Julie Clark
Posted:
Pecan Raisin Bourbon Cake
A spiced bundt cake with bourbon soaked raisins inside. This Pecan Raisin Bourbon Cake with glaze will melt in your mouth!
How do you feel about nuts and raisins in cake? I usually pass on it. I’m all about velvety white cakes and sour cream pound cakes.
But this Pecan Raisin Bourbon Cake with a powdered sugar glaze is an exception. It’s a moist, from scratch cake with buttermilk and nutmeg…with some extra flavor from bourbon.
Does bourbon cake have alcohol in it?
I don’t drink alcohol and you might not either. So does the alcohol cook out of bourbon cake? Not completely. Some of the alcohol will cook out, but some may remain. This cake also has an uncooked powdered sugar glaze with bourbon in it. So if you are serving to children or friends/family that don’t consume alcohol, you may want to have another option.
Do you have to soak raisins before baking?
You’ll notice the first step of this cake is to soak the raisins. You may wonder if it is 100% necessary.
Soaking raisins is important for several reasons. First of all, it softens the raisins. As the raisins soften they will plump and soak up the bourbon. This gives them a great flavor and adds a depth of flavor to the cake.
Sometimes the raisins can get hard and dry out after they bake, so be sure to soak the raisins for at least an hour before you start making the cake.
How to Make Bourbon Cake
- Mix the wet ingredients. Cream the butter and sugar together. Add eggs, one at a time, beating after each addition.
- Mix the dry ingredients. In a medium bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, soda and nutmeg.
- Mix together. Add to the creamed sugar mixture alternately with buttermilk (begin and end with the flour mixture). Mix well after each addition. Fold in the pecans and the reserved raisin mixture.
- Bake. Pour batter into a greased and floured 10” bundt cake pan. Bake at 325 degrees F for 1 hour and 15 minutes or until toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
- Cool. Cool in the pan 10 minutes, then turn out to a wire rack to cool completely.
Bourbon Glaze for Cake
This bourbon glaze soaks into the cake and makes it taste absolutely amazing. If you don’t want to use bourbon in the glaze, use vanilla or even maple.
- In a small bowl, whisk together the sugar, melted butter and bourbon.
- Add heavy cream, one tablespoon at a time, until it is the consistency you’d like.
- Drizzle the glaze over the cooled cake. If the cake still warm, the glaze will melt and run thin. It’s a matter of preference as far as how you want it to look.
How far in advance can you making bourbon cake?
This cake is good straight from the oven, but it is better if you let it sit overnight before serving. We recommend making this cake the day before you want to eat it, but you can make it up to 2 days in advance. If you will have it out longer than 2 days, we recommend freezing it to keep it the freshest.
Can you freeze bourbon cake?
Yes! This cake freezes really well. If you are freezing the entire cake, we recommend waiting to glaze the cake until you defrost it.
Allow the cake to fully cool before wrapping it in plastic wrap, then wrapping again in foil or placing it in an airtight container.
To defrost the cake, allow it to come to room temperature fully before unwrapping the cake. This will help keep the cake fresh.
Other Bundt Cake Recipes
- Filled Strawberry Bundt Cake
- Poppy Seed Bundt Cake
- Strawberry Bundt Cake
- Chocolate Chip Bundt Cake
- Strawberry Rhubarb Bundt Cake
Tools to Make Bundt Cake
- Nordic Ware Heritage Bundt Pan: They make some beautiful bundt cake pans and this is one of my favorites.
- Ninja Express Chop: Mini food processor…this is one of my most-used kitchen tools. Perfect for chopping nuts for this cake.
- Bundt Cake Carrier: Store your cake in this carrier to keep it fresh and easy to transport.
Pecan Raisin Bourbon Cake
A homemade bundt cake packed with raisins and nuts, then topped with a sweet bourbon glaze.
Servings 15
Prep Time 25 minutes
Cook Time 1 hour 15 minutes
Ingredients
For the cake:
- 1 cup raisins
- ½ cup bourbon
- 1 cup butter softened
- 2 ¼ cups sugar
- 5 large eggs
- 3 ¼ cups flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- 1 ½ teaspoons nutmeg
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 cup buttermilk
- 2 cups coarsely chopped unsalted pecans
For the glaze:
- 2 cups powdered sugar
- ¼ cup melted butter
- 1 tablespoon bourbon
- ¼ cup whipping cream
- ½ cup pecan halves
Instructions
- **Plan Ahead: Combine the raisins and bourbon. Stir well to cover. Cover and refrigerate at least one hour.**
Make the cake:
- Cream the butter and sugar together.
- Add eggs, one at a time, beating after each addition.
- In a medium bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, soda and nutmeg.
- Add to the creamed sugar mixture alternately with buttermilk (begin and end with the flour mixture). Mix well after each addition.
- Fold in the pecans and the reserved raisin mixture.
- Pour batter into a greased and floured 10” bundt cake pan.
- Bake at 325 degrees F for 1 hour and 15 minutes or until toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
- Cool in the pan 10 minutes, then turn out to a wire rack to cool completely.
Make the glaze:
- In a small bowl, whisk together the sugar, melted butter and bourbon.
- Add heavy cream, one tablespoon at a time, until it is the consistency you’d like.
- Drizzle the glaze over the cooled cake. If the cake still warm, the glaze will melt and run thin. It’s a matter of preference as far as how you want it to look.
- Top the cake with the pecan halves.
Notes
The calories shown are based on the cake being cut into 15 pieces, with 1 serving being 1 slice of cake. Since different brands of ingredients have different nutritional information, the calories shown are just an estimate. **We are not dietitians and recommend you seek a nutritionist for exact nutritional information.**
Nutrition
Calories: 628kcal | Carbohydrates: 78g | Protein: 8g | Fat: 31g | Saturated Fat: 13g | Cholesterol: 118mg | Sodium: 298mg | Potassium: 258mg | Fiber: 3g | Sugar: 47g | Vitamin A: 667IU | Vitamin C: 1mg | Calcium: 66mg | Iron: 2mg
I didn’t have a bundt pan, so I used a bread pan and 2 mini bread pans. I only made a half recipe of the cake. I am going to freeze one of the mini cakes, and one of the mini cakes is already gone. I had been soaking my raisins in a rye port bourbon since September and I used the bourbon from that for the glaze. So good! It did come out a little dry, but that could be from how I cooked it. I did drop the cooking time to 50 minutes.