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Hi BB! Welcome to Day 12 of the Twelve Days of Pound Cake! This is the final day of our twelve day journey for this year, and today, I have my Bourbon Brown Butter Vanilla Pound Cake. Because every holiday table needs a vanilla pound cake, but we need not be bored to tears by it.
This particular vanilla pound cake is anything but boring. Any time you begin a cake with brown butter, you know it’s definitely not a snooze. But, when you take the additional step of adding a little bit of bourbon to the butter after browning, you intensify the vanilla flavor even more, and add subtle caramel notes to the cake that make it even more exceptional.
The glaze on this cake is one for the books, BB. Why, you ask? Because it’s a bourbon blackberry cream cheese glaze, that’s why. Smooth, sweet, and a lil’ smoky, this one leaves you all tingly for all the right reasons. It’s one of those cakes that will both turn heads and make stomachs happy at any gathering where it’s served.
In this Post:
About this Cake
The flavor profile of this cake is singularly spectacular. Bourbon-infused brown butter adds deep, smoky caramel and vanilla notes to an already extraordinary vanilla cake. It’s the kind of twist that will make your family and friends declare immediately that this is their favorite vanilla cake. And, the best part is that they won’t even know why they’re saying it.
In this cake, to increase the bourbon/caramel/vanilla notes, we do two things: create vanilla-infused sugar, and allow the brown butter to cool and re-solidify so that we can cream it with that same vanilla sugar. The bourbon butter and vanilla sugar, when creamed together, create a blissful, airy combination that contributes to the uniquely beautiful texture of this cake. BBs, OMGoodness, this one technique creates a cake so outstanding, you would never know that it came from a home kitchen.
Be forewarned, though. This cake will make you the vanilla cake person among your family and friends forevermore.
Recipe-At-A-Glance
Prep Time: 40 minutes
- 20 minutes to prep ingredients
- 20 minutes for mixing
- 55-65 minutes total baking time
- 3-5 hours cooling time
- 30 minutes to finish/decorate
- Total Time: 5-7 hours
- Yield: 18 servings
Key Temperatures:
- Oven: True 325°
Storage:
- Room temperature: 3-4 days in the refrigerator, in airtight container
- Freezer: Up to 3 months (unglazed)
Skill Level:
- Beginner
Equipment Needed:
Dietary Notes:
- Vegetarian
- Contains dairy, eggs, and gluten
- No nuts
Ingredients in the Bourbon Brown Butter Vanilla Pound Cake
One of the primary goals of Begin with Butter is to demystify baking for all levels of home bakers, and a big part of that is understanding how our baking ingredients work. When you understand how ingredients work, you open a whole new world of possibilities in your baking.
Do you need deep knowledge about every ingredient? No! But even a little knowledge goes a long way in a home kitchen. 😃 Let’s dive in!
All-purpose flour is the foundation of your cake – it provides structure and creates the basic “skeleton.” When mixed with wet ingredients and baked, flour helps create the soft, pleasantly plump texture we love in pound cake.
Kosher salt isn’t just for savory foods – it actually makes desserts taste better by enhancing all the other flavors and controlling the sugar level. Don’t skip the salt, else you’ll be asking for a cake that can actually be unpleasantly sweet! This tiny amount of salt is a heavy lifter, and goes a long way towards ensuring balance.
Baking Soda: This cake contains sour cream, so I chose baking soda for the leavener. Baking soda needs acid to activate, and the acid in the sour cream helps this activation. (Want to learn more about baking soda and baking powder? Check out this article: Do I Need Baking Soda or Baking Powder?)
Brown Butter: That’s right, BB. This cake uses brown butter. It’s an additional step but it lends massive flavor. In this particular recipe, we actually need to infuse the brown butter with bourbon and then re-solidify the brown butter. This step ensures that it can work together with the sugars to cream. This process adds additional leavening to the cake. (You can find out even more about brown butter in this article: How to Make Brown Butter)
Bourbon brings warm, caramel and vanilla notes into your cake batter. While you might worry that the bourbon might booze up the cake batter, there’s no need to fret; while the cake bakes, the alcohol cooks off, so you’re just left with those yummy flavors mixing with the browned butter.
Granulated sugar does more than sweeten – it helps make your cake tender and moist. And, granulated sugar is the key player for the caramelization on the outside of your cake!
