Chocolate Bourbon Cake Recipe

Name: Chocolate Bourbon Cake
Yield: 12
Ingredients: 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, more for greasing pan; 2 cups all-purpose flour, more for dusting pan; 5 ounces high quality, unsweetened dark chocolate; 1/4 cup instant espresso powder (can use instant coffee); 2 tablespoons unsweetened natural cocoa powder; About 1 cup very hot (not boiling) water; 1 cup bourbon whiskey (can use 1/2 cup), more for sprinkling; 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt; 2 cups sugar; 3 large eggs; 1 tablespoon vanilla extract; 1 teaspoon baking soda; 1/4 cup powdered sugar, for sprinkling

Chocolate. Bourbon. Cake.

I think the moment my father spied this recipe in the New York Times he was a goner. ("You had me at chocolate.")

Nothing was going to stop him from making this cake. When he found out I possessed a 10-cup Bundt pan, that was it, he was halfway to the store getting chocolate and instant espresso for the recipe.

Reading Melissa Clark's chocolate whisky cake recipe we both decided that 1/2 cup of Bourbon, instead of the full cup she used, would do. We were both wrong. With 1/2 cup we could barely taste the bourbon. The second time we made the cake we used the full cup.

(Why bourbon? This whisky has a heady smokiness to it that works beautifully in this cake.)

Chocolate Bourbon Cake on a platter, ready to serve — Simply Recipes / Annika Panikker

Perfect. This is a great cake. Fine crumb. You can slice it beautifully thin and it still holds its shape. Great for us gals who like to take a very thin slice. And then another one. And then another. (Drives my father nuts.)

For those of you who would want to substitute out the alcohol I apologize in advance, and suggest that you consider one of the other recipes on this site for chocolate cake that do not use alcohol. This is a whiskey cake; it requires whiskey. And chocolate. Yum.

Note: We updated the method for this recipe slightly on November 19, 2021. No other change to the recipe.

Chocolate Bourbon Cake

Total Time 0 mins

Servings 10 to 12 servings

Although this is a Bundt pan recipe, you can also use the same amount of batter for 2 loaf pans (8 or 9 inch pans). Baking time will be less if you use loaf pans. Test at 55 minutes.

Recipe adapted from Melissa Clark's Whisky-Soaked Chocolate Bundt Cake, from the article, When Temperance Isn't in the Cards, in the New York Times, December 3, 2008.

1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, more for greasing pan
2 cups all-purpose flour, more for dusting pan
5 ounces high quality, unsweetened dark chocolate
1/4 cup instant espresso powder (can use instant coffee)
2 tablespoons unsweetened natural cocoa powder
About 1 cup very hot (not boiling) water
1/2 cup bourbon whiskey (can use 1/2 cup more for sprinkling)
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
2 cups sugar
3 large eggs
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 cup powdered sugar, for sprinkling

Preheat the oven to 325°F.

Butter and flour the inside of a large (10 cup) Bundt pan.
Melt the chocolate:

Melt chocolate in a microwave oven or in a double boiler over simmering water. Let cool.

Simply Recipes / Annika Panikker

Simply Recipes / Annika Panikker
Mix the espresso powder, cocoa powder, hot water, bourbon, and salt:

Put instant espresso powder (or instant coffee) and cocoa powder in a large (at least 2 cup) glass measuring cup. Add enough very hot water to come up to the 1 cup measuring line. Mix until powders dissolve. Stir in the bourbon and salt. Set aside and let cool.

Simply Recipes / Annika Panikker
Beat the butter, then add sugar, eggs, vanilla, baking soda, and melted chocolate:

Beat butter until fluffy (2-3 minutes on high using an electric mixer). Add sugar and beat a minute longer. Add the eggs one at a time, beating a minute after each addition. Add the vanilla extract, baking soda and melted chocolate.

Simply Recipes / Annika Panikker

Simply Recipes / Annika Panikker

Simply Recipes / Annika Panikker
Alternate adding the bourbon-espresso mixture with flour:

With the mixer on the lowest speed, beat in a third of the bourbon espresso cocoa mixture. When liquid is absorbed, beat in half of the flour (1 cup). Repeat additions, ending with bourbon mixture.

Simply Recipes / Annika Panikker

Simply Recipes / Annika Panikker

Simply Recipes / Annika Panikker
Bake:

Scrape batter into prepared bundt pan and smooth the top. Bake at 325°F until a tester inserted into center of cake comes out clean, about 1 hour 10 minutes.

Simply Recipes / Annika Panikker
Cool, then sprinkle with bourbon and powdered sugar:

Move the cake to a rack. Gently un-mold after 15 minutes and sprinkle the cake with a little more bourbon whiskey. Let the cake cool completely before serving. Sprinkle powdered sugar through a mesh sieve over the cake before serving.

Simply Recipes / Annika Panikker

Nutrition Facts (per serving)
455	Calories
20g	Fat
60g	Carbs
5g	Protein

Nutrition Facts
Servings: 10 to 12
Amount per serving
Calories	455
% Daily Value*
Total Fat 20g	26%
Saturated Fat 12g	61%
Cholesterol 88mg	29%
Sodium 182mg	8%
Total Carbohydrate 60g	22%
Dietary Fiber 2g	6%
Total Sugars 41g
Protein 5g
Vitamin C 0mg	0%
Calcium 22mg	2%
Iron 2mg	14%
Potassium 118mg	3%
*The % Daily Value (DV) tells you how much a nutrient in a food serving contributes to a daily diet. 2,000 calories a day is used for general nutrition advice.

Nutrition information is calculated using an ingredient database and should be considered an estimate. In cases where multiple ingredient alternatives are given, the first listed is calculated for nutrition. Garnishes and optional ingredients are not included.