Kentucky Butter Cake

Whenever I think of Kentucky, I think of big hats, horses and moonshine.  Oh, and the Kentucky Brown - a decadent sandwich with turkey, tomatoes, bacon, cheese and a little cream, broiled and served open-faced.  I've never had one, but they sound wonderful.  I'm putting that in my "to try" pile.  Definitely.

This Kentucky Butter Cake recipe adapted from AllRecipes is just as decadent as the Brown, but in a different way.  It's loaded with butter and buttermilk and has a wonderful butter glaze poured over the warm cake.  

Here's a photo just after I poured the glaze on it.  I poked quite a few holes, as you can see, so the glaze would soak down into the cake.

I also made sure that the glaze puddled and ran down the outer edges of the cake.  That gave it a bit of a buttery sugar glaze on the outside, too.

The recipe said it was better after sitting and soaking in a day, but who can wait a day!  

We did let it cool completely and I made a bit of homemade whipped cream to plop on top. It's wonderful, although I liked it better without the whipped cream.  

The cake is so delicious that it doesn't need any toppings.  Notice the moist edges of the cake where the glaze settled in:

I have to admit, Kentucky Butter Cake is better the second day, if that's possible.  I cut up a few fresh strawberries and enjoyed it with a cup of coffee for an afternoon dessert.  

It's got a pound cake-ish texture, but that glaze gives the cake it's own deliciousness.

When I turned it out of the pan, I flipped the cake again so that the buttery top would still be the top of the cake instead of the brown sides.  You just can't beat that glazy, cracked topping.

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Kentucky Butter Cake

Yield: 14 slices

Prep Time: 15 minutes

Cook Time: 1 hour 10 minutes

Total Time: 1 hour 25 minutes

Delicious, dense buttery cake with a fantastic glaze!  

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Ingredients

• 1 C butter, , cubed and at room temperature
• 2 C sugar
• 4 eggs
• 1 tablespoon vanilla
• 3 C all purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• ½ teaspoon baking soda
• 1 C buttermilk
• Glaze:
• ⅓ C butter
• ¾ C granulated sugar
• 2 tablespoon water
• 2 teaspoon . vanilla

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 325 degrees.  Grease and flour a 10" bundt pan well and set aside.
2. In a large mixing bowl, combine the butter, sugar, eggs and vanilla.  Blend until well combined. In a separate bowl, stir together the flour, salt, baking powder and baking soda.  Slowly add to the wet mixture and mix for 10 seconds.  Slowly pour the buttermilk in and mix for 2 minutes.
3. Pour the batter into the prepared pan and bake for 65 to 70 minutes until a toothpick poked into the center comes out clean.  Remove from oven and place on a rack.
4. While the cake is still warm, combine the ingredients for the glaze in a small saucepan and stir on medium-low heat until the butter is melted and sugar is mostly dissolved.  Do not boil the mixture.
5. Poke holes in the cake with a butter knife and pour the glaze evenly over it while it's still in the pan.  Cool the cake completely and then invert it onto a cake plate.

Notes

Tips and Stuff :

When poking the holes in the cake, make sure the knife goes almost all the way to the bottom of the cake so the glaze will soak down into it.

Watch the glaze that puddles in the middle - it might overflow and drip down the middle hole of the pan.

I also slightly pulled the cake away from the sides of the pan while pouring the glaze so it would drip down on the sides of the cake.

To remove the cake, carefully run a butter knife around the edges of the pan as well as around the middle hole of the pan to release.

Next time I will use maple flavoring in the glaze. I think that would take it to another wonderful level! 

Nutrition Information:

Yield: 14 slices Serving Size: 1 slice
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 437Total Fat: 19gSaturated Fat: 12gTrans Fat: 1gUnsaturated Fat: 6gCholesterol: 100mgSodium: 439mgCarbohydrates: 61gFiber: 1gSugar: 41gProtein: 5g

Nutrition Values are Approximate