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
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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!

Caribbean Rum Cake

From what I hear, if you’ve travelled to the Caribbean, you’ve indulged in one of their famous Tortuga Rum Cakes. Truth be told, I haven’t been to the Caribbean. I tend to vacation in much more Northern climes…like Iceland.

What my kind of holiday looks like!

But I do like Rum….so my interest was piqued. These booze laden cakes are rumored to be AH-Mazing and pretty dang difficult to find once folks have returned home. If that sounds familiar and you haven’t been able to satisfy that rum cake craving, don’t fret! I’ve got a recipe here for Caribbean Rum Cake that will taste just as good as those legendary island delicacies. This homemade Caribbean Rum Cake has it all going on. It is rich, it is incredibly moist and perhaps most importantly of all – it is absolutely loaded with booze! Yippee! There is a whole cup of that lovely libation in this cake – 1/2 cup in the batter and another 1/2 cup in the unbelievably decadent buttered rum glaze. Yes…you heard me…buttered rum glaze. And get this – the cake literally soaks in that boozy ambrosia overnight. In the morning you’re met with a cake that has such a velvety texture, I tell you it just melts in your mouth!

Now this cake does pack quite a punch with all that rum. It might not be the best thing to take to a church social (or maybe it would …) or to a work luncheon (again….perhaps it would be just the thing…). And you may find that after a few slices you begin to talk like a pirate, “Arrrrr”. Dang! If only I would’ve posted this a couple of days early, you could’ve whipped it up for International Talk Like a Pirate Day, which is held on September 19th. Oh well, there’s always next year I suppose. In the meantime I’m sure you can find plenty of other occasions that would be greatly enhanced by the appearance of this incredible cake! So as those beloved pirates say:  Yo ho ho and a bottle of rum!

• Servings: one large bundt cake
• Difficulty: easy
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recipe from: King Arthur Flour

Ingredients:

For the cake:

• 2 cups (8 1/2 ounces,241 grams) Unbleached All-Purpose Flour
• 1 1/2 cups (10 1/2 ounces, 298 grams) sugar
• 1/2 cup (4 ounces, 113 grams) unsalted butter, softened
• 1/2 cup (3 1/2 ounces, 99 grams) pastry cream filling mix or instant vanilla pudding mix, dry
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup (4 ounces, 113 grams) vegetable oil (I used coconut oil – YUM!)
• 1/2 cup (4 ounces, 113 grams) milk
• 4 large eggs
• 1/2 cup (4 ounces, 113 grams) white or golden rum
• 2 teaspoons vanilla
• 1/4 teaspoon butter rum flavor (optional but excellent)
• 1/4 cup (3/4 ounce, 23 grams) pecan or almond flour, for dusting baking pan*

For the Rum Soaking Syrup:

• 1/2 cup (4 oz. 113 grams) unsalted butter
• 1/4 cup (2 oz. 57 grams) water
• 1 cup (7 oz. 198 grams) sugar
• 1/2 cup 4 oz. 113 grams) white or golden rum
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla

Directions:

Preheat oven to 325°F. Spritz a 10 to 12 cup bundt pan with cooking spray. Sprinkle on the pecan or almond flour and turn the pan to coat evenly. Set aside.

Place all of the cake ingredients except the rum, vanilla and butter rum flavoring in the bowl of your stand mixer and blend on medium speed for 2 minutes. Be sure to scrape down the bowl after one minute. 

Add the rum, vanilla and flavor if using to the batter and blend for another minute. Pour the batter into the prepared bundt pan and spread level with a spatula. 

Bake the cake for 50 to 55 minutes. You may smell the nut flour toasting at first, especially those not covered in cake batter. When done, the cake will test clean on a cake tester. Bundt cakes are difficult to test properly with a short toothpick. Instead try a piece of dry uncooked spaghetti or linguine. 

Leave the cake in the pan to cool slightly while you make the soaking syrup. 

