If you're into cakes and cocktails, this bundt recipe is spot-on: a tribute to the wonderful old-fashioned drink, it's dense and moist with a wonderful orange flavor and a has bourbon caramel sauce that you will want to eat with a spoon! Serve it in a bowl and call it dessert.
I started out to make a caramel bundt cake
Now, I find caramel to be one of the best discoveries ever. EVER.
But at the same time, I wanted to share something different, try to enhance the caramel while not making it too sweet.
This orange caramel bourbon bundt cake turned out much better than I expected.
It's the bourbon with the caramel, an inspiring idea from a drink called old fashioned, which involves whiskey, sugar, bitters, and orange. Prepare me one and I'll sit right next to you and spill all my secrets.
Oh, I love the stuff. It has a slight caramel undertone, a mellow sweet and sour flavor, and all the tough exterior of what appears to be a manly glass of bourbon blurred by the addition of sugar.
I started with one of my favorite recipes ever, the Orange Chocolate Marbled Bundt Cake, a cake that works for all the right reasons and is absolutely delicious.
Bourbon in cakes
Sometimes I think that I can pretty much add bourbon to every cake. Probably my favorite cake ever is the Bourbon Hot Chocolate Bundt Cake, and I'm known for adding a bourbon chocolate glaze to the Buttermilk Banana Cake. So yes, I can say I'm a fan.
What bourbon does is add a subtle caramel undertone with a kick. Together with some vanilla extract, which I pretty much use in every recipe, it created a much deeper and very unique flavor.
So yes, I can say I'm a huge fan. When used sparingly, it can have the same effect as an extract or citrus zest. Too much and you get what we here call a tipsy cake. Not a bad idea at all, but we're focusing on caramel today.
Main ingredients
- Rye flour: it gives the cake an earthier tone and a more rustic texture. Use semi-fine or fine flour for smoother results.
- Bourbon: I like to use the best whiskey or bourbon I can afford, even for baking, so I use Jack Daniel's regular or honey.
- Milk: you can also use orange juice if you want.
This cake is like a deconstructed old-fashioned that focuses more on the golden caramel than the booze, with an orange cake as a base, a hint of bourbon both inside and out, and a caramel sauce made with orange juice instead of water.
A sensational mix of flavors, very balanced, with the pooling sauce around the warm piece of cake if you choose to serve it on a deep plate or bowl. Almost a dessert.
Preparing the bundt pan
If you love making bundt cakes, you probably know the pain of not being able to remove it from the pan in one piece. It has happened to me many times!
There are several ways of dealing with this:
Shortening and flour: use soft shortening to grease the pan, every angle, every nook and cranny until it's completely covered. Using your fingers is messy but effective. You can also use a brush. Sprinkle flour and rotate the pan to cover it completely. You'll have to do it to one side and then the other. Make sure you flour the center tube. Turn the pan upside down over the kitchen sink and smack lightly it against the edge. The excess flour will fall, leaving a thin layer behind. Your pan is ready to be filled.
Cake goop or cake pan-release paste: it's one of my favorites, along with the shortening method above, because it's very effective. Mix equal parts (volume: cups or tablespoons) of shortening, flour and vegetable oil (sunflower or canola) to make a paste. Use it to coat the pan with a brush. Store it in an airtight container (I use a jar) for a month at room temperature or up to 3 months in the refrigerator.
Baking spray: use a spray labeled as having flour or specifically made for baking (as opposed to cooking). It has to have flour; otherwise, the cake will likely stick when removed. At least, that's my experience. I hardly use it anymore.
Recipe: whenever I find a great bundt cake recipe that can be easily removed from an intricate bundt pan, even though I didn’t follow step 1 above, I cling to it like life itself.
Serving
I highly suggest you eat it warm with the caramel sauce.
It's up to you if you want it even more decadent and add a dollop of whipped cream on top. Or a scoop of vanilla ice cream.
And go ahead, make extra sauce and use it over vanilla ice cream.
Related recipes you might like:
Let me know in the comments below if you made this recipe and loved it and if you had issues so we can troubleshoot together. I love to hear what you think, always. Thanks for being here. It's much appreciated.
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Orange Caramel Bourbon Cake
Ingredients
For the orange cake:
- 1 ½ cups unsalted butter, at room temperature
- 2 ½ cups sugar
- 5 large eggs, at room temperature
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 teaspoons orange zest
- 2 ½ cups cake or all-purpose flour
- ½ cup rye flour
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- ¾ cup milk
- 3 tablespoons bourbon
For the caramel bourbon sauce:
- ¾ cups sugar
- ¼ cup of corn syrup
- ½ cup of orange juice
- ⅓ cup heavy cream
- 2 tablespoons bourbon
Instructions
For the orange cake:
- Preheat oven to 350ºF (180ºC).
- Grease a large 10 to 12-cup bundt cake pan with soft shortening. Coat with flour, shaking off excess. Reserve.
