CHOCOLATE BUTTER CAKE
If you have never had a southern style butter cake, you are truly missing out. Typically they are vanilla based but I made this one chocolate with a hint of espresso coffee flavor, and it is delicious! Basically, it is a extremely moist cake that is light & fluffy; once taken out of then oven, tons of holes are poked in the base of the cake and melted sugar and butter is poured all over the cake. It seeps into those holes you previously poked and the already moist cake soaks up all that delicious sugary butter and creates an even more moist and amazing cake. Once it has cooled a little it forms a glaze on it and tastes like a fluffy glazed cake-like donut. Absolutely nothing better. I’ve made this cake so many times its become an addiction at this point. Top with some powdered sugar or powdered sugar mixed with cocoa powder and its ready to devour!
Remember, the more holes you poke the more the glaze will soak up and spread out throughout the entire cake. The best part about this cake is that it can be made into just about any flavor – lemon, vanilla, red velvet, strawberry etc. Just switch up some of the ingredients and there you have it! If you are wanting to just make this a basic vanilla cake; remove the cocoa powder and add that ¼ cup extra to the all purpose flour. That would mean you have 3 cups of flour instead of 2 ¾.
I have tried this cake in so many flavors and it never disappoints! It is extremely simple to make, especially being that it is a one bowl recipe – throw all the ingredients into a large bowl or a bowl of a stand mixer and let it all incorporate until it is smooth. It really is that simple!
GLAZE – this is an easy step but I do like to reiterate that all you need to do is let the butter melt and the sugar dissolve. You DO NOT need to bring this to a boil. Because it is essentially just butter and sugar it will harden quickly so be sure to melt it right before you are ready to pour over the cake.
CHOCOLATE BUTTER CAKE
1 cake
servings20
minutes30-35
MinsIngredients
- BUTTER CAKE
1 Cup unsalted butter; cubed at room temperature
2 Cups granulated sugar
4 eggs; room temperature
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
2 ¾ Cups all purpose flour
¼ cup cocoa powder
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking powder
½ teaspoon baking soda
2 teaspoons espresso powder/syrup
1 Cup buttermilk (may use whole milk)
- BUTTER GLAZE
⅓ Cup unsalted butter; melted
¾ Cup granulated sugar
2 Tablespoons water
3 teaspoons vanilla extract
Directions
Preheat oven to 325 degrees F (165 degrees C)
Grease a 9 - 10 cup bundt pan (or two smaller ones) with butter or cooking spray
Place all the cake ingredients in a bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment or a large bowl with a hand held mixer. Mix on low until just incorporated so the dry ingredients do not fly everywhere. Turn the speed up and mix on medium for about 2-3 mins
Pour the batter into the prepared bundt pan and bake for 60-76 mins depending on the size of the pan used. Check frequently. Insert a toothpick into the center until it comes out with a wet crumb (not liquid but moist crumbs stuck to it)
When the cake is done, start the glaze. Combine all the ingredients in a saucepan over medium low heat. Stirring constantly until the butter is melted and the sugar is dissolved. Do not bring the mixture to a bowl.
Do not turn out the bundt cake yet. Poke holes all over the bottom of the warm cake using a knife or toothpicks/skewers(must be warm or the glaze will not soak in very well). Pour the glaze over the entire cake evenly, it will soak up as you pour.
Once the glaze has soaked in completely, invert the bundt cake onto a serving plate. Make sure to scrape all the edges really well before inverting because the glaze does harden and can be sticky on the edges.
