Chocolate Bourbon Cake
User Reviews
4.6
Chocolate Bourbon Cake
Description
This cake uses unsweetened cocoa powder and instant espresso powder mixed with water and bourbon to provide a deep chocolate flavor with subtle coffee and bourbon notes. The batter also includes butter, sugar, flour, baking soda, eggs, and vanilla extract, resulting in a tender crumb with balanced sweetness and texture. The recipe recommends using baking chocolate bars rather than chocolate chips for optimal melting properties in the glaze.
The glaze blends heavy cream, butter, espresso powder, vanilla, salt, bourbon, bittersweet chocolate, and milk chocolate into a silky topping poured over the cooled cake. This glaze delivers a creamy, boozy chocolate finish that enhances the cake's flavor and moistness. Serving suggestions include adding whipped cream or a spread of raspberry jam to provide complementary sweetness and fruitiness.
The cake is baked following Epicurious instructions, substituting coffee with the espresso and water mixture and bourbon. Careful melting of the glaze ensures a smooth texture without clumps. The cake works well for celebrations where a rich dessert with bourbon depth is desired.
Ingredients
For the cake:
- 1 cup unsweetened cocoa powder plus 3 tablespoons for dusting the baking pan
- 1 teaspoon instant espresso powder
- 1 ½ cups water
- ½ cup bourbon
- 16 tablespoons butter unsalted
- 2 cups granulated sugar
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 ¼ teaspoons baking soda
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 2 egg large
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- raspberry jam optional, to spread on slices
- Whipped Cream optional
For the glaze:
- ½ cup heavy cream
- 3 tablespoons butter unsalted
- ½ teaspoon instant espresso powder
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
- pinch salt
- 2 tablespoons bourbon
- 4 ounces bittersweet chocolate finely chopped
- 4 ounces milk chocolate finely chopped
Instructions
For the cake:
- Head on over to Epicurious for instructions. (Use the teaspoon of instant espresso powder and the 1 ½ cups of water instead of coffee).
For the glaze:
- Add cream, butter, espresso powder, vanilla and salt to a saucepan. Bring to a boil and stir until you have a uniform consistency.
- Take off the heat and add the Bourbon.
- Pour the hot cream mix over the chocolate and let sit for 1 minute.
- Stir together until everything is well combined and no chocolate clumps remain. (You may need to heat the mixture over a pot of hot water to get rid of the last pieces of chocolate.)
- Pour over the cake and let set.
- Serve with whipped cream and/or raspberry jam.
Notes
- Use baking chocolate bars instead of chips or morsels for the glaze to ensure smooth melting.
- Hershey's natural unsweetened cocoa powder is recommended for the cake’s chocolate flavor.
User Reviews
Overall Rating
4.6
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