Get some Kentucky in your Christmas with this Kentucky Bourbon Bacon Cake! Bourbon is baked right into this tender cake batter and infuses its way into the rich Bourbon Balls. Crunchy bits of candied bacon contrast against the smooth and creamy frosting and toast chopped pecans act as the perfect garnish!
I have not been doing the two post things recently, but I believe that producing one very engaging and fun recipe is better than churning out mediocre products.
Plus over the weekend I had the delight to bake up cakes and cupcakes and assist in a photo shoot with model Zoe and photographer Andrew. I am very excited to see the finished product!
Back to this Kentucky Bourbon Bacon Cake. Yes you read that right—bourbon and bacon. What could be wrong about this combination? Absolutely nothing! The cake recipe finds it’s roots in Damaris Phillips’ Bourbon Pecan Cake .
What drew me to this recipe more than any other as the use of different fats and the egg separating method. Despite the name Kentucky Bourbon Bacon Cake, which comes off as a bit overwhelming, I wanted the cake texture to be light. Other bourbon infused cakes were too dense and would be a heavy partner to the already intense frosting and candied bacon. I played around with the recipe, changing the ratios of flour, fats, spice, and sugar to get a cake perfect in layer cake form. If you wanted to go all crazy with the Bourbon, you could soak the cake with a bourbon and sugar glaze. Maybe it’s because I don’t drink, but I opted against the option.
These candied bacon bits are the gold standard of snacking. The recipe calls for ¾ of a pound of bacon, but in all honesty, you might want to cook up the whole pound. When left unattended, random house people will dive in like hungry crows and snack of said candied bacon. I used the same frosting recipe from last week’s Red Velvet Deluxe Cake. I figured the decadence of the holidays works well for this cake.
Topped with pecans and Bourbon Balls, The Kentucky Bourbon Bacon Cake has a creamy, nutty, chocolate-y, and very bourbon-y flavor!
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- For the Bourbon Balls:
- 1 ½ cups finely ground golden Oreos
- 1 cup finely ground pecans
- ½ cup powdered sugar, plus more for coating
- 2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder, plus more for coating
- ¼ teaspoon fine salt
- ¼ cup Kentucky Bourbon
- 3 tablespoons light corn syrup
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
- For the Candied Bacon:
- ¾ lbs maple or brown sugar flavored bacon, cut into 1-inch pieces
- 1 cup light brown sugar, packed
- For the Kentucky Bourbon Cake:
- 3 cups cake flour
- 1 tablespoon baking powder
- ¾ teaspoon fine salt
- ½ teaspoon cinnamon
- ¼ teaspoon nutmeg
- 5 large eggs, separated
- ¼ teaspoon cream of tartar
- ½ cup buttermilk
- ½ cup Kentucky Bourbon
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
- 10 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
- ½ cup vegetable oil
- 1 ½ cups granulated sugar, divided
- ½ cup light brown sugar, packed
- For the Rich Cream Cheese Frosting:
- 1 ¼ cups (2 ½ sticks, 20 ounces) unsalted butter, softened
- 16 ounces cream cheese, softened
- ¾ teaspoon fine salt
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
- 2 pounds powdered sugar
- 4 to 5 tablespoons heavy cream
- For assembling the Kentucky Bourbon Bacon Cake:
- ½ cup fine ground pecans
- In a medium bowl, mix together the crushed Oreos, nuts, powdered sugar, cocoa powder, and salt.
- In another bowl, whisk together the Bourbon, corn syrup, and vanilla extract.
- Use a rubber spatula to mix the dry and wet ingredients together.
- Refrigerate the mixture for 20 minutes.
- Roll out 1-inch balls. Coat your hands with some cocoa powder to prevent the mixture from sticking to your hands.
- Refrigerate for a final 30 minutes.
- Roll half of the Bourbon Balls in cocoa powder and the other half with powdered sugar.
- Line a baking sheet with parchment paper, set aside.
- Cook the bacon in an iron skillet on a low heat, rendering out as much fat as possible.
- Pat dry with a paper towel. Remove some of the rendered bacon fat from the skillet.
- With the heat on medium-low add the brown sugar. Stir sugar until it dissolves.
- Once sugar becomes smooth, add bacon back into the skillet. Stir to coat. The mixture should be bubbling. Pour the mixture onto the prepared parchment, spreading out. While candied bacon is still warm, break apart the bacon pieces. Store until needed.
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Spray three 8-inch cake pans with baking spray, set aside.
- Whisk the cake flour, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, and nutmeg together, set aside.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a whisk attachment, whip the egg whites and cream of tartar until soft peaks form.
- Add ¼ cup of granulated sugar and raise the speed, whipping until stiff peaks form, about 5 minutes. Set aside in a separate bowl.
- Whisk buttermilk, Bourbon, and vanilla, set aside.
- In the cleaned mixing bowl of the stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, beat butter until smooth and lump free, about 1 minutes. Scrape sides and bottom of the bowl down.
- Add oil, remaining 1 ¼ cups granulated sugar, and light brown sugar, beating until smooth and blended.
- Scrape bowl as needed. Add egg yolks, one at a time, beating well between each addition.
- With the mixer’s speed on low, add dry ingredients in three batches alternating with the wet ingredients in two additions, beginning and ending with the dry ingredients. Fold the egg whites in three additions.
- Divide batter between the prepared pans and bake for 25 minutes, rotating halfway. A toothpick inserted should come out clean.
- Do not over bake these cakes and immediately invert onto wire racks to cool completely.
- With a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, beat the butter and cream cheese on a medium speed until smooth and lump free. Continually scrape down the bottom and sides of the bowl to ensure everything is well mixed. Mix in salt and vanilla.
- On the lowest speed, gradually add powdered sugar. If it gets too dry, add heavy cream a tablespoon at a time.
- If the cakes have domes, use a serrate knife to level off the tops. Apply a bit of frosting to the cake board, secure first layer on, followed by a layer of frosting. Liberally sprinkle candied bacon and press bacon into the frosting. Repeat this with the following layers. Frost the cake with a crumb coating. Chill for 15 minutes. Apply a thicker frosting layer and use a comb to brush through the frosting. Top with crushed pecans and Bourbon Balls.