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Bourbon Buttermilk Layer Cake (one huge slice of cake)
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This cake isn’t particularly bourbon-y per se, but rather the bourbon adds a certain toasty je ne sais quoi that helps set this apart from a straight up vanilla cake. If you don’t have any bourbon, obviously you must not live in Kentucky.
Just kidding. This recipe is highly forgiving with variations. It’s a crazy good way to use up flat champagne. Who knew? So use what you’ve got, provided it doesn’t sound like a stupid idea.
1 vanilla bean split and scraped, seeds reserved
4 ounces bourbon
14 ounces sugar
1 Tbsp baking powder
3/4 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
1 tsp almond extract
1/2 tsp freshly grated nutmeg
8 ounces unsalted butter, room temp
5 eggs, room temp (important!)
2 egg yolks
13.5 ounces all purpose flour, sifted
13 ounces buttermilk
One day before: combine the bourbon and vanilla bean together in a small pot. Bring to a boil, shut off the heat, and cover. Steep overnight. Of course you can cheat and cut the time down to whatever is convenient for your circumstances, but your mileage may vary.
Preheat the oven to 350°
Combine the sugar through butter, along with reserved vanilla bean seeds in a mixing bowl. Use a paddle attachment to cream them together for ten minutes on medium speed. Seriously. Ten minutes. (I eschew the “until light and fluffy” schtick, I mean, how subjective is that?)
Every three or so minutes, stop the mixer and scrape the bowl down completely.
Turn the mixer down to medium low and while it’s running, add the eggs and then yolk, one at a time, mixing after each until thoroughly combined.
Turn the mixer down to the lowest speed and add in the sifted flour a cup at a time. Immediately add the bourbon (minus the bean itself) and slowly pour in the buttermilk.
Once you’ve finished adding the buttermilk, shut off the mixer and finish incorporating with a spatula.
To make the “slice of cake” cake from All Your Cake Are Belong To Us, use a 12” cake pan lined with parchment and lightly greased.
Otherwise bake off as 2 1/2 dozen cupcakes or use 3, 8” cake pans (prepared as described above). Don’t do this in two cake pans or you’ll have to clean up a cake volcano. Three pans.
Pour the batter into the prepared pan or pans (about 19.75 ounces per 8” round or 1/3 cup of batter per cupcake) and bake for 30-35 minutes, until lightly browned. If you press the surface gently with your fingertips, it should still leave a slight impression.
Great with Milk Chocolate Buttercream or any other variation thereof.
For information on how to store the finished cake, see this post from the Kitchn.
Any questions?
Sep 12, 2011 · 12:10 PM
Hi Stella! This cake sounds amazing. I have a question – do you think another frosting would work as well? I’m going to make this cake for my mom’s birthday, but she’s not crazy about milk chocolate (she prefers dark), and she’s even claiming that she doesn’t want a buttercream (gasp!) because of all the delicious butter calories. She suggested a dark chocolate ganache, but I thought that a dark chocolate might overpower the delicateness of the cake. A vanilla buttercream would work, flavor-wise, but might be… boring? What do you think?
Sep 12, 2011 · 1:44 PM
@Kat, you could make the buttercream with all dark chocolate, and I don’t think that would overwhelm the flavor of the cake. The butter/sugar would keep the flavor profile from being too overwhelming for the cake itself. I’ve made it that way before too.
Calorically speaking, I don’t know that there’s any real benefit to ganache vs buttercream (if that’s her true concern). Buttercream gets half its volume from meringue, which is fat free, but also less calorically dense than cream or butter. Whereas ganache gets half its volume from cream, which packs a fairly hefty punch. I’m no nutritionalist, so that’s a layman’s analysis. But, if she simply isn’t too wild about buttercream and would just rather have ganache, it would certainly be delicious. A touch overpowering, perhaps, but your mom may appreciate using the cake as a vehicle/excuse to consume a heap of dark ganache, in which case it would be a great birthday present. Happy Birthday to her! Let me know how the cake turns out! 
Sep 12, 2011 · 2:57 PM
You know, I thought the same thing about the cream in the ganache vs. the butter in the buttercream. I’ll probably end up trying the cake out with both ahead of time. Because, you know, I need an excuse to make more cake.
I’ve just started reading your blog, and I love it! Your recipes all sound so complex and interesting, and the pics are amazing. Also, I love reading a well-written food blog by a fellow Southern gal. P.S. You’re making me totally want to move to Kentucky!
Sep 13, 2011 · 11:19 AM
@Kat, Southern gals unite! So glad you found me and are enjoying the blog. But definitely, you should make as much cake as possible. I mean, it’s what a good daughter would do. 
Jan 26, 2012 · 1:05 PM
@YogaAndBirth, hey girlie! There is a picture of it, actually on my facebook page (good thing we’re friends!). John made it last year for my birthday. Sorry to be bumming you out with the gluten, but I do have a TON of GF recipes here (about 75% of my recipes are), so you should be able to find something yummy!