This Kentucky Butter Cake recipe is CRAZY moist, buttery and coated with a sweet buttery sauce that crusts the outside and soaks into the cake making it amazing for days. What you get is a stunning, sweet, buttery, soft cake that is as perfect on its own as it is topped with strawberries and whipped cream!
Kentucky Butter Cake is Officially My Most Favorite Vanilla Pound Cake
This is definitely the winner of the Official Pound Cake Category. Let me explain why…
First, Kentucky Butter Cake is easy to make. Second its flavor is simple and buttery and vanilla-ish. Third its texture is perfection. And fourth…the MOST important part of this cake…is it’s topped with a RIDICULOUS butter/sugar/vanilla sauce that soaks into the cake while also leaving it crispy and sweet on top. It’s like a giant glazed cake doughnut, only better. Better because the cake absorbs so much of the sauce making it dense sweet and really unique. I am in love love love.
Serving Tip
I am going to tell you this Kentucky Butter Cake is better the second day. And even the third day too. And I never say that!
Don’t get me wrong, if you can’t wait, go ahead and eat it the day you make it…but I am telling you…if you can plan ahead at all let this cake take a nap overnight. You will be rewarded.
How to make Kentucky Butter Cake
The batter goes together in a snap…
And here’s the thing. The bundt pan… you will need to HEAVILY grease this guy. The cake needs to cool completely in the pan after you pour the sauce on top. So get out your Crisco or butter and give the pan a healthy slather. Then dust it with a layer of flour for extra help.
I have never had very good luck with the sprays for my bundt cakes. I feel like I have tried them all, but if you have had good luck with a baking spray, go ahead and use that. I just want to stress you need a good grease on this pan before you pour your batter in!
Once it’s baked poke some holes all over the Kentucky butter cake and whip up your sweet butter sauce.
Pour it all over the warm cake…
Allow the bundt cake to cool completely in the pan so the sauce has time to soak in. It will set up on top…
When it’s time, flip that gorgeous lady out of the pan and pray to the bundt gods all goes well. You will have to loosen the cake at its edges with a butter knife to help the process along.
Oh and dusting it with powdered sugar not only makes it pretty, but helps hide any imperfections in the cake.
Then slice it and try your hardest not to groan when you take a slice.
The bottom, that was once the top, with the crackly butter sauce is MY LIFE.
Looking for more Bundt Cake Recipes? Try These:
PrintKentucky Butter Cake
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Prep Time: 20 minutes - Cook Time: 75 minutes
- Total Time: 1 hour 35 minutes
- Yield: serves 12 1x
- Category: Cake
- Method: baking
- Cuisine: Dessert
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PinDescription:
This is the most epic pound cake recipe ever!
Ingredients:
Cake
- 1 cup butter, cubed at room temperature (I use and love Challenge Butter)
- 2 cups granulated sugar
- 4 eggs
- 1 tablespoon vanilla
- 3 cups all purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 cup buttermilk
Butter Glaze
- 1/3 cup butter
- 3/4 cup granulated sugar
- 2 tablespoons water
- 2 teaspoons vanilla
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 325°F/165°C
- Grease a 10″ bundt pan with butter or shortening very liberally. Dust the pan with flour and set aside.
- Place all the cake ingredients in the bowl of your stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Mix on low for 30 seconds and then increase the speed to medium and mix for 3 minutes.
- Pour the batter into the prepared pan and bake for 65-75 minutes until a toothpick entered into the center comes out clean.
- When the cake is done make the glaze. Combine all ingredients into a small saucepan over medium-low heat. Stir continuously until the butter is melted and the sugar is dissolved. Do not bring to a boil.
- Poke holes all over the warm cake using a knife and pour the glaze evenly on the cake while still in the pan.
- Allow the cake to cool completely in the pan and then invert the cake onto a serving plate.
- I actually like to make this cake a day in advance, finding it to be more moist and flavorful when it rests overnight.
Notes:
Store airtight at room temperature for up to 3 days
Keywords:: butter, sugar, cake, bundt cake, vanilla cake, pound cake
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Helpful Tip… Out of buttermilk? Here’s a great buttermilk substitution!
Hi! I’m Shelly and I’m an addict. Of the buttercream sort. I started this site a few years ago as a way to justify my sugary, buttery obsession with desserts. It has worked out well for me so far, because as it turns out you guys all love sugary, buttery desserts too! It feels good to know you're not alone, doesn’t it?
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I have made this cake before and it has become an oft requested family favorite. It’s a great recipe! But today something happened with the glaze. I simply couldn’t get the sugar to dissolve completely and the glaze is gritty. I tried to make the glaze a second time to see if I could get a better outcome and had no luck. I don’t understand as I have had no problem when making it before. I wonder if it’s because I used unsalted butter (I can’t remember if I used salted before, but I figure that the water content of… Read more »
The sugar glaze is always a little gritty with sugar as it doesn’t dissolve completely. You could cook it until the sugar melts completely to prevent this, but unsalted butter shouldn’t affect this too much!
Can you use Splenda in place of sugar?
Made this yesterday for my children’s 11th wedding anniversary. Everyone devoured it. We are in Wyoming for the summer, and I’m always afraid of altitude baking. This turned out ever so perfectly! I even added some chocolate chips for the grandies! This is a definite keeper!!
★★★★★
So glad you enjoyed it!! And happy anniversary!
probare su formulación y luego le comento muchas gracias
Hi–I love this cake! How long would I cook it if I made it into 4 mini loaf pans or 2 regular loaf pans?
