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
Prep Time:
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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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Is it possible to make this cake using a hand mixer??
sure!
This looks so amazing! I love to bake cakes so I will be making this for sure. Unfortunately I can’t eat regular flour so I am going to try to make it with gluten free flour. Do you have any suggestions for making it gluten free? I have learned to add an extra egg and also to let the batter sit for about 15 to 20 minutes before baking.
Looking forward to giving this a try. The butter glaze sounds so good and that will help to moisten the sometimes dry side of gluten free baked goods.
Sounds yummy can u sub rum for the water In the glaze or is there any other suggestions on changing the glaze by using a different flavor or stronger vanilla extract
definitely lemon or any citrus would work great!
My mom made this cake when I was growing up. It’s fantastic! I pinned a similar looking cake awhile back that had a butter sauce poured over it. Instead of water, it was made with butter, sugar and white wine! I’ve yet to try it, but it sounds interesting. Lemon, rum or different liqueurs would be great!
★★★★★
I have made this Bundt cake twice in the last two months & we absolutely loved it! Once with lemon extract and it was a big hit also. Thanks for the great recipe.
★★★★★
Pam, I was wondering how this turned out with gluten free flower and an extra egg. A friend just shared this recipe with me and I would love to share this at my next book club meeting, but 2 members are celiac and I need to use gluten free flour. I would also like to use coconut suger instead of white sugar and was wondering if you had experimented with alternate suger sweeteners. Thanks in advance for your input. Also, I’m a baking newby so any tricks (like adding the extra egg) is MOST appreciated!
Could you replace the water in the glaze with lemon juice do you think? This sounds delicious, but I love lemon and would like to make the glaze lemon if possible.
yes, absolutely!!
Do I have to adjust the time baked when using a tube pan? My bundt pan is to small. It’s only 9″ wide.
★★★★★
I wouldn’t imagine you would need to..
This cake is indeed moist and delicious-but my glaze was brown/tan, not white as pictured. The vanilla extract colored it…Wondering why glaze in photo is white/ clear?
★★★★★
It’s probably just the lighting of the picture…mine was a little white/tannish in real life.
I have clear and brown vanilla extract, since you mentioned it I think I will be using the clear.
Can I use self rising flour instead of all purpose for this cake
no, use all purpose with the additional baking powder and soda
I dont have a bundt pan can I use a regular 9×13 pan
You could, yes…you will just have to adjust the baking time. Start with 25 minutes and check it from there…
No bunt pan any suggestions for alternative bakeware, thanks
I love pound cakes and this cake looks delish! My computer is not showing the ingredients and directions for the recipe. It shows the recipe, but there are just dots for the contents of the recipe. Could you send the recipe to my email address, if it would not be too much trouble. I have signed up to be on your mailing list. Im sure I’ll have fun cooking your recipes. Thank you.
That’s so strange! Try clicking on the “print” next to the recipe, which will bring the printable version up. You don’t have to print it..it might just be easier to read the ingredients!
Have you ever tried it in a stone bundt pan? I don’t have a metal one just a stone one. Love it for other bundt cakes. Making this cake this week-end for a family get together.
That butter sauce looks amazing!
Question: how many cups does your bundt pan hold? I don’t have one, but I *do* have a tube pan. I do know that it’s larger than the bundt pan I had years ago, and I was wondering about the volume on your bundt pan?
It’s a 10″ bundt pan and it claims to hold 12 cups. I know a tube pan hold more… usually a 10″ tube will hold up to 16 cups, I believe.
Thanks so much!
What if my bundt pan is only a 10 cup??
That should be fine!
This looks & sounds yummy! Would using regular salt make a difference?
If it’s table salt use a little less because kosher salt is coarser!
I don’t have a Bundt pan- do you have any suggestions for using any other type of pan? I have almost everything except a bundt! 🙂
This would be well worth you buying a bundt pan along with other ingredients. I have a feeling you’ll make this more than once and it simply is a great item to have in your kitchen anyway. Buy a Bundt!
I am going to use an angel cake pan. This way, I can just lift out the cake before I flip it over. It may not look as pretty as a bundt cake, but I’m sure it will taste as good.
Please email the Kentucky Butter Cake recipe. Thanks. Sounds great.
Butter you use throughout this recipe, is it salted? or unsalted?
I used salted, but please feel free to use unsalted if you prefer.
This cake looks amazing!
I’m looking forward to making this. It sounds wonderful. Not your ordinary cake, I’m sure.
