Whiskey Pound Cake
My mom makes the best rum cake in the world. It’s super moist, full of rum flavor, and just as good toasted three days later as it is fresh out of the oven. I know I can’t beat it, so I’ve never tried. A whisky pound cake, however- that’s different, and it’s incredibly delicious. The texture of this cake is indescribable. It has a fine crumb that melts in your mouth. Despite the decadent amounts of butter, it’s light and not too sweet. I added a brown sugar pecan topping that caramelizes beautifully on top of the cake, and a whisky glaze. I assure you- there is nothing like this pound cake.
The pound cake recipe I used as a base is quite unique. It’s from The Perfect Hostess Cookbook by Mildred O Knopf (1950), which a friend gave me for Christmas this year.
The original recipe is not quite a traditional pound cake as it only uses 1/2 pound of butter (2 sticks). A real pound cake has a full pound (4 sticks!). I accidentally doubled the butter in this recipe and used a full pound. This is actually the second time in my baking career that I’ve unintentionally doubled the butter! Both times, it has only made the final product better. Plus, if you’re going to make a pound cake, why not do it right?
This recipe also uses confectioners sugar rather than granulated sugar, and pastry flour, which is finer than all-purpose flour. All of those little alterations help make the cake amazingly light. Though you don’t really taste it, the lemon brightens the cake. My favorite part of the recipe was the instruction to cream the butter and sugar “until very pale in color and smooth as satin” (see below).
I have to admit I was a tad worried about the 5 eggs in the cake. Some old cake recipes have so much egg and so little flour that the final product is more of an omelette than a cake. This recipe requires that you beat the batter with an electric mixer for 10 whole minutes after adding the eggs. I found that 8 minutes was sufficient. Maybe incorporating all that air helped make the cake so fluffy.
The final batter includes Dewar’s Highlander Honey Whiskey, the good kind of vanilla bean paste, lemon zest, and lemon juice. It is smooth and beautiful, but not ready to go into the pan just yet, because I decided to make a topping.
I got this idea from a meringue-like topping that some old recipes put on top of brownies and nut bars. They mix egg whites, brown sugar, and sometimes nuts and pour the mixture on top of whatever their making to make a sweet, crunchy crust. The sugar and pecans toast in the bottom of the pan, adding much more depth of flavor to a simple cake.
Finally, whiskey, sugar, and a tiny bit of butter are all it takes to make the glaze. I was a little bit worried about not cooking all of the alcohol off. (A few months ago my mom was hurrying along a Vodka sauce for pasta, and it ended up having a little bit too much of a kick!) Consequently, I thickened the glaze a tad too much and it ended up being more like the consistency of caramel. But it wasn’t a problem- it was still delicious.
The little crunchy parts on the bottom of the cake are amazing. Toasty on the outside, soft and fluffy on the inside… this cake is heaven. I think I could eat the whole thing. All that’s left to do is let it cool (if you can wait that long) and dust it with powdered sugar.
Whiskey Pound Cake
Makes: one large bundt cake, Time: 45 minutes active, 1 hour baking
Ingredients: 3 1/2 cups pastry flour, 3/4 tsp salt, 3 tsp baking powder, 1 pound of butter (2 cups, room temperature), 2 1/2 cups confectioners sugar, 5 eggs, 1 cup whole milk, 2 tbsp whiskey, 1 tbsp lemon juice, 1 tsp lemon zest, 1 tbsp vanilla extract or paste
For the pecan topping: 3/4 cup finely chopped pecans, 1/3 cup dark brown sugar, 2 egg whites
For the glaze: 1/3 cup granulated sugar, 5 tbsp whiskey, 2 tbsp butter
1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees Fahrenheit. Butter the bottom of a large bundt pan well, and spray the sides with nonstick baking spray. Set aside.
2. In a medium bowl, sift together cake flour, baking powder, and salt.
3. In a large bowl with an electric mixer or in the bowl of a stand mixer, cream together butter and sugar until “very pale and smooth as satin”, according to the original recipe.
4. Add eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. Then beat the egg and butter mixture at medium speed for about 8 minutes, making sure to scrape down the sides of the bowl with a spatula every 2 minutes or so.
5. Add dry ingredients alternately with milk, stirring to combine after each addition. Do not over-mix the cake batter; that will make it tough.
6. Add lemon zest, juice, vanilla, and whisky for flavoring and mix until fully combined. Set batter aside to rest.
7. In a small bowl, beat egg whites until very frothy and slightly stiff. Fold in brown sugar and chopped pecans.
8. Pour pecan topping evenly into the bottom of the prepared bundt pan. Pour cake batter over the pecan mixture and use a spatula to even out the top.
9. Bake cake at 325 degrees Fahrenheit for 50 minutes-1 hour, or until a skewer inserted into the middle of the cake comes out clean.
10. While the cake is baking, make the glaze. In a small saucepan, stir together the butter, sugar, and whisky as you cook the mixture over medium heat. Bring the glaze to a low boil and allow to simmer for 5–10 minutes, stirring constantly so your sugar doesn’t burn. Sniffing is a good way to determine how much of the alcohol has burned off. If it still smells like a bar, cook it a little longer!
11. When cake is done baking, remove it from the oven and poke a few holes in it with a skewer. Pour the whiskey glaze over the warm cake and allow it to soak in as the cake cools.
12. When the cake is just slightly warm, turn it onto a cooling rack or your serving platter to continue cooling, and dust with more confectioners sugar.
You really can’t beat a cake that’s simply delicious, whether it’s my mom’s rum cake or this whisky pound cake. There’s no hassle of frosting, no stacking layers, no complicated decoration required. Just really good dessert. Batter in a pan. (And of course, since it’s me, a few unnecessary additions.)
Happy New Year, everyone!
If nothing else, let’s try to enjoy the simple things in 2016. Every little moment we allow ourselves to enjoy makes us happier. But what can I say… I’m an eternal optimist.
