Thursday, December 19, 2013

Bourbon Pear Cake

     The bundt cake strikes me as a quintessential middle-class food. I have lost count of the times I've seen bundt cakes at gatherings. My family was notorious for using the bundt cake pan for all sorts of terrifying Jell-O molds involving layers and suspended fruits.  It was almost unavoidable that I would eventually buy and use a bundt cake pan.  One of the first things I made was a Bourbon Pear Cake. I think I got the recipe from Relish.com, but can't find it there anymore. If anybody locates the original source, please let me know so I can give proper credit. I liked this recipe because it incorporated booze. However, I can't get myself to cook with high-end liquor, that stuff is for drinking! Unfortunately, I didn't have any bottom-shelf booze on hand so I had to use the workhorse in my bar, Jim Beam. This is just a good looking cake and is moist and flavorful. I always feel like such a pompous ass when I say stuff like that. Hmm.. CAKE SQUISHY AND TASTE GOOD. There. Much better. As always, any notes or changes are in blue.

Bourbon Pear Cake
Ingredients
  • 3 eggs 
  • 2 cups sugar 
  • 1 1/2 cups vegetable oil 
  • 3 cups all-purpose flour 
  • 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon 
  • 2 tablespoons bourbon (I'm pretty sure some form of honey bourbon would be really good here)
  • 1 teaspoon salt 
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda 
  • 1 1/2 cups pears - peeled, cored and chopped (there's nothing stopping you from using apples instead)
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract 
  • 1 1/4 cups confectioners' sugar 
  • 2 tablespoons milk 
Directions
  1. In a mixing bowl, beat eggs on medium speed. Gradually add sugar and oil; beat thoroughly. 
  2. Combine flour, cinnamon, salt and baking soda; add to egg mixture and mix well. 
  3. Stir in pears, bourbon and vanilla. (The batter will be stiff. Notice how I took the moral high ground and didn't make a joke here.) 
  4. Spoon into a greased and floured 9-in. Bundt-cake pan. 
  5. Bake at 350F for 60-65 minutes or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean (obviously, you'll want to stick the toothpick into the actual cake and not the hole in the center). Let cool in pan 10 minutes before inverting onto a serving plate. 
  6. In a small bowl, combine the confectioners' sugar and milk; beat until smooth. Drizzle over warm cake. Cool completely.
"Miss Moneypenny, fetch me another slice of that fantastic cake. I'm too shitfaced to get it myself."
Good times! 

3 comments:

  1. Hi there! I'm stopping in from Let's Get Real today. I always love to stop by Tales from A Middle Class Kitchen because I always leave with a great recipe and smile on my face. Bundt cakes. I haven't ever made one, but they are always delicious. There is just something about that shape that keeps the cake nice and moist. OK........now I'm pompous too!

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    1. Thanks for the kind words! I'm glad you enjoy my pages! :)

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  2. O my goodness, Yum! Thank you for sharing at the Thursday Favorite Things blog hop. Wishing you a lovely Sunday and a very Merry Christmas♥

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