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.
Bready or Not: Bourbon-Glazed Pound Cake (Tube/Bundt Cake)
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!
Bready or Not: Maple Pound Cake
This bundt cake tastes just like a fluffy pancake with maple syrup. I am dead serious.
On this date, my 18th anniversary, I celebrate by sharing this amazing not-a-pancake-but-tastes-like-pancake cake. It’ll blow your mind.
The original recipe was from King Arthur Flour, but I turned it into a poke cake because I didn’t want all the glaze on the outside. I wanted to infuse it. I wanted the dough to marinate in glorious maple.
If you love maple, this is your new favorite pound cake.
This would be great for breakfast if you need to feed a crowd. Bake this up the day before, and slice this up in the morning. No fussing over individual pancakes! Just eat more cake!
Plus, no worries about leftovers. Bundt cakes like this are awesome because you can cut them into slices, freeze them up waxed paper, then transfer them to a freezer bag or container. Thaw them to eat, or zap them in the microwave straight from the freezer.
In case it didn’t come across, you should know that this cake is awesome. You should make it.
Modified from King Arthur Flour.
Bready or Not: Maple Pound Cake
Ingredients
Cake
- 2 cups cake flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 3/4 cup unsalted butter 1 1/2 sticks, softened
- 2/3 cup light brown sugar packed
- 2 large eggs
- 1/2 cup real maple syrup
- 1 cup sour cream 8 ounces
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1/2 teaspoon maple flavor
Glaze
- 2 Tablespoons unsalted butter
- 1/4 cup real maple syrup
- 1/4 cup water
Instructions
- Preheat oven at 350-degrees. Grease a 9-or-10-cup bundt pan.
- In a medium bowl, sift together the cake flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.
- In a big mixing bowl, beat together the butter and brown sugar until light and fluffy. Add eggs one at a time, scraping sides of bowl in between. Pour in the maple syrup.
- Mix in half the flour mixture. Then stir in the sour cream, vanilla, and maple flavor. Add the rest of the flour mix, until everything is just combined.
- Pour into the prepared pan. Bake for 45 to 50 minutes, until a cake tester inserted into the middle comes out clean. Let cool on rack for 10 minutes, then invert the cake onto the rack. Don't wash the pan! Set it aside for now.
- After an hour and a half--or longer--begin making the glaze. In a medium saucepan, combine all three glaze ingredients. Bring it a rapid boil, then reduce to a simmer for 5 to 8 minutes, until it thickens to a syrupy consistency. Remove pan from heat.
- Carefully invert the cooled cake into the pan again. Use a chopstick or skewer to stab all over the cake. Slowly spoon or pour about half the glaze into the holes and edges. Let it rest a few minutes. Invert the cake again onto the cake pan base or a storage plate. Again, stab the top of the cake to create holes, then spoon the rest of the glaze on. Can also use a basting brush to cover the exterior of the cake and sweep up any drippings.
- Store cake covered at room temperature. Slices can also be frozen.
- OM NOM NOM!
Bready or Not: Cinnamon Apple Bundt Cake
Apple cake and apple pie are the favorites of the men in my family, and this Cinnamon Apple Bundt Cake met their full approval!
I try out different apple recipes on a regular basis; my apple tag on the site attests to that.
This recipe resembles another old favorite of mine, my basic apple cake that is made in a square baking pan.
The new recipe, however, makes more cake with an overall showier presentation. I love that sprinkle of confectioners’ sugar on top!
The most difficult thing about making this cake is peeling and chopping up the apples. After that, everything comes together quite quickly.
The end result is a tender, moist cake flecked with apple chunks. It’s the perfect breakfast, snack, or dessert, and is tasty hot or cold.
Modified from Taste of Home Sunday Best 2015.
Bready or Not: Cinnamon Apple Bundt Cake
Ingredients
- 3 medium apples peeled and chopped
- 2 teaspoons cinnamon
- 2 cups white sugar
- 1 cup canola oil
- 3 large eggs room temperature
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 3 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- confectioners' sugar to sift over top optional
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350-degrees. Grease and flour a bundt cake pan.
