskey

Additional ingredient

Bittersweet chocolate shavings

Directions

Prepare the cake

Preheat oven to 325°F. Whisk together flour, allspice, cinnamon, baking powder, salt, ginger, and cardamom in a medium bowl until evenly combined; set aside. Whisk together sour cream, whiskey, and vanilla in a small bowl until combined; set aside.
Beat butter with a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment on medium speed until creamy, about 1 minute. Gradually add brown sugar and granulated sugar, beating on medium speed until very light and fluffy, 5 to 6 minutes. Add eggs, 1 at a time, beating just until incorporated after each addition, about 15 seconds per egg, stopping to scrape down sides of bowl as needed.
Gradually add flour mixture to butter mixture in 3 additions alternately with sour cream mixture, beginning and ending with flour mixture and beating on low speed just until blended after each addition. Generously coat a 12- to 14-cup Bundt pan with baking spray. Pour batter into prepared pan, and spread evenly with a small spatula.
Bake in preheated oven until a wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean, 1 hour, 10 minutes, to 1 hour, 15 minutes. Remove from oven; let cake cool in pan on a wire rack for 10 minutes. Invert cake onto wire rack.

Prepare the syrup

Bring sugar and whiskey to a simmer in a small saucepan over medium, stirring often. Simmer, stirring occasionally, until reduced slightly to a syrupy consistency, about 1 minute. Brush warm Syrup evenly over warm cake. Let cake cool completely on wire rack, about 2 hours.

Prepare the ganache

Place chopped chocolate in a medium-size heatproof bowl; set aside. Cook cream and corn syrup in a small saucepan over medium, stirring occasionally, until steaming and starting to bubble around the sides, 2 to 3 minutes. Immediately pour over chocolate in bowl; let stand, undisturbed, 3 minutes. Whisk constantly until chocolate is fully melted. Stir in butter until melted. Stir in whiskey until well incorporated and ganache is smooth and glossy.
Pour ganache evenly over cooled cake. Let stand until ganache is set, about 30 minutes. Slice and serve. Cover and store in refrigerator up to 4 days.

Chocolate Whiskey Cake

Ingredients

Directions

Prepare the cake

Prepare the syrup

Prepare the ganache

Related Articles