To Make the Brown Butter:

1. Place the butter in a small saucepan over medium heat. 
2. Allow the butter to melt fully, then begin gently stirring. Continue stirring constantly. 
3. The butter will go through stages. At first, it will simply look like melted butter. Continue stirring.
4. The next step of brown butter is the foamy step. This is the longest part of the brown butter process. Continue stirring.
5. 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!
6. 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.
7. 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:

1. 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.
2. In a medium bowl, sift together the flour, baking soda, and kosher salt. 
3. Use a sharp knife to carefully cut the vanilla bean pod lengthwise. Use the knife to scrape the vanilla beans from the pod.
4. 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.
5. Place the room temperature brown butter in a large mixing bowl, or the bowl of your stand mixer.  Mix on low speed until smooth.
6. Slowly add the infused granulated sugar and mix on medium speed until the mixture is light and fluffy.  
7. 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.
8. Add vanilla extract (if using) and mix until thoroughly combined. If you used a vanilla bean in this recipe, you can skip this step.
9. Add half of the flour mixture and mix on low speed until nearly combined.
10. Remove the vanilla bean pod from the sour cream. Add all of the sour cream and mix on low speed until nearly combined.  
11. 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.
12. Using a rubber spatula, fully scrape the sides and bottom of the mixing bowl.  Keep mixing until the batter is smooth and consistent.
13. Bake the cake at a true 325°F for 65-75 minutes, or until an instant read thermometer reads 212°F.  
14. Allow the cake to rest for ten minutes, then invert onto a cooling rack to cool completely.

To Make the Vanilla Simple Syrup:

1. Place granulated sugar, water, and salt in a small saucepan. Bring to a boil.
2. Remove from the heat and add pure vanilla extract. Stir to combine.
3. Once the cake is fully cooled, brush with the fully cooled simple syrup.

To Make the Blackberry Bourbon Cream Cheese Glaze:

1. Place blackberry preserves, fine sea salt, and ½ tbsp bourbon in a small bowl. Stir to combine; the blackberry preserves will loosen a bit.
2. Run the blackberry mixture through a fine mesh strainer into another small bowl. This will remove the hard seeds. Set aside.
3. Place the room temperature cream cheese in a large mixing bowl. Using a hand mixer, mix until completely smooth.
4. 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.
5. 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.
6. Using a spouted measuring cup, squeeze bottle, or spoon, pour the glaze over the completely cooled cake. If desired, top with decorating sugar.
7. Enjoy!