- In a large bowl, stir cinnamon to coat the chopped apples. Set aside.
- In another big bowl, beat together sugar, oil, eggs, and vanilla. Combine the flour, salt and baking powder in another bowl, then slowly add it into the liquid mixture. Stir in the apples.
- Pour the batter into the ready pan. Bake for 60 to 70 minutes, until it passes the toothpick test. Let cool in pan for 15 minutes, then carefully invert the cake out of the pan and onto a wire rack to completely cool.
- Keep stored in fridge. If desired, before serving, sift confectioners' sugar over the top. Slices may be eaten cold or warmed up in the microwave. Cake can also be frozen in slices for later enjoyment.
- OM NOM NOM!
Bready or Not: Matcha Green Tea Bundt Cake
During my book release months, I typically follow a theme of cakes and pies. This time around, we’re doing something different: baked goods featuring matcha powder, aka green tea!
My first recipe can’t help but follow the traditional cake theme, though: Matcha Bundt Cake.
The America in my books Breath of Earth and Call of Fire is heavily influenced by Japanese culture. That’s evident in architecture, nickel cinemas, the vernacular–and in baked goods, too.
Of course, in our timeline, the phenomenon of green tea in leavened sweets is a contemporary innovation.
The type of green tea you use may produce different results. I used a Rishi sweet green tea blend that includes sugar, making it ideal for lattes or baked goods.
This bundt cake naturally baked up with a lovely light green tint, but as you’ll see, in some of the forthcoming cookie recipes, the green is barely visible. If you want things to turn out VERY green, just add some food dye.
This is essentially a tender pound cake in both taste and texture, with a unique fresh flavor from the tea.
In other words, DELICIOUS.
Modified from Week of Menus.
Bready or Not: Matcha Green Tea Bundt Cake
Ingredients
Cake
- 3 cups all-purpose flour
- 3 Tablespoons sweet matcha powder
- 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 cup unsalted butter 2 sticks, softened
- 1 3/4 cups white sugar
- 4 large eggs room temperature
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1 cup sour cream 8 ounces
Topping
- 2 Tablespoons confectioners' sugar sifted
- 1/4 teaspoon sweet matcha powder sifted
Instructions
- Preheat oven at 350-degrees. Grease and lightly flour a 10-or 12-inch bundt pan.
- In a medium bowl, stir together the dry ingredients: flour, matcha powder, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Set aside.
- In a large bowl, beat the butter creamy. Gradually add sugar; continue to mix until it is light in texture and color. Add the eggs one at a time, beating after each addition, followed by the vanilla extract.
- Gradually add the dry mix and sour cream into the big bowl, going back and forth between the two, until everything is combined. Scoop batter into the ready pan.
- Bake cake for 50 to 60 minutes, until it passes the toothpick test in the middle. Cool the cake for about 10 minutes, then invert it onto a rack to completely cool.
- Sift the confectioners' sugar on top of the cake, followed by the matcha. Slice and serve. Keep covered on counter.
- OM NOM NOM!
Bready or Not: Blueberry Pound Cake with Lemon Glaze
Blueberries are in season, so let’s get baking!
This cake is sheer perfection. This has the tender texture of a pound cake, with added sweetness from dapples of blueberries.
Oh yeah, and then there’s the glaze. When I was meddling with the base recipe, that version felt so… naked.
The lemon glaze adds a bit more sweetness, and a tartness that contrasts perfectly with the blueberries.
The glaze looks gorgeous, too!
This cake is perfect for breakfast, brunch, or dessert. Whenever the heck you want it, really.
Modified from Through Her Looking Glass.
Bready or Not: Blueberry Pound Cake with Lemon Glaze
Ingredients
Cake
- 6 ounces blueberries washed, drained, and patted dry
- 3 cups flour divided
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 cup unsalted butter 2 sticks, room temperature
- 2 cups white sugar
- 4 large eggs room temperature
- 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
Glaze
- 1 1/2 cups confectioners' sugar sifted
- 1 Tablespoon + milk
- 1/2 teaspoon lemon extract
Instructions
- Preheat oven at 350-degrees. Prepare a 10 or 12-cup bundt pan by applying Pam with Flour or buttering well and dusting with flour.