Just took mine out of the oven….YUMMO! I add buttered rum flavoring to it 🙂
Did you add the rum to the cake or the glaze or both?
please can you send it to my e-mail as i am on fb and i really want to make it .thank you .
I copy all the recipes I like and email them to myself. I have a Recipe folder in my email. It makes them really easy to find, just don’t forget the recipe name in the subject line.
Pound cakes are my favorite cakes and this one sounds divine, but I was wondering can I use self-rising flour?
Not really for this cake…it would change the texture.
Thanks Shelly. I always wondered about why some cakes called for AP flour and some SR flour and you’ve answered my question. Now I’m off to the store, so I can make this cake today. Wish me luck.
Self rising flour contains leavening agents and salt already in it.. so since my recipe calls for additional salt and a combo of baking soda and powder you would have some trouble I think 🙂
If you used self rising and omitted the baking soda, powder and salt you would have better luck, but it wouldn’t be quite the same.
I tried the self rising flour and omitted the baking powder, baking soda, and salt. It came out very dense. Taste is ok but the texture is very different.
Yes, yes and yes! THAT butter glaze has me weak at the knees!
Have you tried using sugar instead of flour when greasing your pan? I have done that before on other things and it gives a more caramel-y crust. I just wonder how that would work with this cake… Maybe I just need to try it!
OMG! I never thought of using sugar instead of flour. Do you use granulated sugar or powder sugar?
Powdered sugar works really well
i use granulated sugar on all my pound cakes and it turns out great!
Aargh! Is already in the oven… i should of read these comments first!
I always use sugar when making cakes depending on type of cake use granulated or 10 X. . Same with rolling and cutting cookies…always use 10 X sugar instead of flour! Been baking over 55 years and works like a charm!
What is 10x sugar?
It is regular powdered sugar, also goes by the name Confectioners Sugar
I always use sugar instead of flour for dusting bunt pans… granulated!
I always use the sprays with no problem BUT, do not spray the pan until you are right ready to pour batter into pan. I learned this through trial and error.
great tip!
Can you use self rising flour?
I have never used self rising for this recipe, but if you do omit the salt, baking powder and baking soda. Let me know how it turns out!
Mine was a flop,it tasted OK,but I greased and floured my pan like crazy, and it still came out in chunks,i wouldn’t make this again, to many wasted ingredients
My cake was beautiful…pulled away from pan but, I added that glaze and that did it. The cake was cemented to the pan. What a waste of time.
If that happens, just stick the cake in the oven at it’s lowest setting for a few minutes. It won’t bake the cake but it will melt the dried glaze a bit and let the cake release cleanly. You can also just take a hair dryer to the sides and bottom for a bit. Works like a charm.
Before removing cake from pan take a butter knife slide around side and middle tube. Place a plate over cake pan and invert, let sit couple minutes, remove cake pan. This method work well
★★★★★
I put strips of parchment paper in the groves of the bundt pan before pouring the batter, it keeps the cake from sticking to the pan.
So, your first time baking ? This recipe came out perfect for me and have to say my family thought it awesome.
★★★★★
I always use sugar too. It make a chocolate look beautiful. Flour leaves leaves the looking dusty and dry.
Can you suggest a cooking time if I were to use a mini bundt pan?
Thank you!!
I would start it at 30 and go from there… checking every 5-10 minutes.
It’s in the oven!!!
awesome!! hope you like it!!
Hi, for some reason I cannot see the ingrediants??? any way I can get them please? THANK YOU!
The recipe should be at the bottom of the post before the comments… if for some reason there is a glitch and you still can’t see them click on the print recipe button and the full recipe will open in a new window!
wondering if you can i cant believe its not butter:D
Nope, sorry!
Shelly, Do you use salted or unsalted butter? Thanks! Cant wait for your book to come out!
I use salted 🙂
Shelly
Can I use whole milk instead of buttermilk??
Thanks
An easy trick to make buttermilk is to add 2 tablespoons of lemon juice or white vinegar to a measuring cup and then fill the rest up until you reach one cup. Let it sit for a few minutes and voila! Buttermilk!
This recipe was a winner in the Pillsbury Bake-Off at least 35 years ago. I used to make it constantly but have forgotten about it. Thanks for posting it. It’s a WONDERFUL cake.
★★★★★
ahh, that looks AMAZING! =)
holy cow. Going to the store to get buttermilk right meow. Looks amazing!
you can make butter milk with your regular milk and add lemon juice to
it give it a few minutes to curdle and wha la
“Voila,” not “wha la.”
Just trying to help, not criticizing.
