Salted Caramel Kentucky Bourbon Pound Cake

Salted Caramel Kentucky Bourbon Pound Cake is a moist, buttery cake with just a hint of smoky bourbon that’s topped with a rich salted caramel sauce.  This dessert is the stuff dreams are made of.

Salted Caramel Kentucky Bourbon Pound Cake, with slices, and a jar of homemade salted caramel sauce.

This dessert is one that your entire family will enjoy.  Don’t worry about the bourbon in the cake.  The alcohol cooks off, making it safe to serve to your little ones.

Ingredients Needed For This Recipe

  • Brown sugar – I used light brown sugar, but dark brown also works well.
  • Butter – use good quality butter.  I like using a European higher-fat content butter for both the cake and the caramel sauce.  It adds a surprising amount of flavor.  
  • Eggs – large eggs and at room temperature
  • Vanilla
  • Bourbon – I used Maker’s Mark, but use what you have on hand or that you enjoy sipping.
  • Cake flour – cake flour helps to keep this pound cake light and airy.
  • Baking powder
  • Salt – you’ll need both Kosher salt and fleur de sel or flaked sea salt.
  • Heavy cream
  • Powdered sugar

Jar of homemade salted caramel sauce to top a salted caramel Kentucky bourbon pound cake.

Steps In Making Salted Caramel Kentucky Bourbon Pound Cake

  1. Preheat the oven and grease a loaf pan.
  2. Cream together the butter and sugar.
  3. Add in the eggs, vanilla, and bourbon.
  4. Whisk together the flour baking powder, and salt.
  5. Stir the dry ingredients into the butter mixture.
  6. Spoon the batter into the loaf pan and bake.
  7. For the caramel sauce, melt the butter into brown sugar and cream.
  8. Boil for a minute and a half.
  9. Remove the pan from the heat and whisk in the fleur de sel.  Let the mixture cool.
  10. Slice the pound cake and top with the caramel sauce and whipped cream, if desired.

Salted Caramel Kentucky Bourbon Pound Cake, with slices, and a jar of homemade salted caramel sauce.

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Salted Caramel Kentucky Bourbon Pound Cake

Salted Caramel Kentucky Bourbon Pound Cake is a moist, buttery cake with just a hint of smoky bourbon that’s topped with a rich salted caramel sauce.  This dessert is the stuff dreams are made of.

  • Author: Millie Brinkley
  • Prep Time: 20 minutes
  • Cook Time: 1 hour
  • Total Time: 1 hour, 20 minutes
  • Yield: Serves 8
  • Category: Dessert
  • Method: Bake
  • Cuisine: Southern

Ingredients

Scale

For the cake:

  • 1 cup light brown sugar, packed tightly
  • 1 cup salted butter, room temperature
  • 4 large eggs, room temperature
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • ¼ cup Kentucky bourbon (I used Maker’s Mark)
  • 1 ¾ cups cake flour
  • ½ teaspoon baking powder
  • ½ teaspoon Kosher salt

For the salted caramel sauce:

  • ½ cup packed brown sugar
  • ½ cup heavy cream
  • 5 tablespoons butter
  • ¾ teaspoon fleur de sel
  • ¼½ cup powdered sugar

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.  Use baking spray to grease and flour a 9×5-inch loaf pan. Set aside.

In the bowl of a stand mixer, combine the brown sugar and butter. Beat until fluffy and creamy.

Beat in the eggs, one at a time.

Add the vanilla and bourbon, and beat into the mixture.

In a medium bowl, whisk together the cake flour, baking powder, and salt.

Gradually add the flour mixture to the butter mixture until they are just mixed. Scrape down the sides and fold into the batter. Don’t over mix at this point or you will have a tough cake.

Spoon the batter into the prepared pan.

Bake in the preheated oven for 1 hour or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.

Remove the pan from the oven and set the pan on a wire cooling rack.

When the cake is cool enough to handle, invert the cake onto the rack and cool completely.

Meanwhile, make the salted caramel sauce.

In a medium saucepan over low heat, combine the brown sugar, cream, and butter. Stir until the butter has melted into the sugar and cream.

Increase the heat to medium-high and bring the mixture to a boil.

Whisking constantly, boil the mixture for 1 ½ minutes.

Remove the pan from the heat and continue to whisk vigorously for another minute.

Stir in the fleur de sel.  

Allow the mixture to cool to room temperature.

Serve the pound cake with the salted caramel sauce and whipped cream, if desired.

Keywords: Salted Caramel Kentucky Bourbon Pound Cake, pound cake, pound cake recipes, Southern desserts, cake recipes, salted caramel, salted caramel sauce