In a medium-sized saucepan combine the syrup ingredients, except vanilla. Bring to a rapid boil then reduce to a simmer and cook for about 5 to 8 minutes, until the syrup thickens slightly. Remove from the heat and stir in the vanilla. 

Use a long skewer to poke holes all over the cake. Pour about 1/4 of the syrup over the cake (still in the pan). Allow the syrup to soak in, then repeat again and again until all the syrup is used. 

Cover the pan loosely with plastic wrap and allow the cake to sit out overnight to cool completely and soak in the syrup. When ready to serve, loosen the edges of the cake and invert on to your serving plate. 

Serve with hot coffee or tea. The cake is very moist, fragrant and potent. 

Yield: one large or two small bundt cakes. Cake freezes very well.

Enjoy!

*Dusting the cake pan with pecan flour is optional. You can just spray the pan with a non-stick spray. However, the pecan flour a layer of flavorful crust to the outside of the cake. It will also aid in easy release of the cake. I have included a link below if you would like to purchase some pecan flour. Or you could simply make your own by toasting pecans for about 5 minutes in a 350° oven. Once the nuts have cooled completely, place them in a food processor and pulse until they are the consistency you desire. 

Caribbean Rum Cake brought to you by: Runcible Eats (www.leaandjay.com)

Links to Useful Kitchen Tools & Ingredients for Caribbean Rum Cake:

Kitchen Aid Artisan Stand Mixer

Cuisinart Food Processor

Nordic Ware Bundt Cake Pan

Pecan Flour (Meal) or here

Butter Rum flavor or here

Banana Yellowman Bundt Cake

Banana Yellowman Cake…Wow! The recipes have great eye-catching names this year. Chicken Skink yesterday and now Banana Yellowman. So what is a Banana Yellowman Cake? Well, it is a delicious moist banana cake that is shot through with little sticky nuggets of Yellowman and glazed with a caramel frosting. But what is Yellowman? Oh, right, unless you’re from Ireland, the term is probably not one you are familiar with. Yellowman is what Honeycomb is called in Ireland. It is also known as Cinder Toffee in Britain and Hokey Pokey in New Zealand and Cornwall. (I was tempted to call this cake a Hokey Pokey Cake because after I took one bite I was fairly certain that this cake could be “what it’s all about”, but since I’m including it in the St. Patrick’s Day countdown, I decided to go with “yellowman”). So, Yellowman is that yellow or golden sugary toffee with a crunchy sponge-like texture. You’ve maybe seen it in the middle of a Crunchie candy bar.

I’m not sure if you can just go out and buy it in a shop, but the good news is that it is very easy and fun to make. And if you have kids, they can help out and get a quick chemistry lesson as well. You see the reaction between the vinegar and the baking soda produces carbon dioxide gas, which gives the Yellowman its bubbly, crunchy consistency.

The reaction is quite dramatic  once that baking soda is added. Seriously it foams up to about 4x its original size, so make sure you are using a deep pan. And do exercise caution because you have to heat it to 300°F (150°C) before you add that baking soda, so there is potential there for some serious burns. Once you have a batch of Yellowman made up, you can use some of it in this cake, of course, but you can also dip it in chocolate for a great treat all on its own, or crumble it over ice cream.

I first came across this recipe on a great blog from the West of Ireland, Warm & Snug & Fat. The husband has never met a banana dessert he didn’t like, so I knew this cake would be a winner. And I am often looking for a way to use up bananas that have crossed over that thin line of ripe enough to way too ripe. This cake takes care of four of those types of casualties. After the Yellowman has been made, the cake comes together quickly and easily. And boy does it deliver on taste. Moist, tender, very notable banana flavour and when you get a bite with one of those bonus golden nuggets of goodness, it is pure bliss.

This cake would be just fine without the frosting, but the frosting really puts it over the top and provides something to which even more of that crumbled Yellowman can cling on to. And as far as Yellowman is concerned, the more the merrier!