Eggs are the glue that holds everything together. They provide structure while also making the cake rich and tender. Make sure to use room temperature eggs; they mix much better than cold ones, meaning you’re less likely to get batter curdling or separation.
Vanilla bean brings an incredibly rich flavor to your cake – it’s packed with tons of tiny seeds that add those classic black specks and big vanilla flavor. If you’re using vanilla extract instead, you’ll still get that wonderful vanilla taste (though not quite as intense), and it’s much easier since you just measure and pour.
Full-Fat Sour Cream adds delicious flavor, and the high fat content in the sour cream provides tenderizing qualities that keep the proteins (from the flour and the egg whites) from becoming too tough.
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These resources are super helpful to help you build consistency and confidence on your baking journey. Happy reading!
Techniques for the Best Cakes
One of the absolute best things about this Bourbon Brown Butter Vanilla Pound Cake is the addition of the bourbon brown brown butter. To help you achieve perfect results, both with the brown butter and the cake, I’ve included links to some key techniques below that will ensure that this cake turns out beautifully for you every time!
These resources cover so many fun techniques that will take your baking to the next level, and will allow your confidence to soar to new heights!
- How to Brown Butter
- My Favorite Bundt Pans
- Sifting: Quick Technique, Huge Impact
- Meet Your Kitchen BFF–Your Digital Kitchen Scale!
- Technique Tips for the Best Pound Cakes
- How to Cream Butter and Sugar (With New Video!)
- Baking 101: How to Measure Ingredients
- How to Grease a Bundt Pan
- The Best Tools for Perfect Pound Cakes
- Knowing When to Stop a Technique
- Begin with Butter Home Baking Academy | Perfect Pound Cakes Class!
Important Tools
Need equipment? Not sure if you have everything that you need to make this amazing cake? No worries! I’ve got you covered there too!
BB, Begin with Butter has its own Amazon Storefront, where you can find all of the amazing equipment that I used in this Bourbon Brown Butter Vanilla Pound Cake! Want even more specific product recommendations? Check out the product links, below.
I do get paid a commission when you purchase, but these are the tools that I use all the time in my own kitchen.
If you have these tools already, great! Think of this as a checklist to help you build the confidence that you’ll need to execute this cake!
- Taylor Oven Thermometer
- ThermoWorks Square Dot Thermometer
- Ozeri Pronto Digital Food Scale
- OXO Digital Food Scale
- KitchenAid Hand Mixer
- KitchenAid Stand Mixer
- Stainless Steel Mixing Bowl Set
- Deli Containers for Prep
- OXO Spatula Set
- Sifter
- My Absolute Favorite Pound Cake Pans
The Recipe
Print
Bourbon Brown Butter Vanilla Pound Cake
This Bourbon Brown Butter Vanilla Pound Cake has incredibly deep vanilla flavor from the vanilla bean, which is complemented by the subtly delicious notes of caramel and vanilla from the bourbon. Blackberry, one of bourbon’s best friends, tops this cake in a dreamy cream cheese glaze. It’s truly amazing!
- Total Time: 5-7 hours
- Yield: 18 servings 1x
Ingredients
For the Batter:
- 345 grams (1 1/2 cups) unsalted butter, browned and re-solidified in the refrigerator
- 3 tablespoons bourbon
- 384 grams (3 cups) all-purpose flour
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 500 grams (2 1/2 cups) granulated sugar
- 1 vanilla bean or 1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract
- 6 eggs, room temperature
- 227 grams (1 cup) full-fat sour cream, room temperature
For the Vanilla Simple Syrup:
- 84 grams (1/3 cup) water
- 67 grams (1/3 cup) granulated sugar
- 1/8 teaspoon fine sea salt
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
For the Blackberry Bourbon Cream Cheese Glaze:
- 154 grams (2/3 cup) cream cheese, room temperature
- 240 grams (2 cups) confectioner’s sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt
- 3 tablespoons blackberry preserves
- 1/2 tablespoon bourbon (optional), or 2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 1 –2 1/2 teaspoons whole milk
Instructions
To Make the Brown Butter:
- Place the butter in a small saucepan over medium heat.
- Allow the butter to melt fully, then begin gently stirring. Continue stirring constantly.
- The butter will go through stages. At first, it will simply look like melted butter. Continue stirring.
