Pecan Caramel Bourbon Cake
"I have NOT made this yet, but I will. So, no guarantees."
photo by NurseJaney
- Ready In:
- 2hrs 15mins
- Ingredients:
- 14
- Serves:
-
32
ingredients
- 375 g soft butter
- 3 cups brown sugar (1 pound)
- 1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 1 1⁄2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon ground allspice
- 1 1⁄2 teaspoons baking powder
- 5 large eggs
- 3 1⁄4 cups plain flour (14 ounces)
- 3⁄4 cup milk
- 1⁄4 cup Bourbon
- 1 cup chopped toasted walnuts (optional) or 1 cup pecans (optional)
- 1 1⁄2 tablespoons butter (for syrup)
- 3⁄4 cup sugar (for syrup)
- 1⁄3 cup Bourbon (for syrup)
directions
- 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.
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Reviews
-
"Aus/NZ #17 June '08" Followed the recipe exactly. The aroma baking was WONderful! The syrup did NOT flame, and applied glaze as directed. Let it sit out under a foil tent all night. After 24 hours, we could wait no longer -- sliced and arranged for DH to photo (will upload soon), topped with whipped cream and tasted. It is a deliciously dense cake (I think I should have taken it out at 60-65 min. -had set it for 70 min.) - wqs just a little dry, but whipped cream covered that. We could actually taste the bourbon in the slice. The batter was thinner than most cakes, but baked up nicely. This was a tad labor intensive, but would easily be a Special Occasion dessert - especially in New Orleans, where such ingredients are so famous. I am freezing 1/2, since there are only 2 of us. Thanks, Chickee -- we enjoyed the experience !
RECIPE SUBMITTED BY
I'm 28, married, and with two furkids-a cute cat, she's an Australian Mist called Kismet, and a chocolate labrador called Indiana Jones. Live in North West Sydney, and have all my life except for a short stint in Germany just after we were married. I am an engineer by degree, but have recently left a large telecommunications company to work in a small Veterinary hospital as a vet nurse.
I like camping and 4wding, fishing and horseriding, having parties and barbeques. We're ex-Scouts and still love to travel even if it's just a short break to the mountains, or to the wine regions. I love baking and experimenting with different cuisines. I wont cook things with too many ingredients, or that are too fiddly, or which take too long (or too expensive for that matter!). I'm a dab hand at modifying the 67c home brand packet cake.
My husband is Swiss-Australian, so I have a bit of that European influence as well, and try to reproduce our favourite Swiss recipes as accurately as possible. I am hopefully trying for my Swiss citizenship once I've studied up for my interview! We love travelling, and after visiting Vietnam in 2008 I'm obsessed with both the country and the cuisine, it's so varied and fresh and amazing!