• Servings: 1 bundt cake
• Difficulty: easy
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recipe from: Warm & Snug & Fat

Ingredients:

For the cake:

• 225 grams (8oz) plain flour
• 1 tsp. salt
• 1 heaped tsp. baking powder
• 1 tsp. ground cinnamon
• 110 grams (4oz) caster sugar (can substitute granulated sugar)
• 1 egg, beaten
• 75 grams (3oz) butter, melted
• 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract
• 65 grams (2½ oz) yellowman/ honeycomb, smashed (recipe for yellowman/honeycomb below)
• 4 medium-sized ripe bananas, mashed

For the caramel frosting:

• 115 grams butter
• 115 grams light muscovado sugar
• 140 ml heavy cream

Directions:

 Sift the flour, salt, baking powder and cinnamon into a bowl and stir in the sugar.

Mix in the egg, melted butter and vanilla but do not beat.

Fold in the honeycomb and mashed bananas, using a fork. Again, do not beat.

Spoon into a buttered and floured bundt tin or lined (3½ inch x 8 inch) 900 gram/2lb loaf tin and bake in an oven preheated to 350° F ( 180° C, gas mark 4) for 50-60 minutes, until the cake is golden brown and springs back when prodded gently with your finger.

Leave in the tin for 10 minutes, then turn onto a wire rack to cool.

Once cake is completely cool, drizzle caramel frosting over the top. You can also add some extra crumbled honeycomb to garnish.

Enjoy!

Yellowman, Honeycomb, Cinder toffee, Hokey Pokey

recipe from: Nigella.com

Ingredients:

• 100 grams caster sugar (can substitute granulated, but you should probably give it a couple of pulses in the food processor to make the sugar “superfine”)
• 4 tablespoons Lyle’s golden syrup
• 1 ½ teaspoons bicarbonate of soda (baking soda)
• 25 ml water

Directions:

Put the sugar and syrup into a saucepan and stir together to mix. If you notice that sugar is clinging to the sides of the pan, you can paint the sides with a pastry brush dipped in water. Once you turn on the heat, it is very important that you do not touch it! That’s right, no stirring.

Place the pan on the heat and let the mixture first melt. Continue watching the pan closely. You will notice that it will liquefy and then turn a dark amber color. It should reach a temperature of 150°C/300°F. Or you can drop a bit of it in a small bowl of water and if it forms a hard ball when it hits the water, it is done. I think the thermometer version is easier. It will take about 3 minutes or so, depending on how high you have the heat.

Take the pan off the heat, whisk in the bicarbonate of soda. Take care because the mixture will bubble up crazily, like a volcano comes to mind. Turn this immediately onto a piece of baking parchment or greased foil. Don’t try to smooth it out. Just pour it and leave it alone.

Once it has cooled, smash it will a rolling pin or hammer so that it splinters into many pieces.

Store in a air-tight bowl.

Banana Yellow Bundt Cake brought to you by: Runcible Eats (www.leaandjay.com)

 