- The next step of brown butter is the foamy step. This is the longest part of the brown butter process. Continue stirring.
- The foamy brown butter will lessen (but not eliminate entirely), and you’ll start to notice browned bits on the sides and bottom of your saucepan. These are browned milk solids, and this is the objective!
- Once you see the browned bits on the bottom of your saucepan, remove the brown butter to a heat-proof bowl or mason jar to cool completely. Add bourbon and combine.
- Once the brown butter has come to room temperature, allow it to chill in the refrigerator until 45 minutes to an hour before your baking time. This butter is going to be creamed for our recipe, so it needs to be re-solidified.
To Make the Batter:
- Preheat oven to 325°F. It is highly recommended to use an oven thermometer for this recipe, since proper oven temperature will impact the finished product.
- In a medium bowl, sift together the flour, baking soda, and kosher salt.
- Use a sharp knife to carefully cut the vanilla bean pod lengthwise. Use the knife to scrape the vanilla beans from the pod.
- Place the granulated sugar in another medium bowl. Add the vanilla beans and massage the beans into the sugar. Alternatively, you can add the sugar to a deli cup, add the vanilla beans to the sugar, securely place the lid on the deli cup, and shake to your heart’s content! Place the vanilla bean pod itself in the sour cream, so that it can infuse the sour cream with some more vanilla flavor.
- Place the room temperature brown butter in a large mixing bowl, or the bowl of your stand mixer. Mix on low speed until smooth.
- Slowly add the infused granulated sugar and mix on medium speed until the mixture is light and fluffy.
- Add eggs, one at a time, mixing each egg until it’s fully incorporated before adding the next egg. Scrape the bowl as needed to ensure even mixing.
- Add vanilla extract (if using) and mix until thoroughly combined. If you used a vanilla bean in this recipe, you can skip this step.
- Add half of the flour mixture and mix on low speed until nearly combined.
- Remove the vanilla bean pod from the sour cream. Add all of the sour cream and mix on low speed until nearly combined.
- Add the second half of the flour mixture and mix on low speed until nearly combined. Stop mixing just before the mixture is fully together.
- Using a rubber spatula, fully scrape the sides and bottom of the mixing bowl. Keep mixing until the batter is smooth and consistent.
- Bake the cake at a true 325°F for 65-75 minutes, or until an instant read thermometer reads 212°F.
- Allow the cake to rest for ten minutes, then invert onto a cooling rack to cool completely.
To Make the Vanilla Simple Syrup:
- Place granulated sugar, water, and salt in a small saucepan. Bring to a boil.
- Remove from the heat and add pure vanilla extract. Stir to combine.
- Once the cake is fully cooled, brush with the fully cooled simple syrup.
To Make the Blackberry Bourbon Cream Cheese Glaze:
- Place blackberry preserves, fine sea salt, and ½ tbsp bourbon in a small bowl. Stir to combine; the blackberry preserves will loosen a bit.
- Run the blackberry mixture through a fine mesh strainer into another small bowl. This will remove the hard seeds. Set aside.
- Place the room temperature cream cheese in a large mixing bowl. Using a hand mixer, mix until completely smooth.
- Add the confectioner’s sugar, fine sea salt, vanilla extract, 3 tbsp of the blackberry mixture, and 1 tsp of whole milk. Using a small whisk, stir to combine. Do not be fooled into adding additional ingredients too quickly! The more you stir, the more the glaze will come together.
- If absolutely necessary, add up to two more teaspoons of whole milk, ½ teaspoon at a time. Stir until the glaze has the consistency of thick honey.
- Using a spouted measuring cup, squeeze bottle, or spoon, pour the glaze over the completely cooled cake. If desired, top with decorating sugar.
- Enjoy!
Equipment
Buy Now → Notes
Temperature & Ingredient Prep:
- All cold ingredients (eggs, sour cream, butter) should be at room temperature (65°F-70°F) before beginning. Cold ingredients can cause the batter to curdle and affect the final texture of your cake.
Brown Butter Notes:
- When browning the butter, watch carefully once it begins to foam. The butter can go from perfectly browned to burnt very quickly. You’ll know it’s ready when it smells nutty and the milk solids are golden brown.
- Let your brown butter cool and re-solidify completely before creaming with sugar (2-3 hours at room temperature or about 1 hour in the refrigerator). This step is essential for proper cake texture.