It’s onion, not Anion. (Think she knew what she was saying.)
Amellette, LOL LOL LOL
Unnecessary!
or vinegar. That’s how I do it.
or vinegar!
Join the discussion
Or, you can buy dry buttermilk-I think I got mine at WM. Comes in a round container similar to cocoa.
U can make your own buttermilk. Rey easily. Take a cup of milk add a teaspoon of lemon or vinegar to it wait a couple minutes wa-la u have buttermilk. I do it this way all the time now. I use lemon over the vinegar but I know u can do it both ways.
I havn’t made it yet , but I will probably add RUM to it !!
This looks so good, dying for a slice! 🙂
I will move to Kentucky if I can eat this cake every day!
This looks like the best bundt cake EVER! So moist with the addition of that glaze, I’d take a slice for breakfast right now!
I want this with a cup of coffee! Looks so good!
OK. I found your blog through a tweet of an link on Klout about your Bombshell Oreo Brownies. While there, I saw a link to this post in your sidebar. And, since I go by “KentuckyGal” sometimes, I figured I should subscribe to your feed as well.
Now I just have to figure out how to double the size of the garden, because I’m going to need the extra workouts to work off all this baked yumminess!
★★★★★
So glad you found me!!
Can this cake be made using a hand mixer?
sure!
Can you freeze it
Yes of course!!
What is the best way to freeze this cake? Would you pour on the glaze before or after freezing?
I would pour it on after. It will get sticky as it thaws.
Can I use low-fat buttermilk?
sure!
That was my question. THANKS!!!
Can you make this recipe as a sheet cake? If so, any tips on maintaining moistness?
Yes and I have also used a loaf pan, The med size makes 3 , great for sharing.
I don’t have a paddle attachment. Will it be okay to use the regular metal attachments with my stand mixer?
Yes! Just don’t over mix it 🙂
My Grandmother made a dish called steam pudding, the ingredients for it and this cake are very similar, except that
after you mix up the batter you steam it in a double boiler. The saucer is the same. I’m going to try this cake to see if it tastes like steamed pudding, because if it does, it will make sharing the decadence that my gma passed down a lot easier!
Good Morning your Grandma recipe sounds very good would you post it or sent it to me Thank you Karen.
Silly question, but what if you don’t have a Bundt pan? Would a loaf pan work as well?
Yep, you might need to divide the batter into 2 though!
Does the Kentucky Butter cake need to be refrigerated?
★★★★★
Mine was on the counter for three days with no ill effects. And this cake is to die for!
Can I bake this in 2 – 8” round cake pans to make a layered cake?
This cake was Awesome! So glad my sister found it. My only question is about the color of the cake. Mine did not come out nearly as light. It was more brown. Didn’t affect the flavor, just not as pretty. I wondered why.
Jeanette,
Mine came out brown too! I thought I’d done something wrong but I’m sure it’s still delicious.
baking soda will turn it brown.
You may need to adjust your temperature that you cook it at. Some ovens cook faster than others. So I’ve learned to take the temp down with bundt cakes so it doesnt cook too quickly!
Mine came out not a white too and it doesn’t have anything to do with over cooking. It’s not brown like over cooked. I’m thinking maybe it’s from the vanilla. I know there is a clear vanilla which I don’t have. Still taste awesome though.
I used clear vanilla and still got a brown cake. Didn’t affect quality. Yum.
Mine too! It was no where near that cream color. More golden actually. Thought I did something wrong. It still tasted great however!
Are we supposed to bake it covered?
I heard the darker the cake pan, the darker the cake. I’m going to try an aluminum angel food cake pan.
Do I sift the flour?
Nope, you don’t have to!
I made this recipe a few time following the recipes exactly. Unfortunately, as pictured in the blog it didn’t totally fill the bunt pan. So I tried the classic method of first making sure all ingredients where at room temperature. Then I creamed the butter and sugar together. Followed by alternating the wet and dry ingredients. The cake came out so much better! It filled the whole pan and was much more enjoyable.
Wow. Just wow! I NEED this in my life immediately – it looks AMAZING!!
Is the butter unsalted. Thanks
use salted, but it’s really a personal preference!
Can I use the batter for mini bundt cakes?
sure!
I forgot to add salt will it mess the cake up?
Nope, it should be fine 🙂
Hi Kim. Did you end up making this cake in your mini bundt cake pans? If so, how long did you bake them for and how did they turn out? Thank you for your help.
I added Almond extract as a substitute for the vanilla and its amazing!
New favorite…
★★★★★