Kentucky Butter Cake is an insanely moist pound cake with a sweet, buttery sauce that soaks through the cake. This cake tastes even better the next day!
Kentucky Butter Cake Recipe
This Kentucky Butter Cake isn’t overly sweet and has plenty of butter flavor. It is the perfect cake to snack on while sipping a cup of coffee or tea. This is a typical pound cake type recipe with a dense texture, but not too dense. It’s easy to make from ingredients you likely have on hand.
All the ingredients get mixed together using a stand mixer, then the batter is poured into a Bundt pan and baked for about an hour.
While it’s still warm, you poke holes in the cake and let a delicious butter sauce seep down into the cake. The outside gets a little buttery and crispy and the inside is so buttery and moist.
★★★★★
What readers are saying!
Perfect! Made it for a country fair culinary contest and won not only first prize, but grand champion..
How To Store
This cake can be stored at room temperature for 4 to 5 days. Kentucky Butter Cake freezes really well. Just wrap it well in plastic wrap and then in foil.
You’ll like this cake so much, you’ll be making an excuse to eat it first thing in the morning for breakfast. And it probably doesn’t need to be said, but this cake makes a wonderful dessert for a Kentucky Derby Party.
If you are a fan of bourbon, check out this Kentucky Bourbon Butter Cake. It’s another amazing butter cake recipe.
More Kentucky Inspired Recipes
- Bourbon Balls
- Kentucky Derby Bars
- Kentucky Blackberry Jam Cake
- Kentucky Chocolate Walnut Pie
- Mint Julep Cupcakes
Watch the short video below to see how easy this cake is to make!
Kentucky Butter Cake
Ingredients
- 3 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 cup butter
- 2 cups sugar
- 4 large eggs
- 1 cup buttermilk
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
Butter Sauce
- 1 cup sugar
- 1/4 cup water
- 1/2 cup butter
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees and grease and flour a Bundt pan or use baking spray with flour.
- Whisk together the flour, baking powder, salt, and baking soda.
- Using an electric stand mixer, cream the butter and sugar for about 5 minutes.
- Mix in eggs one at a time.
- Add the vanilla to the buttermilk.
- Add flour mixture to butter mixture., alternating with buttermilk, beginning and ending with flour mixture.
- Pour batter into Bundt pan and bake for 60 minutes.
- Make butter sauce when you are getting ready to take cake out of the oven. Bring sugar, water, and butter to a low boil, stirring to dissolve sugar. Remove from heat and stir in vanilla.
- After cake is removed from oven, poke holes in the top and pour the butter mixture down into holes. Let cake cool for about 10 minutes and then remove from pan. Don’t let it cool much longer before removing from pan or it will stick.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Recipe Source: AllRecipes.com
Originally posted February 26, 2018.
Disclosure: This post may contain affiliate links.
This was the very first recipe I learned to make when I was 9 out of an old pillsbury cookbook. This recipe has a few modifications in the instructions, which I do appreciate. I think it makes the cake turn out a little better. But this is an old recipe that has been around forever. This has been my go to since I was young and its always a hit. Glad too see everyone else enjoys it too!
Made it for Thanksgiving dinner . It was a hit
My 14 yr old son doesn’t eat cake or cupcakes. Weird, I know. But the first time I made this, the house smelled so amazing that he wanted to try a “tiny” piece. Well needless to say, he had more after that. Now every time I make it he has a huge piece. He even made one himself with my assistance. I have made this cake about 10 times. It never disappoints. I have a coworker who has asked me to bake one twice already. Great recipe.
I was feeling the season last year and thought I’d try something a little different. Just before pouring into the pan, I added 1 cup of FRESH UNCOOKED cranberries. OH.MY.GOSH!!!! I named it “Twisted Iowa Butter Cake”. Try it, you will NOT be sorry!!
I make this cake
But what I do is take different fruits and mix a quarter cup sugar, some lime juice over fruit. Refrigerate it to pull juice from fruit. Then slice cake and put fruit on it. I call it fruit salsa. Delicious!!
Could I make this in mini bunt or baby Bundt pans?
Can I use cake flour and how much? I know the measurements can change.
What was the glaze you drizzled over the top. Was it the same as the butter sauce?
Can a tube pan be used for this recipe? Will it alter it in any way?
I have made this cake several times, each n every time i make it, it instantly disappears. Nothing but rave reviews.
Thank you so much for this scrumptious recipe!
This will always be my go to recipe for a Kentucky Butter cake😍😍