Mixing & Baking:
- Don’t skip the creaming step, even for brown butter – properly creaming the re-solidified brown butter and sugar typically takes 5-7 minutes and creates the light, fluffy texture this cake is known for.
- The finished cake will pull away slightly from the sides of the pan and should register 212°F (100°C) on an instant-read thermometer when fully baked.
- Allow the cake to cool in the pan for 6-10 minutes before turning out, depending on the cake’s internal temperature (6 minutes for a hotter cake, 10 minutes for a cake that is exactly 212°F).
Glaze:
- For the smoothest blackberry bourbon cream cheese glaze, use a hand mixer to beat the room-temperature cream cheese until completely smooth. Strain the blackberry puree through a fine-mesh strainer to remove seeds before incorporating.
- Prep Time: 1 hour 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 65-75 minutes
- Category: Dessert
Frequently Asked Questions
How long does it take for the brown butter to re-solidify after adding bourbon? Should I refrigerate it? What temperature should the butter be when creaming it with the sugar after re-solidifying?
To make the bourbon-infused brown butter, allow the butter to cool and solidify until you can use a spoon to distribute the browned milk solids effectively. Once you can do that, you’ll be ready to add your bourbon and refrigerate the butter until it’s cooled to the center; if you want to bake in the morning, it’s great to do this step the day before!
Once the butter is fully cooled, you can take it out of your refrigerator about 45 minutes to an hour before you’re ready to start; the optimum internal temperature for creaming any butter is between 65°F and 70°F. The butter won’t be as firm as it would be if you were using regular butter (hence the reason why it doesn’t need to sit out for 2-3 hours), but you will still get a butter/sugar mixture that is: a) lighter in color, and; b) more voluminous and cloud-like than when you started.
Can I make this cake without alcohol? What can I substitute for the bourbon?
You can absolutely make this without alcohol! If you’re interested in making a rich vanilla cake instead of a bourbon butter cake, though, I’d actually recommend making the brown butter and adding it to my Very Vanilla Pound Cake!
How far in advance can I make this cake? Does it need to be refrigerated because of the cream cheese glaze?
If you’ve baked the cake, you can add the simple syrup, allow it to cool fully, then freeze for up to three months. Once it’s glazed, you can keep in the refrigerator for 3-5 days. I never, ever recommend freezing a glazed cake.
Can I use vanilla extract instead of vanilla bean? If so, what’s the conversion ratio?
You can absolutely use pure vanilla extract! If you choose vanilla extract, you’ll use one tablespoon, and you’ll add it after the eggs and mix thoroughly.
How do I know when the cake is done baking?
You’ll know that the cake is done when the internal temperature is 212°F (my Goldilocks temperature). Alternatively, you can use a toothpick or skewer. You’ll best know that the cake is done when the toothpick or skewer comes out clean. This is not my favorite method, though.
Can I freeze this cake? Should I freeze it with or without the glaze?
You can freeze this cake, unglazed, for up to three months! If you allow the cake to cool completely and then add simple syrup, then you’re giving it even more protection against freezer burn!
Conclusion: Vanilla Cake, But Make it Fashion
This vanilla cake is guaranteed to have people talking…in the best way. Dressed in its blackberry bourbon cream cheese glaze, it’s a wonder to the eyes and the palette.
(Not a blackberry fan? Replace the blackberry preserves with raspberry preserves, or even use my Vanilla Glaze recipe for your topper!)
Friend, thank you for joining me for the Twelve Days of Pound Cake 2024: Sweet, Spice, and Everything Nice (working title). It’s been my honor to be the conductor on this train, and I hope you enjoy making one (or twelve!) of these cakes very soon.
I can’t wait to hear your thoughts about this cake, BB! When you make it, don’t forget to tag me on Instagram @beginwithbutter so that I can share your beautiful creation!
Got questions after reading this article? No problem! Send an email to bakingbestie@beginwithbutter.com and let’s chat!
Fin.
This recipe is 🤌🏽 (insert chef’s kiss). It’s perfectly balanced and the glaze takes it to a new level of deliciousness! It belongs on your holiday table! Thank you Shani!
Hi Oby! Thank you so much for this! I’m so thrilled that you and your family loved this cake. ❤️