I’ve made this cake soooooo many times. My friends love it!!
Has anybody used soy milk or another milk alternative?
You could use, but your cake will be dry. I’m not a dairy guy, but for my baking, I don’t substitute. I’ve tried and it’s not even close.
This is the best cake. I absolutely love it. I don’t know about next day third day etc. is
My family loves it and it’s going to be a tradition in my desserts. And did I say so easy to make! Nothing more to say except delicious
★★★★★
Thank you so much for the review! So glad you like it!
Ah-mazing recipe for a butter cake! Made this for Father’s Day and it was a hit!! 🙂 Some additions I made: 1) didn’t have buttermilk, so I added 1 tablespoon of apple cider vinegar to 1/2 cup heavy cream + 1/2 cup water 2) added the zest of 1 lemon + juice of 1/2 a lemon 3) a pinch of grated nutmeg 4) vanilla bean paste in place of vanilla extract and 5) 1/2 tablespoon Frangelico Liqueur. Only issue I had with this cake was that it stuck to my Nordic Ware Heritage Premier Gold Bundt pan and sadly, did… Read more »
Love your adaptations!! Thank you so much for the review!
The first time I made this cake, sadly my first broken cake from a Bundt pan. The flavor was so great that I didn’t want to throw it out. Soooo, I then did some reading after a suggestion from a colleague. Then came my first time making cake pops. My coworkers loved them. There was no way I was going to throw out that flavor. So that’s my recommendation if it happens again. But you have to really grease and flour the pan.
You need to use a baker’s pan release called “goop”. You can make it yourself cheaply at home and it lasts forever. You take equal parts flour, oil, and butter, put them in a mixer and mix until there are no lumps. Generously grease your pan with this and nothing sticks. It’s cheaper than buying the spray and easier than greasing and them trying to flour the pan. It’s an all in one pan release used by baker’s for ages. If you have a pan than has any sort of crevices or designs, you will want to use a small… Read more »
I found a home-made cake release on Pinterest. Works for my dark metal 10 cup bundt pan better than anything else I’ve tried. Just mix equal parts of Crisco, flour, and vegetable oil. I don’t use this often, so when planning a bundt cake, I make a small amount with 2 Tbsp of each ingredient. Enough to coat the pan with little or no leftover. Takes lot of mixing to get flour to blend in. Slather it on the bundt pan with a paper towel or (better) a silicone basting brush, as thickly as possible. Nothing else. Fill pan with… Read more »
I have made this cake about 10 times now and it is awesome. Today I tried something new and did a brown butter glaze. I didn’t change any ingredients, I just cooked my butter on medium for about 10 minutes while constantly stirring until it browned and then added the rest of the glaze ingredients. It was definitely a noticeable change in flavor. Really good!
★★★★★
Love brown butter! I will have to try that!
Hi Shelly! Long time C&C fan! I lived in Kentucky for 6 years and I had to beg beg beg one of the older gals in our Church group for her cake recipe like this. She added OJ to the batter and glaze and it’s a knockout! I’m so glad I found this version. It’s a keeper!
OH what a GREAT idea!! I bet that would so good…you’re getting my brain going with all sorts of citrus versions!
Hola Shelly ,lo primero es felicitarte por tu sitio ya que siempre encuentro ricas recetas. Prepare este queque y es delicioso. Vivo en un pueblo chico donde no es fácil encontrar muchos ingredientes pero los reemplazo y las recetas funcionan igual.. En chile la crema ácida es muy cara y la sal kosher no sabría donde buscarla , quizás en Santiago que es la capital..en todo caso usted siempre tiene alternativas, gracias y felicidades…
★★★★★
Hola María! You no soy Shelly, pero acabo de encontrar esa receta, y ver a su comentario. Nada mas queria decir hola de California! Tambien, se puede poner una cuchara grande de vinagre en una taza de leche para sustituir a la crema ácida en cosas así (yo tenía que hacer apenas, porque se me olvide a comprar!), y nada mas usa un poco menos de la sal regular en lugar de sal Kosher, como 3/4 cuchara en lugar de una. Ese pastel es riquisima, Y si es mejor el segundo dia, a lo mejor el tercer tambien, vamos a… Read more »
Shelly, this cake is amazing! I’ve made it 3 different ways in the last few months. The first time was exactly by your recipe. Another time, I added some chocolate chips to the cake batter. And yet another time, I added a teaspoon of cinnamon to the butter glaze. Regardless of what you do, this cake is AWESOME!
★★★★★
Great idea adding chocolate chips!
Okay…so I’ve been on the hunt for buttermilk recipes (we bought a quart for a specific recipe and I needed to use some up), and this cake is BY FAR the best thing I’ve ever made or tasted in my life. We’re wondering about adapting it to use with a donut cake tin to share with my family on Christmas morning – any recommendations for how to adjust the recipe / cook times / temperatures for this? (Of course, I know to make more glaze than usual!)
★★★★★
I bought a bundt cake pan b/c I saw this recipe on Pinterest and I am so happy I did. I used Challenge butter unsalted which was a blessing since I used table salt instead of kosher by mistake. This was so wonderful. Definitely my house’s new favorite. I will probably make a strawberry syrup and homemade whip cream for it. Go big or go home right? Thank you for the recipe.
★★★★★
So glad you enjoyed this! Challenge butter is great and I buy it whenever I can find it! They don’t sell it everywhere by me, but I can find it at the Whole Foods occasionally and I buy it in bulk! lol! I’ve mad eit without too and it still turns out great though 🙂