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Love From The Oven

Delicious Recipes For Easy Meals, Desserts, Cookies, Cakes, Breads, Brownies And More!

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Kentucky Butter Cake

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A sweet buttery glaze that soaks into every pore of the moist cake makes this Kentucky Butter Cake irresistible. 

Slice of Kentucky Butter Cake on a blue plate, with a floral napkin, and the remaining cake sitting in the background.

It’s been too long since I’ve shared a cake recipe here and high time I shared with you the joys of Kentucky Butter Cake. We’re talking about one of the richest, moistest pound cakes I’ve made. 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. 

Butter Pound Cake

There’s nothing like a good slice of pound cake to finish a meal. While I love an airy, delicate cake now and then, pound cake is a no-nonsense dessert that stands on its own two feet. 

No fancy frostings to mess with or complicated garnishes–just pure buttery cake heaven.

Kentucky butter cake on a plate with a blue floral napkin

When you don’t want to mess with buttercream frosting, a Kentucky Butter Cake is your answer. All you have to do is drizzle the sauce over the cake and let it set. This easy to make cake is super moist, even days after baking! 

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!

Kentucky Butter Cake Recipe

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. 

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! 

Slice of butter cake on a blue plate

Kentucky Butter Cake Recipe

Ingredients:

  • Butter
  • Sugar
  • Eggs
  • Vanilla
  • Flour
  • Baking Soda & Powder, Salt
  • Buttermilk 
  • Water

Ingredients for Kentucky Butter Cake including flour, sugar, baking powder and soda, salt, vanilla, eggs, butter and buttermilk

How to Make Butter Cake

 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. 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.

Whole Kentucky butter cake on a plate

How to Make 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. 

Recipe Notes

  • 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. 
  • I used unsalted butter when I made this butter cake from scratch. If you only have salted butter on hand, that will work just fine as well.
  • 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. 

More Cake Recipes To Try

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

Kentucky Butter Cake

Several photos of Kentucky butter cake

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Slice of Kentucky Butter Cake on a blue plate, with a floral napkin, and the remaining cake sitting in the background.

Kentucky Butter Cake

A sweet buttery glaze that soaks into every pore of the moist cake makes this Kentucky Butter Cake irresistible. 
Print Pin Rate Save Saved!
Course: Dessert
Cuisine: American
Keyword: cake
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 55 minutes
Total Time: 1 hour 5 minutes
Servings: 16 servings
Calories: 387kcal
Author: Christi Johnstone

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

While unsalted butter is used in this recipe, if all you have on hand is salted butter, it will work fine. 
If desired, the water used in the butter sauce can be replaced with rum or brandy! 

Nutrition

Calories: 387kcal | Carbohydrates: 53g | Protein: 5g | Fat: 17g | Saturated Fat: 10g | Cholesterol: 95mg | Sodium: 279mg | Potassium: 94mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 35g | Vitamin A: 574IU | Calcium: 44mg | Iron: 1mg
Tried this recipe?Mention @lovefromtheoven or tag #lovefromtheoven!

 

About author Christi Johnstone of Love From The Oven

Christi is the baker, cook, blogger, food photographer, recipe developer and sprinkle lover behind Love From The Oven. As a busy mom, it's important to Christi that her recipes are family-friendly and picky eater approved. In addition to running Love From The Oven, Christi is the author of The My Little Pony Baking Book and Smart Cookie, and the co-author of Peeps-A-Licious.
Interested in working with Christi? please contact her by email.
This post may contain affiliate links, please see our disclosure policy.

Home » Baking & Sweets » Cakes & Cupcakes » Kentucky Butter Cake

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January 24, 2020 by LOVE FROM THE OVEN

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  1. Marie Olson says

    January 15, 2021 at 12:10 pm

    I can’t wait to try this recipe!
    Thanks!!

    Reply
Hi, I'm Christi I love sharing easy & delicious recipes that your family & friends will love. I'm a mom, cookbook author...Read More

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