Bourbon Vanilla Layer Cake

Vanilla cake layers are soaked with tongue-tingling bourbon and filled with southern apple butter. Bourbon-vanilla frosting is topped with red ganache, which pays homage to the wax-sealed bourbon bottle that holds its star ingredient.

This time of year always brings out my pensive side. I tend to spend a lot more time thinking and less time doing, so I’ve been fumbling a bit trying to get back into a work routine. I mean, some days I can’t even write a proper ‘to-do’ list unless I have the right type of lined paper and black ink pen in front of me. Perhaps that should be a resolution – less thinking more doing!

I’ve been making notes in my recipe journal since last November for a bourbon layer cake. I’ve decided that it is time to move forward with something warming, perhaps better described as glowing, with spirits.

Did you notice the cake’s aesthetic was taken directly from the Maker’s Mark bottle? I love the drippy wax cap effect and translated it into a red ganache cake glaze. I even made some ‘wax’ seals with marble-size pieces of red fondant and a wax stamp. If you’re a regular reader of this blog, then you already know of my obsession with wax stamps (for a refresher see here and here). I found the ‘M’ initial stamp here, although you could use ‘W’ for whisky or ‘B’ for bourbon (or ‘A’ for Amy and so forth).

The cake layers are rich with brown sugar and a hefty 1/2 cup of Maker’s Mark bourbon. I suggest making the cakes the day before you plan to assemble and serve the cake. Wrap them well in plastic wrap and store at room temperature overnight. This seals in moisture and sets the crumb so the layers can best receive a generous brushing of bourbon simple syrup.

I used sorghum molasses in the cake layers and in the frosting. It’s an ingredient that’s uniquely southern and dear to my heart. You can find the brand I used – and what I consider to be the best quality sorghum – for purchase here. It’s a little like molasses but not quite as dark. If, for some reason, you can’t procure sorghum in your geographic location then regular molasses may be used in its place.

Since this cake has quite a few steps, I put together a picture tutorial of its creation. It’s not a difficult cake to make; it just requires lots of layering of delicious ingredients. Here’s the gist of it:

1. After the cake layers are baked and leveled, bourbon simple syrup is generously drizzled and brushed on top of each layer. Tip: I always make simple syrup in the microwave; it only takes about 1 minute 30 seconds!
2. A thin layer of spiced apple butter is spread on top of two syrup-infused cakes. This gives the overall dessert some needed acidity and contrast. Apple butter really compliments the flavor of bourbon, too. Tip: If you can’t find spiced apple butter, then stir 1/8 teaspoon ground cinnamon into the 6 tablespoons called for in this recipe.
3. Use a generous 1/2 cup of frosting to fill each cake layer (the picture is what my generous 1/2 cup looks like – so, about 1/2 cup +3 tablespoons).
4. Spread the frosting as evenly as possible over the apple butter.
5. Carry on with stacking and spreading with apple butter and frosting
6. Cover the cake in a thin layer of frosting (crumb coat) and refrigerate until firm.
7. While you wait for the cake to chill, make the red ganache. Chop red candy melts (also called candy coating) into small pieces.
8. Combine it with heavy cream and heat in the microwave at 30 second intervals until it can be stirred smooth. Let the red ganache stand for about 20 minutes, or until it thickens slightly.
9. After the crumb-coated cake chills, cover it with a final layer and refrigerate again. Slowly spoon the ganache around the top edge of the cake – do this sparingly at first so you can gauge the ‘drippy-ness’ of the ganache.
10. Spoon the remaining ganache over the top of the cake, being careful not to overflow the edges of the cake. You may not have to use all of the ganache.

Now, you could stop after the drippy red glaze step and have a perfectly beautiful and delicious cake to offer guests, but the leftover bourbon-vanilla icing should not be wasted. I transferred it to a piping bag fitted with a large star tip and piped swirls of icing on the top edge of the cake.

The finished cake is dusted with just a kiss of cinnamon. This is a nice tie-in with the spiced apple butter inside the cake layers. Regarding the cake’s overall flavor, I’d have to stick with my description of ‘glowing’. It’s richly infused with unmistakable bourbon flavor, but not overtly tongue-tingling.

Bourbon Vanilla Layer Cake (Maker’s Mark Cake)

Heather Baird

I suggest making the cake layers a day ahead of assembly. Stack them between sheets of parchment and cover them in plastic wrap. The next day the cakes will be soft and the crumb will be well set. Sorghum syrup can be found at specialty stores and online (see blog post for links). Prepared spiced apple butter is used in this recipe, and can be found in the jams and jellies section at the grocery store.