- In a small bowl, gently stir the blueberries with 1/4 cup flour. This will keep the blueberries from sinking in the batter as it bakes. Set bowl aside.
- In a medium bowl, stir the remaining flour with the baking powder and salt. Set aside.
- In a mixing bowl, cream the butter and sugar together until fluffy. Add the eggs one at a time, followed by the vanilla. Beat it until fluffy again.
- Slowly mix in the dry ingredients until just blended. Follow that by gently folding in the blueberries.
- Use a rubber spatula to pour the batter into the ready pan. Bake for 50 minutes to 1 hour, until it passes the toothpick test.
- Let the cake cool for about 10 minutes, then invert it onto a rack to completely cool. Once the cake is at room temperature, mix the glaze. Add enough milk to give it the desired pourable consistency. Drizzle it over cake.
- Store cake in fridge.
- OM NOM NOM!
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Bready or Not: Cardamom Bundt Cake with Coffee Glaze
It’s June and hey, let’s eat cake! Cardamom Cake with Coffee Glaze. A bundt cake full of sugar and glory and cardamom-y goodness.
I read a lot of books. I also read a lot of magazines. One of my favorite things to do is hit up a good used book store or library book sale and buy stacks of older food magazines to raid for recipes.
That’s how I found the original recipe for this in an October 2013 issue of Country Living. I modified it, removing pistachios and tweaking here and there, and created a cake that earned the utter adoration of my husband’s co-workers.
Coffee and cardamom is a fantastic flavor combination. You might remember the Cardamom Coffee Pound cake I posted last fall. This bundt cake is like that awesome loaf cake, and so much more.
It’s bigger, for one, being a full-size cake. It has a kinda pound cake thing going, too. The sour cream does miraculous thing for cake texture, creating crumb that is dense, not crumbly.
This is a cake you can eat out of hand, no saucer required. And you’ll want to lick your fingers clean, too, because the glaze includes espresso powder (one of my favorite ingredients to keep around) and sugar.
If the caffeine doesn’t boost your day, you know the sugar will!
Bready or Not: Cardamom Bundt Cake with Coffee Glaze
Ingredients
Bundt cake
- 1 cup unsalted butter 2 sticks, room temperature, plus more to grease pan
- dried breadcrumbs fine texture, to dust pan
- cooking spray
- 2 1/3 cups cake flour
- 1 1/2 teaspoons ground cardamom
- 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
- 3/4 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoons salt
- 1 1/2 cups white sugar
- 4 large eggs room temperature
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 cup sour cream 8 ounces
Coffee glaze
- 2/3 cup confectioners' sugar sifted
- 1 teaspoon espresso powder
- 1/4 teaspoon unsweetened cocoa powder
- 1 Tablespoon milk or half & half, plus more if needed
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350-degrees. Generously butter a 10 or 12-cup Bundt pan. Dust the pan with fine bread crumbs; a toasted and pulverized half heel of bread will do. Apply cooking spray over the bread crumbs.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, cardamom, baking powder, baking soda, and salt; set aside.
- In a large bowl, use a mixer on medium to beat the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add eggs one at a time followed by the vanilla extract, beating until very pale yellow.
- Reduce the mixer speed and alternate between adding the flour mix and the sour cream into the butter blend.
- Pour the batter into the prepared pan, using a rubber spatula. Bake cake until a wooden toothpick inserted into the cake comes out dry with only a few moist crumbs attached, 45 to 50 minutes. Transfer pan to a wire rack to cool for 30 minutes, then invert cake onto rack to completely cool. Once cool, move cake to cake plate and prepare glaze.
- Whisk together sugar, espresso powder, and cocoa powder. Add milk and stir, adding more milk as needed until glaze is just thin enough to drizzle. Dribble over cake.
- OM NOM NOM!
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