This chocolate Bourbon cake is wonderful – moist and delicious and full of Bourbon and chocolate flavor. The preparation is wonderful too, the batter is quickly whisked together by hand, no messy mixer required. Best of all, the batter is liquid so you can easily pour it.
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About the recipe:
I wish all of you a smashingly happy and healthy new year! It’s important to start it off properly, with cake and booze. And chocolate. That’s why I made this delicious cake from a Gourmet recipe that I found on epicurious.com.
My contribution to this recipe is the glaze, which I made from bittersweet and milk chocolate, bourbon, butter, cream, vanilla, espresso powder and a pinch of salt. It’s essentially the same as my espresso Bourbon truffles, only poured onto a cake instead of rolled into balls.
NOTE: Please note that I took the above photo right after pouring the glaze on; the glaze will not actually stay liquid, it will firm up into a ganache-like consistency that you can easily cut through but that will stay put on the cake.
Ingredients:
For the cake:
For the glaze:
A few notes on the glaze ingredients:
- instant espresso powder – instant espresso powder is brewed espresso that has been dehydrated. You cannot substitute ground espresso for it.
- bittersweet and milk chocolate – be sure to use chocolate bars and not chocolate morsels; morsels have stabilizers in them that actually prevent them from melting.
Make it a bundt cake or a layer cake:
You have two fine options for this cake: you can either bake it in a 12-cup Bundt cake pan OR you can make it a layer cake instead. The recipe will make two 9-inch round layers.
If you make the bundt cake, I recommend you serve it with a bit of raspberry jam and/or whipped cream spread on your slice.
If you go for the layer option, I recommend this maple mascarpone frosting for the cake, which is pictured below. (You can also turn the frosting into an espresso mascarpone frosting, which works great on this cake as well.)
Whichever option you choose, this cake makes a wonderful everyday afternoon treat but works equally well as a fancy birthday cake.
RECIPE NOTE: You will notice that I substituted water and instant espresso powder for the coffee that the cake recipe calls for. I just found that a lot easier than going through the trouble of brewing fresh coffee but you can use either one, of course.
How to freeze this cake:
Both the maple mascarpone frosted layer cake version and the glazed Bundt cake version of this cake freeze very well. Here is how to do it:
| Cake version: | How to freeze: | How long to thaw: |
|---|---|---|
| Frosted layer cake | Transfer the fully frosted cake into a freezer bag and freeze. | 2 hours at room temperature |
| Glazed Bundt cake | Transfer the glazed cake into a freezer bag and freeze. | 2 hours at room temperature |
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Full Printable Recipe
Chocolate Bourbon Cake
Ingredients
For the cake:
- 1 cup unsweetened cocoa powder, plus 3 tablespoons for dusting the baking pan
- 1 teaspoon instant espresso powder
- 1 ½ cups water
- ½ cup Bourbon
- 16 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 2 cups granulated sugar
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 ¼ teaspoons baking soda
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 2 large eggs
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- raspberry jam to spread on the individual slices, optional
- whipped cream, optional
For the glaze:
- ½ cup heavy cream
- 3 tablespoons unsalted butter
- ½ teaspoon instant espresso powder
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
- pinch of salt
- 2 tablespoons Bourbon
- 4 ounces bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped*
- 4 ounces milk chocolate, finely chopped*
Instructions
For the cake:
- Head on over to Epicurious for instructions. (Use the teaspoon of instant espresso powder and the 1 ½ cups of water instead of coffee).
For the glaze:
- Add cream, butter, espresso powder, vanilla and salt into a sauce pan, bring to a boil and stir until you have a homogeneous mix.
- Take off the heat and add the Bourbon.
- Pour the hot cream mix over the chocolate and let sit for 1 minute.
- Stir together until everything is well combined and no chocolate clumps remain. (You may need to heat the mixture over a pot of hot water to get rid of the last pieces of chocolate).
- Pour over the cake and let set.
- Serve with whipped cream and/or raspberry jam.
Rebecca
Great flavor and very dense, which we loved! The icing was great. (I added extra espresso & bourbon) Overall an easy recipe! I felt mine was a little dry. I think I will add a glaze next time as soon as I bring the cake out of the oven!
Nicole B.
Lovely to hear that, Rebecca! Can never go wrong with extra espresso and bourbon, can you? :)
Carletta Gunby
Will this cake freeze well? Considering making for my uncle and shipping it to him for father’s day.
Nicole B.
Hi Carletta, that’s a very nice idea for a father’s day gift! I have frozen the layer cake version of this cake and it did freeze very well. I transferred the cake (fully frosted with the maple mascarpone frosting) into a freezer bag and put it in the freezer for about 2 weeks. It took about 2 hours to thaw at room temperature and tasted great. I have not yet tried to freeze the glazed bundt cake version.
UPDATE: After you posed the question I made the bundt cake version of this cake again, glazed it and froze it. I thawed it this morning (it took about 2 hours on the kitchen counter) and it turned out great. So, yes, both versions of this cake freeze well. :)
Natalia
Hello!
I am making this cake today- the two layered version. I was wondering if I could use raspberry as a filling along with the maple Mascarpone cream and the glaze….a layer of each. Do you think it would be too much? or should I stick with either the Raspberry jelly or the Cream? The glaze sounds so delicious I cannot afford to leave it out hahahah
Thank you!!
Nicole B.
That’s an interesting idea, Natalia! I haven’t made the cake with both fillings but I can imagine it would be quite good! If you end up making it with both, I’d love to know how you liked it. All the best! nicole :)
Katie
Do you think the alcohol in the glaze cooks out? If not, What’s a good alternative for kids or people that can’t drink alcohol?
Nicole B.
Hi Katie,
The alcohol in the glaze will not cook off entirely, so what I would suggest is to simple leave the Bourbon out of the glaze and make it just with the remaining ingredients. It will taste purely chocolately that way and will still work great as a glaze.
Annelle Williams
This cake is absolutely delicious–moist and wonderful
Nicole B.
Thank you SO much for the lovely comment, Annelle, I really appreciate it. So glad you liked the cake! :)
Larissa
This sounds amazing!
Nicole: does the glaze stay liquid on the cake?
Thanks for sharing this recipe, will try it asap! :)
Nicole B.
Hi Larissa! The glaze will not stay liquid but it won’t harden into a shell either. It will have the consistency of a ganache, you will easily be able to cut through but it will stay in place. Let me know how you like it if you end up making it. :)
P.S.: Thanks for asking about that, I will add a note in the post to clarify. :)
Thalia @ butter and brioche
Cake and alcohol is my kind of way to start the new year! This bundt cake just looks so wickedly delicious.. Happy New Year!
Nicole B.
Happy New Year to you as well!!
Elizabeth
You can’t lose with bourbon and chocolate together – sound absolutely decadent. Love the idea of spreading on some raspberry jam.
Nicole B.
Thank you so much, Elizabeth!