This Kentucky Butter Cake Recipe has a sweet buttery glaze that soaks into every pore of the moist cake making it irresistible. We’re talking about one of the richest, moistest pound cakes ever made.
When I’m not in the mood to mess with piping–but still want rich flavor–making butter cake from scratch is an easy choice. I just know you’re going to love this homemade southern style pound cake, too!
Reasons You’ll Love This
After Dinner Treat – There’s nothing like a good slice of pound cake to finish a meal!
Pound Cake Lovers – While I love an airy, delicate cake now and then, this recipe for Kentucky butter cake is a no-nonsense dessert that stands on its own two feet.
All Cake No Frosting – No fancy frostings to mess with or complicated garnishes–just pure buttery cake heaven.
Simple Glaze – All you have to do is drizzle the sauce over the cake and let it set.
Moist and Delicious – This easy to make cake is super moist, even days after baking!
When you don’t want to mess with buttercream frosting, a Kentucky Butter Cake is your answer. This recipe for Kentucky butter cake can be baked in tube or bundt form, then doused with the most delicious glaze you’ve tasted. This is a decadent cake that you’ll want to make over and over.
Ingredient Info
- Butter – I use unsalted butter when making this butter cake from scratch. If you only have salted butter on hand, that will work just fine as well.
- Sugar – Granulated sugar works just fine.
- Eggs – Room temperature eggs are the best for this recipe.
- Vanilla – Try to use pure vanilla extract for this cake recipe.
- All-Purpose Flour – When measuring your flour, make sure to spoon the flour into the measuring cup, then level it off before adding it to your batter.
- Buttermilk – Buttermilk is key for that buttery, rich cake batter. You can also make this Buttermilk Substitute if you don’t have any buttermilk on hand.
- Water – Want a little something extra with your butter cake? Feel free to sub the water in the butter sauce with rum or brandy! You might want to give my Easy Rum Cake recipe a try while you’re at it.
Step by Step Instructions
- In a large bowl cream together butter and sugar until light and fluffy, for 2-3 minutes. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each egg. Add in vanilla and mix to combine. Add one cup of flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt, and mix well. Add half of the buttermilk, mix well to combine. Add remaining flour and mix well to combine. Add remaining buttermilk and mix well to combine.
- Prepare a tube or bundt pan by greasing and flouring generously to prevent sticking. While I typically just spray my baking pans with non-stick cooking spray and call it good, with this one, grease and flour WELL. If there’s ever a cake that might try and stick, it’s this one. A good coating of butter, followed by flour, and you’ll be good. Just make sure not to skip that crucial step!
- Scoop batter into prepared pan. Bake for approximately 55-65 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.
- Allow the cake to cool for ten minutes while you prepare the butter sauce.
- In a saucepan combine sugar with butter, vanilla extract and water. Cook over medium heat until melted and well combined.
- When the cake is cool, then run a knife around the edges and center of the tube pan to loosen the cake. Invert cake onto a wire rack or cake plate.
Prick small holes over the top of the cake and slowly drizzle the sauce over top. Some will run off and down the sides. Use a pastry brush to scoop up that sauce and spread over the sides of your cake.
Tips and Advice
Storage – You can store this Kentucky Butter Cake covered at room temperature for up to 4 days. A happy side effect of this method of cake frosting? The butter sauce continues soaking into the cake the longer it sits, meaning this cake tastes even better the second day! You can also freeze this cake for up to 3 months.
Grease Your Pan!
It’s even more important to grease and flour the cake pan extremely well for this butter cake recipe. This is a sugary cake with a lot of moisture; it WILL stick if you skimp on the greasing and flouring.
Equipment
For this recipe you’ll need the following items:
- Electric Hand or Stand Mixer
- Mixing Bowls of Various Sizes
- Tube or Bundt Pan
- Saucepan
- Measuring Cups and Spoons
- Toothpick (something to poke the cake with.)
FAQs
If you’re not familiar, Kentucky Butter Cake is a variation on pound cake topped with a sweet butter sauce. When you pour the butter sauce over the cake, it saturates the cake completely, infusing every bite with buttery vanilla flavor.
Recipes You’ll Love
I love a simple and delicious Bundt or tube cake, and make them often. Here are some of my other favorite cake recipes to try.
- Easy Rum Cake
- Chocolate Chip Pound Cake
- Lemon Bundt Cake
- White Chocolate Cake
- Ooey Gooey Butter Cake
More Recipes You’ll Love!
Kentucky Butter Cake
Equipment
- Tube or bundt pan
Ingredients
- 1 cup butter (unsalted) (softened )
- 2 cups sugar
- 4 large eggs (room temperature )
- 2 tsp pure vanilla extract
- 3 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1 cup buttermilk
Sauce
- 3/4 cup sugar
- 1/3 cup butter
- 3 tbsp water
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. In a large bowl cream together butter and sugar until light and fluffy, approximately 2-3 minutes. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each egg. Add in vanilla and mix to combine. Add one cup of flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt, and mix well. Add half of the buttermilk, mix well to combine. Add remaining flour and mix well to combine. Add remaining buttermilk and mix well to combine.
- Prepare a tube or bundt pan by greasing and flouring generously to prevent sticking. Scoop batter into prepared pan. Bake for approximately 55-65 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.
- Allow to cool for ten minutes (prepare butter sauce during this time), then run a knife around the edges and center of the tube pan to loosen the cake. Invert cake onto a wire rack or plate.
Butter Sauce
- After removing cake from oven, prepare butter sauce. In a saucepan combine 3/4 cups sugar, 1/3 cup butter, 2 tsp vanilla and 3 tbsp water. Cook over medium heat until melted and well combined.
- After removing the cake from the pan, poke very small holes in the top of the cake, with a toothpick. Slowly drizzle sauce over the cake. Store covered.
Notes
Nutrition
The nutrition facts provided are calculated using a third-party tool and are estimates only. Actual nutritional content may vary based on the ingredients and brands you use, as well as portion sizes. For accurate results, please consult a registered dietitian or nutritionist.
Meet Christi, Love From The Oven
I’m Christi I love sharing easy & delicious recipes that your family & friends will love. I’m a mom, baker, cookbook author and lover of sprinkles.
Absolutely amazing! Thanks for sharing!
Awesome my family loved it I will definitely be making this again.
I made this cake and it is fantastic,very moist I imagine it’s because of the buttermilk in it not a cheap cake to make all that butter,,,,man it’s worth every bite, thanks for sharing the recipe to The rest of us,,Shirley 😋😋😋😋😋😋😋