- In a large bowl, beat 1 ½ cups butter until creamy and slowly add 2 ½ cups sugar, beating for 3 minutes.
- Add 5 eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition.
- Add 2 teaspoons orange zest and 1 teaspoon vanilla.
- Sift together the dry ingredients: 2 ½ cups cake or all-purpose flour, ½ cup fine rye flour and 1 teaspoon baking soda in a bowl. Or have them measured and sift them directly over the butter mixture when adding it.
- Add the dry ingredients in 3 additions, alternating with ¾ milk and 3 tablespoons bourbon in two additions. Mix well but don't overbeat. I like to use a spatula to scrape the bottom a few times to make sure no dry ingredients might've not been incorporated.
- Bake for 1 hour to 1 hour and 15 minutes or until a cake tester or toothpick inserted comes clean. Start checking at the hour mark as pans and ovens are different, and times might vary.
- Transfer to wire rack and let cool for about 20 minutes. Make sure no cake is sticking to the center tube or sides. I use a smooth-bladed knife to carefully scrape them.
- Invert the cake onto the wire rack.
- Drizzle some of the caramel sauce over the warm cake.
- Serve with extra sauce.
For the caramel bourbon sauce:
- In a saucepan stir ¾ cup sugar, ¼ cup corn syrup and ½ cup orange juice.
- Cook over medium heat and let boil for 10 minutes. It will bubble up a lot, so use a pan with high sides.
- Remove from heat and add ⅓ cup cream and 2 tablespoons bourbon.
- Store in the fridge.
Patty says
I have been reading all the reviews I could find on this Orange Caramel Bourbon Bundt cake. None of the reviews were comments on actually baking the cake. They were comment reviews based on the pictures and ingredients. Has anyone actually baked this cake? If anyone had baked it did anyone use white all purpose flour? IF so how did that work?
Paula Montenegro says
Hi Patty! I originally posted this recipe in 2013, so most comments are from that time when blogging had a different dynamic.
I can tell you that using all white flour works fine. I adapted this cake from a regular orange cake recipe. It won't have the rusticity and flavor that the rye gives it. But it will still be amazing with the caramel, orange, and bourbon.
MasterCakes says
What a gorgeous cake! I love that you used the flour. I’ve been wanting to try rye flour and will be using this recipe to for my first experience! MasterCakes
Laura@bakinginpyjamas says
Orange and Caramel sound like a lovely flavour combination. Great choice for this month's theme.
Denise Browning@From Brazil To You says
This cake is a killer! Vas a matarme, Paula!!!
mividaenundulce says
Paula this recipe will be in my must, as well as many other that comes from you.
It's a little bit difficult to found rye flour here, but I guess I can user regular flour. Wonderful recipe...!!!
Karen (Back Road Journal) says
Everything about this bundt cake sounds wonderful. It begs to have a second slice. 🙂
Carrie Vibert says
That caramel makes me want to lick the screen! Wow! What a fun class that must have been. I'd love to learn more about making cocktails. I think a lot of bartenders I know should, too, for every time I've ordered an Old Fashioned, it's never been made even remotely correctly. So sad!
Cate @ Chez CateyLou says
This looks so good! What a fun idea, to make a cake inspired by a classic cocktail!! Plus with caramel sauce, how could that be bad?!
Laura Dembowski says
Warm with caramel sauce? Oh yes! I agree that caramel is amazing. And bourbon makes everything better!
Karen @ Lemon Grove Cake Diaries says
Oh this looks so delicious! The flavour combination of orange, caramel and bourbon sound divine. I would love to try this recipe.
Cathleen says
Holy moly, this looks fantastic! I definitely need to buy a bundt pan 🙂
Mary Hirsch says
Paula, I came looking for Whole Cherry Clafoutis and end up with this fabulous BundtaMonth Post of yours that is packed with information and recipes and good eats. I remember Susan's bundt cake because I also pinned it but, like so many things I've pinned, have never made. Your adaption is creative and very cool, Paula. And, thank you, for putting in Links to all the recipe suggestions you make. I haven't checked your Blog lately which is definitely My Bad. I have finally gotten to Normal (well, as normal as my Life could ever be) so will be reading and commenting on all your Posts. So many good ideas and recipes. Thanks.
Kitchen Riffs says
You're so right that booze and baking mix really well. I like bourbon and also dark rum in recipes like this. Yours looks particularly nice - really good job! Oh, and I agree the Old Fashioned is a wonderful cocktail!
Beth says
This is definitely swoonworthy! I love the idea of orange and caramel flavors together, and the bourbon takes it right over the top.
Amy says
Oh my. I love the flavor in your Orange Caramel Bourbon Bundt Cake! Not to mention, this is a stunning cake as well. I would love a big slice for afternoon tea. SO good!
Bam's Kitchen says
My mouth is watering just thinking about having a spoonful of that delicious bundt cake. That sauce sounds delightful.