I remember the first time my mom made me this Kentucky Butter Cake with Caramel Sauce. It was a warm summer day, we had just finished dinner, and she brought out this freshly baked and still warm, Kentucky Butter Cake with a Caramel Icing. Although outside, you could smell the cake’s sweetness and I instantly noticed how moist and spongy it was as soon as I dove into it with my fork. It didn’t take long for me to request every cake have this amazing caramal glaze on it and ask for the recipe for my blog!
Why is it called Kentucky Butter Cake?
Funny you should ask because from what I have read, no body is really sure. I came across a story about it being a Pillsbury bake-off winner and then another story that debunked that so the real story behind this cake is stil unknown. If i had to guess though, I’d bet the cake originated from Kentucky, and since it has lots of butter, it’s called a Kentucky Butter Cake! One thing I do know though is that this cake is usually found with a butter sauce or icing not a caramel glaze. In my opinion though, the caramel glaze can’t be beat!
Since my first introduction i’ve already baked it nemerous times and everyone I’ve introduced it instantly seems to fall in love with this Kentucky Butter Cakes recipe too. I’m sure after you try it, you will too what caramel frosting on just about everything you eat as well! The best part about this Kentucky Butter Cake and Caramel Icing Recipe is that it is SUPER easy to make so you don’t have to be an advance baker to yield good results or enjoy this recipe!
I’ve created a quick tutorial video for you below for this Kentucky Butter Cake with Caramel Sauce recipe, so make sure to check it out below!
Happy baking!
* Please Note - Some links in this post may be affiliate links *
INGREDIENTS:
Serves 10
- Kentucky Butter Cake -
3 cups of All-Purpose Flour
1 TSP of Salt (Kosher is preferred)
1 TSP of Baking Powder
1/2 a TSP of Baking Soda
1 Cup of Unsalted Butter (cubed and brought to room temperature)
2 Cups of Granulated White Sugar
4 Eggs
1 TBSP of Vanilla
1 Cup of Buttermilk
- Caramel Frosting -
1 Cup of Brown Sugar
2 TBSP of All-Purpose Flour
3 TBSP of Butter (softened)
1/4 Cup of Milk
1 TSP of Vanilla Extract
You will also need:
CHECK OUT THESE OTHER DESSERT RECIPES
KENTUCKY BUTTER CAKE DIRECTIONS:
Preheat oven to 325 degrees and butter your bundt pan before dusting it with flour - I used a 10” pan!
In a medium bowl, mix all your dry ingredients (flour, salt, baking powder, and baking soda) together with a whisk until well incorporated.
Next, in a separate, larger bowl add your butter, sugar, vanilla, eggs, and buttermilk, and mix together on low for 30 seconds using a hand mixer before slowly incorporating your dry ingredients in 2-3 portions.
When the dry ingredients are fully added to the wet ingredients, increase the hand mixer speed to high and continue to beat for 3 minutes until the batter texture becomes smooth. Make sure to scrape the sides of the bowl to get the excess flour that likes to get trapped there!
Pour batter into your buttered bundt pan and bake for 65-75 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.
When the Kentucky Butter Cake is ready, remove it from the oven and set it aside to cool. I like to allow the cake to cool for 10 minutes before inverting it onto a serving plate.
CARAMEL ICING RECIPE DIRECTIONS
After the cake has cooled you can get to work on the caramel glaze!
Combine brown sugar and all-purpose flour in a bowl - whisk together until well incorporated.
Using a saucepan, add in your brown sugar/flour mixture, butter and milk. Bring ingredients to a rolling boil on medium-high heat, stir continuously.
Once boiling, allow it to continue to boil for 1.5 minutes before removing from heat and setting it aside to cool for about 5 minutes.
When the caramel icing has cooled, use a wooden spoon to beat the mixture so that it thickens. Add in your vanilla as you continue to beat the mixture (about 1-2 minutes) until it becomes a similar consistency to honey.
Pour the caramel frosting over the cooled Kentucky Butter Cake using the back of the spoon to help spread it around evenly. Set aside to cool as the caramel glaze will harden after a few hours.
This cake can be stored at room temperature in a cake stand for 3 days or in an airtight container!
FOLLOW ME ON INSTAGRAM @ISTHATSOH
I hope you enjoyed this Kentucky Butter Cake recipe with Caramel Icing as much as I do. If you have any comments please leave them below and I'll be happy to answer them as soon as I can! Happy baking!!!
