WOODFORD RESERVE BOURBON CAKE

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Woodford Reserve Bourbon Cake with Caramel Glaze offers a rich, bold flavor of bourbon, this cake is not for the faint of heart! It’s a boozy twist on a Southern classic!

Woodford Reserve Pound Cake

I gave Big Daddy three bottles of his favorite bourbons for Christmas; all premium, single barrel bourbons! We were educated on all things bourbon after enjoying the Bourbon Trail for three days.

This is a really fun tour if you have a free weekend. You’ll learn the art, history, and science behind the bourbon brewing process. As well, you’ll have the opportunity to taste various bourbons, some that are not even on the market yet.

Woodford Reserve Pound Cake
bourbon

We made it into a family trip and incorporated kid-friendly activities into our visit. On the Bourbon Tour, our first stop was Maker’s Mark. (photo below taken at Maker’s Mark.)

family pic

The cake would be fabulous without the caramel glaze, but I’m all about more is more when it comes to desserts so I added the luscious, creamy caramel on top! I KNOW RIGHT?! Just look at that caramel oozing off the top!

Woodford Reserve Pound Cake is a boozy twist on a Southern classic.

Woodford Reserve Bourbon Cake with Caramel Glaze

Bourbon gives this cake a deep, rich flavor. However, it’s not an over-powering flavor. And, the texture of the cake is tender with a fine crumb. It melts in your mouth.

I recently updated this post with new photos and easier instructions. As well, the photo below is from the original post and photos.

Woodford Reserve Bourbon Pound Cake with Caramel Frosting
 
Woodford Reserve Pound Cake is a boozy twist on a Southern classic.

More yummy pound cakes

WOODFORD RESERVE BOURBON CAKE TIPS

  • First, I prefer to bake my pound cakes in this tube pan versus a bundt pan. Several of my pound cakes in this series have too much batter for a standard bundt pan.
  • For any cake, be diligent about measuring your flour accurately. Furthermore, I wrote this post that will help you if youโ€™re not sure how to measure: How to Correctly Measure Flour.
  • Allow yourself time to cream the butter (or fat) and sugar for a pound cake. Donโ€™t be tempted to rush the process. You want to cream it until it is light in color and fluffy.
  • As well, donโ€™t dump the eggs in all at once. Add them one at a time beating until you can no longer see the egg before you add another one.
  • To test for doneness, insert a long skewer into the thickest part of the cake. The cake is done when no crumbs or dry crumbs remain on the skewer when removed.
  • Next, allow the cake to cool on a wire rack for 15 to 20 minutes before inverting onto a serving platter.
  • Additionally, cool the cake completely before covering it.
Woodford Reserve Pound Cake

Woodford Reserve Bourbon Cake with Caramel Glaze

It's buttery with a tender crumb and hints of bourbon. You've got to try this cake!
Author: Paula
4.71 from 44 votes
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Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 1 hour 15 minutes
Total Time: 1 hour 30 minutes
Servings: 18 servings

Ingredients

Caramel Glaze

Instructions

  • Preheat oven to 325 degrees F. Grease and sugar (I use granulated sugar but you can use flour) aย 10×4-inch, 12 cup bundt panย (that's larger than a typicalย bundt pan) or aย tube pan with solid vegetable shortening or Wilton Cake Release.
  • In the bowl of your electric mixer, cream butter and shortening at medium speed. Gradually add brown sugar, beating until light and creamy. Stop mixer and scrape sides.
  • Add eggs, 1 at a time, beating just until blended. Stop mixer and scrape sides with a spatula.
  • Add bourbon to half and half; set aside.
  • In a separate bowl, stir together flour, baking powder, and salt. Add flour mixture alternately with the milk mixture to the ingredients in the mixing bowl beginning and ending with flour. Beat at low speed just until blended after each addition. Stop mixer and scrape sides with a spatula.
  • Stir in vanilla. Pour batter into your prepared baking pan.
  • Bake at 325ยฐF for 1 hour 10 to 15 minutes. A long wooden pick inserted in the center should come out clean when the cake is done. Cool in pan on wire rack 15 to 20 minutes then remove from pan to cake plate.
  • Cool the cake completely on a wire rack before glazing. It will take about an hour for the cake to cool completely.

Caramel Glaze

  • Bring brown sugar, whipping cream, and butter to a boil in a 2-quart saucepan over medium heat. Whisk constantly.
  • Boil 1 minute. Remove from heat and stir in vanilla. Gradually whisk in powdered sugar until smooth and the mixture begins to thicken. This will take 3 to 5 minutes.
  • Immediately pour frosting over the cooled cake.
  • Store in an airtight container on the countertop for 1 week. Freezes well.

Nutrition

Calories: 658kcal | Carbohydrates: 82g | Protein: 7g | Fat: 33g | Saturated Fat: 17g | Cholesterol: 150mg | Sodium: 320mg | Potassium: 167mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 57g | Vitamin A: 835IU | Vitamin C: 0.1mg | Calcium: 84mg | Iron: 2.2mg

Nutritional information given is an automatic calculation and can vary based on the exact products you use and changes you make to the recipe. If these numbers are important to you, I recommend calculating them yourself.

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77 Comments

  1. Would it be okay to make this cake the night before and then do the frosting in the morning before the event I am taking it to? I just don’t know if it’ll dry out or not be as tasty or fresh by cooling to room temp them storing in the fridge. Do I need to do anything special?

  2. 5 stars
    Just made this cake for my husbandโ€™s birthday and he LOVES it! Woodford is one of our favorite bourbonsโ€ฆso when I saw this recipe I knew instantly it would be a winner! I added 1/2 tsp to the glaze, for extra punchโ€ฆnext time Iโ€™ll add 1 full tsp! Delicious recipe! Thank you! ๐Ÿค—

  3. 5 stars
    This was delicious! Everyone loved it! I added some bourbon to the glaze as well. ๐Ÿ˜‹

  4. Hi Paula. Thank you for the recipe. We are a family of 2 and will never be able to consume a full cake. Any suggestions for approximate bake time if I split this recipe into 2 6 cup tube pans? Thank you again.

    1. I’m not sure about 1/2 the batter in a tube pan, but 1/2 the batter in a 9×5 inch loaf pan usually takes 45 to 55 minutes (depending on pan color).

  5. Looks ๐Ÿคฉ Thinking about making it for friendโ€™s Bday. What about adding whisky to glaze.? ๐Ÿค”

    1. Yes, you absolutely can add it to the glaze. You can replace the vanilla and up to half of the whipping cream.

    2. Yes, I add some Woodford Reserve to the glaze also when I make for my friends’ B-Days. Since I like more icing with my cake I do 1.5x for the gaze although I can actually eat this cake without the glaze and it’s delicious. The glaze puts it over the top though. First time I made it, my friend’s exact words were “Oh my god! This is so good!” Definitely one of Paula’s all time best recipes! Thank you, Paula!

  6. 5 stars
    Just made this, and while technically I havenโ€™t had a slice yet, I have licked the bowl and added this to my favorite dessert recipe collection. Thank you! I did do some substitutions as I have some dairy intolerance but I didnโ€™t completely cut out dairy. Mostly I substituted soy half and half for the milk options and did half butter and half an olive oil based โ€œbutterโ€

  7. Would you change anything (other than baking time) if one was to make cupcakes? Asking for a friend… Lol!

    1. You can. It’s take longer to bake. Bake until the cakes are lightly golden and spring back when lightly poked with your finger.

4.71 from 44 votes (37 ratings without comment)

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