Bourbon-Chocolate Bundt Cake with Hard Sauce Glaze

The teapot comes out late every afternoon, especially in the wintertime and when it does, there needs to be a little sweet something for SB to have with his hot cuppa. Today's sweet something is this lovely cake - the boozy bourbon and chocolate smells when baking have been just incredible. It was difficult to let it cool before drizzling on the hard sauce, but we managed. We ARE the souls of discipline and disgression - ahem.


I have held off brushing the cake with more bourbon, as SB can be a stickler about too much of a good thing. I have, though, been generous with the hard sauce drizzle which also has a bit of bourbon in it (instead of rum). Ooh-la-la!

Really moist and full-flavoured cake, excellent hard sauce forming a sugary coating atop ... with that hot tea, it really hits the spot!

Chocolate-Bourbon Bundt Cake with Hard Sauce Glaze

 

Cake Ingredients:

 

2 c. all purpose flour
1 ¼ tsp. baking soda
½ tsp. salt
3 oz. unsweetened baking chocolate
2 oz. semi-sweet chocolate
¼ c. instant coffee granules
1 ½ c. water
½ c. bourbon
1 c. unsalted butter, room temperature
2 c. sugar
3 eggs, room temperature
1 ½ tsp. vanilla extract

 

Hard Sauce Ingredients:

 

½ c. butter
¼ c. sugar
2 egg yolks
2 tbsp. bourbon (or rum)
Hot water … a few drops

 

Making the Cake:

 

1. Preheat the oven to 325° F and grease generously a 10–inch Bundt pan.
2. Sift together the flour, baking soda and salt and set aside.
3. Place the butter and sugar in a mixing bowl and whip together until the mixture is light, airy and soft yellow.
4. Cut the chocolates into chunks and place them in a small bowl. Microwave on high for one minutes, stir, and microwave again for another 30 seconds or so. Stir to melt and mix the chocolates and set aside to cool a few mintes.
5. Place the coffee granules in the bottom of a two cup measuring cup. Add very hot water (about ¼ c.) and stir to dissolve the coffee. Add enough cool water to make 1 ½ c. Stir in the bourbon to make the 2 c. measure. Set aside.
6. Add the slightly cooled chocolate to the sugar and butter  and whip to combine well.
7. Break in one egg at a time, mixing well between each one and scraping the bowl down to ensure complete incorporation.
8. Add the vanilla extract and some of the coffee/bourbon solution. Mix to make a thin batter. Add some of the flour and mix, then some more of the coffee/bourbon, flour, coffee/bourbon, flour etc , ending with the coffee/bourbon.
9. Scrape the bowl down and give the batter a final few stirs by hand to make sure the batter is smooth and uniform.
10. Turn the batter into the prepared pan. Bake for 45 to 55 minutes or until a coke tester comes clean.
11. Let the cake cool for fifteen minutes and then turn it our onto a rack to finish cooling.

Making the Hard Sauce:

 

1. Melt the butter in a heavy saucepan.
2. Add the sugar and cook, stirring over medium heat until the sugar dissolves and the mixture is bubbly.
3. Remove from the heat and spoon a small amount of the hot mixture into a small bowl containing the egg yolks, whipping it the whole time to temper the eggs.
4. Let the sugar and butter mixture cool a bit and then slowly drizzle the egg mixture into the saucepan with the butter/sugar mixture, whipping it to make a smooth sauce.
5. Place the sauce back on medium low heat and cook, stirring constantly. Cook until the sauce is 170° F. Stir in the bourbon and continue cooking for a couple minutes.
6. Remove from the heat and continue stirring. If the sauce is too thick, add a few drops of very hot water at a time, stirring until the desired consistency is reached.

Drizzle the sauce over the top of the cooled Chocolate Bourbon Bundt and serve in thick slices with a strong cup of coffee or tea.