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Prep Time 35 minutes mins

Cook Time 25 minutes mins

Total Time 1 hour hr

Course Dessert

Cuisine American

Servings 12

Ingredients

 

US CustomaryMetric

 

1x2x3x

Bourbon cake layers

• 1 cup 2 sticks, 8 oz. unsalted butter, softened
• 2 cups 405 g light brown sugar, packed
• 1/4 cup 80 g sorghum molasses
• 6 large eggs at room temperature
• 1 tablespoon vanilla bean paste or pure vanilla extract
• 3 cups/360g all-purpose flour
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 3/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 4 oz. sour cream
• 1/2 cup 120 ml bourbon whisky (I used Maker’s Mark throughout this recipe)

Bourbon simple syrup

• 1/2 cup 100 g granulated sugar
• 1/2 120 ml cup water
• 2 tablespoons bourbon whisky

Vanilla-bourbon frosting and filling

• 1 1/2 cups 3 sticks, 12 oz. unsalted butter, softened
• 1 1/2 lbs. confectioners’ sugar
• 1/4 cup 80 g sorghum molasses
• 1 tablespoon vanilla bean paste or pure vanilla extract
• 2 tablespoons bourbon whisky
• 6 tablespoons spiced apple butter

Red ganache

• 6 ounces red candy melts candy coating finely chopped
• 5 tablespoons heavy cream

Wax seal décor and other

• 1 walnut sized lump of red ready-made rolled fondant
• Wax seal stamp I used “M” initial for Maker’s Mark
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

Instructions

 

• Make the cake layers: Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Grease three 9-inch round cake pans with flour-based baking spray (or grease pans and line bottoms with parchment). Apply Bake Even Cake Strips to the outside of the pans if you have them.
• Beat together butter and brown sugar with a mixer until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add the sorghum and beat until incorporated. Scrape down bowl with a spatula. Add eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat in vanilla.
• Whisk together flour, salt and baking soda in a bowl. In a separate bowl, combine the sour cream and bourbon. Gradually add flour mixture to butter mixture in 3 additions, with the mixer on low speed, alternating with sour cream mixture and starting and ending with flour mixture. Scrape down the mixing bowl with a large rubber spatula and turn the batter over several times to ensure all of the ingredients are well incorporated.
• Divide batter between pans (this works out to be about 1 1/2 cups per pan). Bake until golden and cakes spring back when pressed in their centers, about 21-27 minutes. Let cakes cool in pans for 5 minutes. The cakes should pull away from the sides of the pan. Invert cakes, remove pans and let cool completely on a wire rack. Level the cakes if needed (you may skip this part if your Bake Even Cake Strips worked correctly).
• Make the simple syrup: In a microwave-safe bowl combine the water and sugar. Cook at 100% power for 1 minute 30 seconds. Stir well until the sugar is completely melted (you can also make this on the stove top in a saucepan over medium-high heat if you don’t have a microwave). Add bourbon; drizzle on/brush syrup over cake layers. Use as much or as little of the syrup as desired (I had 1/4 cup left over).
• Make the vanilla bourbon frosting: Cream the butter until smooth in an electric mixer on high speed. Add the sugar and beat on low speed until incorporated, then on high speed until fluffy. Add the sorghum and vanilla bean paste. Beat on high speed until light and fluffy. Scrape down the bowl and turn the frosting over a few times to ensure all the ingredients are incorporated. Beat in the bourbon; whip for 1 minute.
• Thinly spread 3 tablespoons of the apple butter on a cake layer. Place the cake layer on a cake stand. Top with a generous 1/2 cup of vanilla bourbon frosting; top cake layer with a second cake layer. Spread the remaining 3 tablespoons apple butter on top of the second cake layer, top with generous 1/2 cup of frosting. Place final cake layer on top. Cover the cake with a thin layer of frosting (crumb coat) and refrigerate until firm. (Be sure to cover remaining frosting with a damp paper towel to prevent drying.) Cover chilled cake with a final smooth layer of frosting. Chill the cake again in the refrigerator while you prepare the red ganache. Transfer remaining frosting to a piping bag fitted with a large closed star tip.
• Make the red ganache: In a microwave-safe bowl, combine the chopped red candy and heavy cream. Place in the microwave and heat at 100% power at 30 second intervals, stirring well between heating (about 1 minute total cook time). Alternatively, you may use a saucepan on the stovetop over medium-low heat.
• Let ganache cool until slightly thickened, about 20 minutes at room temperature. Remove the cake from the refrigerator. Gently and slowly, spoon a small amount of ganache over the edge of the cake allowing it to flow over the sides in drippy fashion (some of the ganache will drip off of the cake, so place it on a surface you don’t mind getting drippy – read: not your finest table linens). Cover any bare spots on top of the cake by spooning on red ganache. You may not have to use all of the ganache.
• Use the piping bag of reserved frosting to pipe swirls of frosting around the top edge of the cake.
• Make the wax seal décors: Knead the rolled fondant until it is well pliable and not sticky (knead in a tiny amount of powdered sugar if it remains sticky). Roll into 6 marble-sized balls and flatten each ball with the wax stamp. If the fondant sticks to the wax seal, gently pull it off to reveal the design. Allow the fondant seals to dry until firm, about 15 minutes. Place the seals upright and alternately on every other frosting swirl on top of the cake. Dust the entire cake lightly with the ground cinnamon.
• The alcohol component does a wonderful job of preserving the cake at room temperature, but I chose to store the cake in the refrigerator overnight because of the apple butter filling. Wrap the cake well or store in an airtight cake keeper after it is cut. Always bring to room temperature before serving.

Keyword black vanilla fondant, bourbon balls, vanilla bourbon frosting

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