Whiskey Cake Recipe With Whiskey Glaze
Written by MasterClass
Last updated: Sep 26, 2022 • 3 min read
Learn how to make a whiskey cake recipe, then branch out to experiment with various flavors, shapes, and toppings. Add whiskey to the cake batter, frosting, glaze, or ganache filling, so the flavor comes through.
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What Is Whiskey Cake?
Whiskey cake refers to any cake with the flavors of Irish whiskey, either in the cake batter, the frosting, or a sweet glaze. Many whiskey cake recipes call for baking the cake in a bundt pan, but there are whiskey layer cakes, loaf cakes, or single-layer round cakes. The cake flavor also varies, coming in vanilla or chocolate. Popular toppings for a whiskey cake include fresh whipped cream, ice cream, whiskey caramel, and toasted pecans.
Eat whiskey cake for dessert or as part of a brunch spread alongside chicken and waffles, deviled eggs, frittata, fresh fruit, and savory breakfast meats. Jump to recipe.
3 Tips for Making a Moist Whiskey Cake
Use the three tips below for making moist chocolate or vanilla Irish whiskey cake.
- 1. Add vanilla pudding mix to the cake batter. The added fat in instant vanilla pudding mix keeps a cake moist without adding any extra moisture in liquid form. For a chocolate cake, use instant chocolate pudding instead of vanilla.
- 2. Make a whiskey cake soak. Like many other cake recipes, a simple syrup–based cake soak keeps the dessert moist and helps create a barrier between the cake and the air. Make your own whiskey cake soak by substituting the rum for whiskey in pastry chef Joanne Chang’s whiskey simple syrup recipe.
- 3. Make sure the oven preheats before placing the cake in the oven. All baking recipes require preheating the oven first, which is a crucial step. A partially heated range starts to cook some parts of the cake, but the bake is slow, and often, it’s easy to overbake a cake in a partially heated oven.
How to Store Leftover Whiskey Cake
Since many whiskey cake recipes are single-layer and lack frosting, wrap the whole cake, or what’s left of it, tightly in a few pieces of plastic wrap. Alternatively, cut the cake into slices and cover the individual portions tightly in plastic wrap.
Store the covered cake in the refrigerator for two or three days, or freeze the cake for up to four months.
Irish Whiskey Cake Recipe
makes
1 bundt cakeprep time
15 mintotal time
1 hr 15 mincook time
1 hrIngredients
For the cake:
For the Irish whiskey glaze:
Make the cake:
- 1
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
- 2
Grease a bundt pan with nonstick cooking spray.
- 3
In a large mixing bowl, combine the all-purpose flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.
- 4
In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy, about 5–7 minutes.
- 5
Add the eggs, one at a time, mixing well after each addition.
- 6
With the mixer on medium speed, continue beating the butter, sugar, and eggs until light and fluffy, about 5 minutes.
- 7
Mix in the vanilla extract.
- 8
With the mixer on low speed, alternate adding the dry ingredients and the whiskey, starting and ending with the dry ingredients.
- 9
Pour the cake mix into the prepared pan.
- 10
Bake the cake until golden brown and a toothpick inserted into the cake comes out clean, about 40–50 minutes.
- 11
Cool the whiskey bundt cake in the pan for 10 minutes, then invert the cake onto a wire rack to cool completely.
Make the whiskey glaze:
- 1
While the cake cools, prepare the whiskey glaze. In a small saucepan on the stove over medium heat, add the butter, heavy cream, granulated sugar, and brown sugar.
- 2
Bring the mixture to a boil, then simmer it for 3 minutes.
- 3
Turn off the heat and cool the mixture for 5 minutes.
- 4
Add the whiskey to the saucepan and stir to combine.
- 5
Pour the whiskey glaze over the top of the cake, letting it drip down the sides.
- 6
Slice the cake and serve it with ice cream or fresh whipped cream.
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