Here’s an adult version of everyone’s favorite birthday cake. This recipe makes a chocolatey bourbon-laced cake that’s filled with bourbon-spiked ice cream and topped with still more bourbon-infused frosting. You can experiment with any imaginable combination of cake, alcohol, ice cream, and frosting.
Ingredients: Spiked Ice Cream
- 4 cups (2 pints) cherry vanilla ice cream, partially melted
- 1⁄4 to 1⁄2 cup bourbon
- A few drops food coloring, if desired
Ingredients: Bourbon Devil’s Food Cake
- 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter
- 1 1⁄4 cups sugar
- 2 eggs
- 1/2 cup + 1 tablespoon unsweetened cocoa powder
- 1 1⁄2 cups cake flour
- 1⁄4 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1⁄2 teaspoon salt
- 1⁄2 cup milk
- 1⁄4 cup espresso or strong coffee
- 1⁄4 cup bourbon
Ingredients: Creamy Vanilla Bourbon Frosting
- 1 1⁄2 cups heavy cream
- 2 tablespoons sugar
- 1⁄2 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 tablespoons bourbon
Prepare:
1. Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease a 9- or 10-inch tube pan.
2. For the spiked ice cream: Stir together the ice cream, bourbon, and food coloring; freeze overnight.
Make:
3. Thaw spiked ice cream for 20 minutes or microwave on low in 60 second intervals until soft.
4. For the cake: In a mixing bowl, cream the butter and sugar 3 to 5 minutes, or until light and fluffy. Beat in the eggs.
5. Combine the cocoa, flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt, and set aside. Combine the milk, espresso, and bourbon. Beat the flour and bourbon mixtures into the butter mixture in three alternating additions. Pour the batter into the cake pans. Bake for 35 minutes, or until a knife inserted in the center comes out clean. Let cool completely.
6. For the frosting: In a mixing bowl, beat the cream and sugar until light and fluffy. Stir in the vanilla and bourbon.
Finish:
7. Slice off the top fourth of the cake horizontally, and set aside. Place the remaining cake on a freezer-safe plate. With a thin serrated knife, gently score around the inner edge, about 3⁄4-inch from the edge and no deeper than 1-inch from the bottom of the cake. Repeat with outer edge. With a serrated spoon, very carefully scoop out the cake between the scores to create a tunnel. Freeze 1 hour. (Go for it! Eat the scooped-out cake while you’re waiting.)
8. Remove the cake from the freezer. Fill the center tunnel with softened bourbon-spiked ice cream. Put the top layer back on, wrap tightly in plastic wrap, and freeze for at least 4 hours. Frost, and then freeze for 30 minutes before serving.