White Wine Cake

I have a confession to make. I’m a total cake snob! I don’t know when it happened, but happened it did. I came to this realization the other day and I must say I was caught somewhat unaware. So let me set the scene for you. I was having one of those completely crazy days. Completely crazy but sort of tricky…you see it didn’t look like it was going to be crazy in the beginning. Everything seemed fine. My schedule was somewhat full, but not jammers by any means.  I got  going on my to-do list early and was very pleased when I arrived back home from the dog’s morning walk before most folks had set off for work. That was when the downward spiral began. After flitting here and there and all about the house with various chores, I noticed that I had come back from said walk with the bottom of one of my running sneakers coated with dog poo. Yup, stinky poo….which I had just proceeded to track all over the place. Right. I immediately set about cleaning that mess up and getting the day back on track but no, fate was not done with me yet. I continue to stumble around and kid you not every little thing that could go slightly askew did. Nothing major, but just persistent little annoyances. Finally, as I step out to run to the grocery store I find that the car battery was dead and the state registration was expired. Hmmm., I’m really behind now and I still have to whip up some sort of baked goods for a little get together tomorrow. I proceed to cross a bunch of stuff I thought could have been done off my list for the day to make sure I can focus on preparing the necessary baked goodies. I decide to take my husband’s car and head off to the grocery store, which was a hoot as usual. The weirdest stuff happens at the grocery stores around here…but that’s another story. That accomplished with little injury, I arrived home and opened the tailgate of the car to have a bottle of olive oil, which had become dislodged from its bag in transit, fall out onto the driveway and shatter. Hmmm…a slick, slippery, razor sharp mess. Nice! I limped into the house and poured myself a little glass of white wine and tried to regroup.

That is when I remembered my Mom’s White Wine Cake recipe. It was delicious and really easy to make. I thought perhaps I should cancel out the time intensive, multi-stepped dessert I had planned to do that evening and make that wonderfully easy White Wine Cake instead…but I instantly despaired and thought, “No. That cake is made with box cake mix. I have to do something from scratch.” That was it. The moment of clarity when I recognized the ridiculous cake snobbery that had inexplicably taken hold of me somewhere along the way. Mom had always been lavished with rave reviews whenever she made that cake. Having eaten it before, I knew it was fantastic. Yet I seemed to somehow think it was below me because it was made with a box mix. A box mix which, I might point out, was very convenient, easy and along with a few additional ingredients baked up to be quite tasty! How foolheaded could I possibly be? Surely God put those cake mixes on this green earth to make life a little easier for us poor creatures.?!! Come to think of it, life is too short and way too action packed to turn up your nose at box cake mixes! So I decided right then and there to make it and you know what? Folks couldn’t stop raving about how much they loved that White Wine Cake. It was moist, buttery, white wine perfection! And the glaze you drench it in? Ambrosia I tell you! I could nearly drink it straight from the pan. Not to mention, when I finally got over myself and settled in to making it, I realized how much fun it was, especially after my trying day. It didn’t tax my brain at all. You know….it was a little wine for the cake…a couple glugs (or possibly glasses) for the cook…etc. etc. It was White Wine Cake therapy and it actually went a long way to improving my mood and outlook. Make this cake and soon. You won’t be disappointed, perhaps a little tispsy….but never disappointed!

White Wine Cake

recipe from: My Mom

Ingredients:

• 1 box yellow cake mix
• 3 oz. box instant vanilla pudding
• 4 eggs
• 3/4 Cup water
• 3/4 Cup Vegetable oil
• 1/4 Cup white wine
• 1/4 Cup dark brown sugar
• 1/4 Cup white sugar
• 2 teaspoons cinnamon
• 1/2 Cup pecans-finely chopped

Glaze:

• 1/4 Cup butter
• 1/4 Cup sugar
• 1/8 Cup water
• 1/8 Cup wine (possibly more depending on your mood and the day you’ve had)

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350°F. Butter and flour a bundt or tube pan and set aside.

Place all of the ingredients except for the pecans in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Mix until blended.

Fold 1/4 cup of the pecans into the batter. Sprinkle the remaining 1/4 cup pecans in the bottom of the prepared cake pan and then pour batter over top of them.

Bake cake for 50-60 minutes. Remove cake from oven and cool on a wire rack.

While Cake is cooling, prepare the glaze. Melt butter, sugar and water over medium high heat. Bring mixture to a boil and let boil for 1-2 minutes. Remove from heat and immediately add the wine, stirring to combine.

Remove cake from pan. Place baking sheet under wire rack. Using a pastry brush or marinate brush, cover cake with glaze. I usually do this in several passes, letting one application of glaze sink in and then going back over the cake with another, etc.

Enjoy!