Pumpkin Whiskey Cake

As a kid we spent Sunday mornings after church visiting with my grandparents. Nana always had something to share over coffee, or in my grandfather's case a little aperitif. Whiskey Cake made a frequent appearance. Think vanilla cake full of walnuts laden with whiskey syrup. She used to make them in batches and stash them away in a giant freezer downstairs. It became a bit of a running joke among my immediate family - it's like she hosltered those suckers.

As a kid, I remember thinking the cake was a bit strong. But oddly enough, I found myself craving that cake a few weeks back. So I decided to riff on it a bit. The cake is flavored with pumpkin puree and warm spices and drizzled with sweet bourbon whiskey syrup. For a little extra texture, fold in a heaping cup of very finely chopped pecans. Serve with dollops of whipped cream.

Pumpkin Whiskey Cake

Ingredients

For the cake

· 2 cups sugar

· ½ cup buttermilk

· ¾ cup milk

· 2 eggs

· 2 tsp vanilla extract

· ½ cup butter, melted and cooled

· 2 cups pumpkin puree

· 3 cups flour

· ¼ tsp salt

· 2 tsp baking soda

· 2 tsp cinnamon

· 1 tsp ginger

· ½ tsp clove

· ¼ tsp nutmeg

· 1 cup pecans, chopped very fine (optional)

For the syrup

· ½ cup sugar

· 4 tbsp butter

· 1 cup bourbon whiskey

· 1 tsp vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 350F. Thoroughly grease a 10-cup bundt pan.

In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the sugar, buttermilk, milk, eggs, and vanilla extract. Stir in the butter and pumpkin. Once combine, sift in the flour, salt, baking soda and spices. Fold in the dry ingredients until just combine with the pumpkin mixture. Stir in the pecans.

Pour batter evenly into the greased bundt pan. Smooth the surface of the batter. Bake for 55-70 minutes until a toothpick inserted comes out clean.

Allow the cake to cool in the pan for 10 minutes. While the cake cools, make the syrup. Melt the butter and sugar in a small saucepan over low heat. Once the sugar begins to dissolve into the butter, add the whiskey. Simmer over low heat for 2-3 minutes until the sugar is fully dissolved. Remove from the heat and stir in the vanilla.

Invert the cake onto a cooling rack. Pour half of the whiskey syrup into the bottom of the bundt pan. Carefully return the cake into the pan. Drizzle the bottom of the cake with the remaining whiskey syrup.

Allow the cake to cool in the pan and absorb the syrup for at least one hour. Invert the cake onto a serving platter. Serve with a dollop of whipped cream.

Serves 12

Gluten Free Friendly!

Cup4Cup works well as a substitute in this recipe! We used Wild Turkey Whiskey for a GF friendly spirit.