Kentucky Butter Cake with Whiskey Sauce

This is my FAVORITE cake of all time. One spring my Mom took my sister and I to visit our older sister who was attending college in Chicago. She worked at Bloomingdales at the time, and we sat in on a cooking demonstration (Actually my mom and older sister did. I wasn't interested in cooking at the time - only shopping!) and got some of our favorite recipes from there. They made this cake and once we tasted it, we knew we had to make it once we got home. It has a wonderful, rich delicious flavor. Buttery, crunchy, sweet, creamy from the sauce. Ah! My birthday is coming up soon, by the way, so if anyone feels like making me a cake.... =)

P.S. I'm sorry I didn't get a picture of the finished product! The next time I make it, I'll add pictures, I promise. But you do get to see my beautiful mother preparing the cake in her new kitchen. =)

Kentucky Butter Cake

Serves 12 to 16

Cake:

3 c flour

1 tsp baking powder

1 tsp salt

½ tsp baking soda

2 c sugar

1 c butter, softened

4 large eggs

1 c buttermilk or sour cream

2 T vanilla extract

Sauce:

1 c sugar

1/2 c butter

¼ c water

1 T vanilla extract

Confectioner’s sugar

Heat oven to 325°F. Sift together flour, baking powder, salt, and baking soda in medium bowl; set aside.

Beat sugar and butter in bowl of electric mixer until blended. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Combine buttermilk (or sour cream) with vanilla. Add 1/3 of the buttermilk mixture to the mixing bowl, beat well. Add 1/3 of the flour mixture and beat well. Repeat with buttermilk mixture and flour mixture 2 more times, beating well after each addition.

Spoon batter into a bundt pan. Bake until wooden toothpick inserted in center comes out clean, about 1 ¼ hours.

Meanwhile, for sauce, heat sugar, butter, water and vanilla in small saucepan over medium heat until sugar dissolves and butter has melted, about 10 minutes. Do not boil.

Remove cake from oven and immediately prick all over with a long wooden stick or skewer. Pour hot sauce over cake; let stand until completely cool. Shake cake sideways in pan to loosen it from the edges. Invert cake onto serving plate; sprinkle with confectioner’s sugar. Slice and serve with Whiskey Sauce, below.

Whiskey Sauce

Makes 1 ½ cups (enough for 1 cake)

½ tsp cornstarch

1 c heavy cream

½ c sugar

pinch of cinnamon

1 T unsalted butter

1 T bourbon or other whiskey

In a small bowl, dissolve the cornstarch in ¼ c of water.

In a medium saucepan, combine the cream, sugar, cinnamon and butter. Bring to a boil over high heat and cook, stirring frequently to dissolve the sugar, about 3 minutes. Stir in the cornstarch mixture and cook until the sauce thickens slightly, about 3 minutes. Remove from the heat and stir in the bourbon.

NOTE: Must use heavy cream as milk or half & half aren’t thick enough.