Irish Whiskey Cake

Alrighty! Here we are at day 2 of my annual St. Patrick’s Day recipe blog-a-thon. And I’ve got a great recipe to share with you today – Irish Whiskey Cake! This moist and flavorful, boozy spice cake is shot through with pecans and enveloped in a warm buttery whiskey glaze.

All you Irish Whiskey lovers – this one is for you! We’ve got whiskey in the cake and on the cake! Hooray! And this cake is super-dooper easy to make. I almost feel like I’m cheating somehow. But here is the secret – you just go buy a box cake mix and then doctor it up a bit. The results are just wonderful whiskey perfection!

Now the original recipe called for applying the whiskey butter glaze over three days. I have found that you can achieve pretty much the same taste by applying the glaze over three hours instead. You just want all that buttery whiskey goodness to be able to soak into the cake. I think you can do that over a few hours vs. days. I do also poke some holes in the cake to facilitate maximum whiskey absorption.

Did I just say “maximum whiskey absorption”? Yup, sounds about right for St. Patrick’s Day Festivities! This delicious Irish Whiskey Cake will serve a crowd. So there you are, sorted for the St Patrick’s Day potluck!

• Servings: 16 slices
• Difficulty: easy - but allow 3 hours for whiskey glaze to soak in
• Print

recipe adapted from: Taste of Home

Ingredients:

• 1 package spice cake mix (regular size)
• 1 package (3.4 ounces) instant vanilla pudding mix
• 3/4 cup 2% milk
• 3/4 cup Irish whiskey
• 1/2 cup canola oil
• 4 large eggs, room temperature
• 1-1/3 cups coarsely chopped walnuts, divided (I used pecans instead)

For the whiskey glaze:

• 1 cup sugar
• 1/2 cup butter, cubed
• 1/2 cup Irish whiskey
• 1 teaspoon water

Directions:

Preheat oven to 300° F. Grease and flour a 10-in. tube pan or bundt pan.

Place all of the ingredients, with the exception of the nuts in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment. Beat on low speed for 30 seconds. Increase speed to medium and mix for2 minutes. Fold in 1 cup the nuts, reserving 1/3 cup for later. If you are using a bundt pan, sprinkle remaining nuts in the bottom of the prepared pan and then add the batter. If you are using a bundt pan, sprinkle the nuts over top of the batter once you have added it to the pan. Bake until a toothpick inserted in center comes out clean, 60-65 minutes. Cool in pan.

While the cake is cooling, prepare the glaze. Place all ingredients in a small saucepan; bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Reduce heat; simmer 10 minutes. Cool 3 minutes.

Take a wooden skewer, toothpick or swizzle stick and poke a scattering of holes in the cake. Pour one-third of glaze over top of cake, allowing some to flow over sides down into the pan. Let stand 1 hour. Remove from pan. Reheat the glaze if you need to and brush another third over the cake. Wait one additional hour and then brush the remaining glaze over the cake. Allow the cake to cool completely and then cover.

Enjoy!

Links for helpful Kitchen Tools & Ingredients for Irish Whiskey Cake:

Kitchen Aid Artisan Stand Mixer

Duncan Hines Spice Cake Mix – This is for a box of 2, so you’ll be ready to go when everyone requests you make this cake again!