Bready or Not: Bourbon-Glazed Pound Cake (Tube/Bundt Cake)

Bourbon. Glazed. Pound. Cake. This thing is easy to make and tastes like a boozy version of a cruller.

Yes, a cruller. Those yummy braided-style glazed donuts. Slathered in bourbon.

Do I have your attention now?

I based this recipe on one in Bake From Scratch Magazine (Holiday 2016) but I altered it a good bit, especially in regards to the glaze.

When I use a thin, sugary glaze on a bundt cake, I like to use a method I learned from the Great British Bake Off. I use the pan to help me make sure the glaze soaks into the entire cake.

I’ve had too many cakes where the bottom middle of the cake ends up devoid of glaze. Not so with this technique!

Yes, you can taste the bourbon in the end result. No, I have no substitutions to offer. I don’t know what this recipe would be without that particular reinforcement.

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Bready or Not: Bourbon-Glazed Pound Cake (Tube/Bundt Cake)

This glorious cake tastes like a boozy cruller! The inside is soft and tender like a pound cake, with the glaze creates a crunchy crust. This cake is great warm or cold, and slices can be frozen for later enjoyment, too.

Course: Breakfast, Dessert, Snack

Keyword: alcohol, bundt cake, cake, lemon

Author: Beth Cato

Ingredients

Cake:

• 2 cups unsalted butter 4 sticks, softened
• 2 3/4 cup white sugar
• 6 large eggs room temperature
• 3 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1/8 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1/2 cup milk or half & half
• 1 lemon zested
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Bourbon Glaze:

• 1 cup white sugar
• 1/2 cup bourbon
• 7 Tablespoons unsalted butter

Instructions

The Cake:

• Preheat oven at 325-degrees. Grease and flour a 10-inch-or-larger tube pan or bundt pan.
• In a large bowl, beat butter until creamy, about 2 minutes. Add sugar, and beat until fluffy and white, about 7 minutes. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition.
• In a separate bowl, sift together flour, nutmeg, and salt. Gradually add it to the butter mixture, alternating with the milk. Follow up with the zest and vanilla. Pour into the ready pan.
• Bake until it passes the toothpick test, about 1 hour to 1 hour 15 minutes. Let cool in pan for 15 minutes, then upend onto wire rack. Set aside the pan--don't wash it! Let the cake completely cool for a few hours.

The Glaze:

• Combine the sugar, bourbon, and butter in a small saucepan. Constantly whisk at a low heat until the butter melts and sugar dissolves. Take off heat. It will look like a lot of liquid, but the cake will soak it up.
• Place the cake back in the pan. Poke holes all over the base with a chopstick or skewer. Spoon about half the glaze over holes and sides of cake. Let sit a minute. Upend cake onto a serving platter or plate. Poke more holes all over top. Spoon rest of glaze into holes and over sides. Use a basting brush to mop up drippings and make sure cake is fully glazed.
• Store under a cake dome at room temperature or in fridge. Can also be cut into slices and individually frozen. Eat cold, at room temperature, or warmed in microwave.
• OM NOM NOM!