Kentucky Butter Cake, so good, we’ve featured it 3 times!
This incredible Kentucky Butter Cake is not just moist. It has a glaze that soaks into the cake to make it rich and practically oozing syrup. To get the syrup to penetrate the cake, the baked cake is left in the pan, then ‘poked’ gently with a long wooden skewer or long-tined fork. The warm butter sauce is poured over the cake which is left to sit for at least 3 hours. To top it all off, Andrew says the cake is very easy to make. All that explains why this is the third time we’ve published it. The first time, Andrew brought the recipe back after a visit with Lauren, his sister in Texas. Click here and read the intriguing story of how it came to be: https://chewingthefat.us.com/2020/02/kentucky-butter-cake.html.
The second time around
Andrew rediscovered the cake in a wonderful cookbook with a fantastic name: “The Cookie that Changed My Life” by Nancy Silverton with Carolynn Carreño (2023 Alfred Knopf, a division of Penguin Random House LLC.) If you buy no other baking book this year, buy this. It will bring endless hours of baking pleasure. (You can buy it here just by clicking on the cover.) You’ll note that the photo (above) of Nancy Silverton’s version of Kentucky Butter Cake has been made in a mold. If you’re a food person and have ever been to Paris, it will come as no surprise that the mould came from E. Dehillerin. This phenomenal Cookware store is listed by Trip Advisor as the #4 attraction in all of Paris. So when we were in Paris in March, we included a stop at the store. And there, of course, was the Copper Mould.
What makes E Dehillerin such a magnet for cooks and bakers from all over the world?
E. Dehillerin, a five-minute walk from the Louvre, at 1 Rue Montmartre, the family-owned cookware store is truly in the heart of Paris. Founded in 1820, Eugene de Hillerin launched the shop specializing in crafting exquisite copper pots and pans. By 1890, E. Dehillerin had expanded its offerings, becoming a haven for culinary enthusiasts. The store is famous for its jaw-dropping selection of kitchen tools, from gleaming copper pots to razor-sharp carbon knives. Working on this post, I discovered an interesting fact. In 1956, Chuck Williams visited E. Dehillerin and took this picture of the front of the store. When he returned home to San Francisco, Williams-Sonoma was born. I also discovered we could have ordered our glorious mould without ever leaving home. But what fun would that have been? However, if you’re not headed to Paris, here’s the link: https://www.edehillerin.fr/en/round-pastry-moulds/2064-moule-tarte-marguerite-cuivre-o28-234232280.html
E. Dehillerin was not the end of our European version of Kentucky Butter Cake… Andrew coated the cake with Trenz Peach Brandy.
We went back to Europe in July for an amazing cruise on the Main and Rhine rivers. (See below for links to both our 
European Trips). When we reached Rudesheim, we opted for an excursion to Trenz, a family wine-maker or ‘weingut’ in nearby Geisenheim. Our guide was the 19-year-old scion of the family, Constantine, who will become the ninth generation of Trenz’ to enter the family business. The glorious shot of the Chateau is a bit of a cheat…the vineyards are Trenz’, and the Chateau is a boy’s school. Weingut Trenz is a gem of a winery that dates back to 1670. The Rheingau itself is steeped in history and beauty, and the landscape took our breaths away. It’s considered one of the most stunning landscapes in Europe.
No wonder the Rhine Valley is a World Heritage Site.
Weingut Trenz has a passion for producing wines that are fruity, fresh, and of the highest quality. Every bottle is a testament to the hard work and dedication passed down through generations. At the end of Constantine’s comprehensive tour, we bought the Trenz’ Peach Brandy which Andrew immediately assigned to today’s recipe. Since Trenz Peach Brandy is not sold in the US, take a look at these substitutes. We can’t vouch for them but they should fit the bill. To see what’s on offer, go to https://amzn.to/4e4VaLr
Here are the links to our European trips:
Here’s today’s recipe for Kentucky Butter Cake and after it some other Cakes for your consideration.
Kentucky Butter Cake
Butter is the star ingredient in this moist buttery cake. Then after baking, Kentucky Butter Cake is glazed with sweetness—from brandy, butter, and a hint of vanilla. This extra layer of flavor also gives the cake one of its most defining characteristics: a slightly crunchy crust that forms a glaze that caramelizes during baking.
Ingredients
- For the cake
- 224 grams (1 cup) buttermilk (preferably whole-milk or low-fat), shaken
- 4 extra-large eggs
- 1 tablespoon pure vanilla bean paste or vanilla extract
- 420 grams (3 cups) unbleached all-purpose flour
- 400 grams (2 cups) granulated sugar
- 1½ teaspoons Diamond Crystal kosher salt
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- 226 grams (2 sticks) unsalted butter, cubed and left at room temperature until pliable but not greasy
- For the glaze
- 141 grams (1 stick plus 2 tablespoons) unsalted butter, cubed
- grams (1½ cups) granulated sugar
- ¼ cup Peach Brandy (or another fruit liqueur
- 1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon pure vanilla bean paste or vanilla extract
Directions
- Step 1To make the cake, adjust an oven rack to the center position and preheat the oven to 325°F. Coat the baking mold (or pan) with cooking spray.
- Step 2 Whisk the buttermilk, eggs, and vanilla together in a medium bowl. Put the flour, sugar, salt, baking powder, and baking soda in a stand mixer fitted with the paddle and mix on low speed for about 15 seconds to combine the ingredients. Add the butter and half of the buttermilk mixture and mix on low speed until no flour is visible about 30 seconds. With the mixer on low speed, slowly add the remaining buttermilk mixture. Increase the speed to medium and beat until the batter is pale, smooth, and creamy, 2 to 3 minutes, stopping to scrape down the bowl and paddle whenever ingredients are accumulating. Stop the mixer, remove the bowl and paddle from the stand, and clean them with the spatula, scraping the bowl from the bottom up to release any ingredients that may be stuck there.
- Step 3 Scrape the batter into the prepared mold (or pan) and smooth out the top with an offset spatula. Place the mold (or pan) on a large baking sheet.
- Step 4 Place the baking sheet with the cake on it on the center rack of the oven and bake until the cake is golden brown and begins to pull away from the sides of the pan. A toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean, 60 to 75 minutes, rotating the pan front to back halfway through the baking time so it bakes evenly. Remove the cake from the oven.
- Step 5 To make the glaze, when the cake comes out of the oven, combine the butter, sugar, bourbon, vanilla, and 60 grams (¼ cup) water in a medium saucepan and bring to a boil over medium- high heat. Reduce the heat and gently simmer until the glaze is slightly thickened and sticky about 2 minutes. Remove from the heat.
- Step 6 While the cake is still warm, use a skewer or toothpick to poke about 40 holes in it, penetrating about three-fourths of the way to the bottom. Dip a pastry brush into the glaze and, using about one-third of the glaze, dab a generous amount of glaze over the surface of the cake, going back over the cake two or three times to create a thick, even layer.
- Step 7 To remove the cake from the pan, run the tip of a paring knife around the top edge of the pan to loosen any stuck bits. Place a cake round or large platter on top of the pan, invert the cake, and lift off the pan. Generously dab about half of the remaining glaze evenly over the surface of the cake, going back over the cake two or three times. Set the cake aside for about 1 hour for the glaze to set. Warm the remaining glaze over low heat and serve it on the side for people to drizzle over their portion of cake.
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