Like Kentucky Butter Cake? Try Coffee Butter Cake
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This tender butter cake is infused with home-brewed coffee and then soaked in a coffee butter sauce to take it over the top. The result is a homegrown spin on a Kentucky butter cake recipe.
Today I’m sharing with you one of my favorite , which was inspired by Kentucky butter cake. Kentucky butter cake is essentially an old-fashioned pound cake recipe soaked in a scrumptious butter sauce. Sometimes the Kentucky butter cake’s batter and butter glaze are infused with rum or . But either way, every slice is tender, moist, sweet, and absolutely scrumptious.
But today, we’re taking this Kentucky butter cake recipe and transforming it into a coffee butter cake recipe. Our butter cake is infused with coffee, cocoa powder, and the liquid coffee creamer of your choice. Then we pour our coffee butter glaze on top, which is a simple sweet combination of sugar, butter, vanilla extract, and coffee. Every slice is SO flavorful, dense, and rich and is best served with a hot cup of coffee.
Recipe Ingredients
Butter Cake
- Butter golden cake mix
- Eggs
- Instant vanilla pudding
- The coffee flavor of your choice
- Cocoa powder
- Melted butter
- One of the following: half and half, liquid coffee creamer, or heavy cream.
Note: You can customize this a bit by using a flavored creamer of your choice in place of the regular creamer if you like. Pumpkin spice would be a great flavor for the fall.
Coffee Butter Sauce
- Red Diamond coffee
How to Make Coffee Butter Cake
Place all cake ingredients into a bowl.
Beat with an electric mixer until smooth and fully combined, about two minutes.
Generously spray a good quality bundt cake pan with cooking spray and add the cake batter. Use a spatula to spread so it evenly distributes around the .
Bake this at 350 for 40-45 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
Remove the cake from the oven and allow it to cool for about 10 minutes while you mix up the coffee butter sauce.
Yes indeed, – I just said coffee butter sauce! YUM.
How to Make the Coffee Butter Sauce
While the cake is cooling, place all of the coffee butter sauce ingredients into a medium bowl or saucepot.
If using a mixing bowl: microwave at 30-second intervals, stirring after each, until butter is melted and sugar is completely dissolved.
If using a saucepot: cook over medium-low heat, stirring constantly, until butter is melted and sugar is completely dissolved.
Poke holes in the top of the warm cake with the tines of a fork or a wooden skewer.
I use a fork because it keeps it looking pretty.
Pour the coffee butter glaze over the cake and let the cake sit in the bundt cake pan until it is absorbed and the cake has completely cooled. Your cake will happily drink that up!
Once it is completely cool, turn the cake out onto a cake plate or platter.
Garnish each slice of cake with whipped cream and a sprinkling of cocoa powder or chocolate shavings if you like. Delicious with a cup of coffee!
Oh my! Move over Kentucky butter cake, this coffee butter cake is just waiting to be served!
Storage
- Store cake leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 days. The cake even tastes better after a couple of days as the sauce soaks into every layer.
- You can also store leftovers in the freezer for up to 3 months. Thaw overnight in the fridge before serving.
Recipe Notes
- Another serving suggestion is fresh berries and homemade whipped cream, a scoop of , or a simple dusting of powdered sugar.
- For something different, make your coffee-infused and then substitute the for a .
- If you’d prefer to make your from scratch, check out this . You’ll need eggs, , , all-purpose (can substitute for ), whipping cream, and .
Recipe FAQs
What kind of coffee do you use?
Coffee truly is a perfect complement to baking and that is true for this spin on Kentucky butter cake. Red Diamond coffee blend is what I used in this recipe. The flavor is rich and smooth, not acidic as some coffee can be.
I was really excited when they contacted Southern Plate and asked if they could sponsor a few posts. It’s always fun to get to work with brands you already know great cooks love and use in their daily life. This is the perfect addition to a butter cake recipe.
To see the complete selection of coffee that Red Diamond offers, click here.
More coffee-related recipes here:
Ingredients
- 1 box Duncan Hines butter cake mix
- 1/2 cup salted butter, melted
- 1/2 cup coffee I use Red Diamond
- 1/2 cup liquid coffee creamer, half and half, or heavy cream
- 4 eggs
- 1 box instant vanilla pudding mix 3.4 ounces
- 1 tbsp cocoa powder heaping
Coffee Butter Sauce
- 3/4 cup sugar
- 1/2 cup salted butter
- 1/4 cup Red Diamond coffee
- 1-2 tsp vanilla extract
Instructions
- Place all of the cake ingredients into a large bowl and beat with an electric mixer until fully incorporated and no lumps remain, scraping down sides if needed. This will take about two minutes.1 box Duncan Hines butter cake mix, 1/2 cup salted butter, melted, 1/2 cup coffee, 1/2 cup liquid coffee creamer, half and half, or heavy cream, 4 eggs, 1 box instant vanilla pudding mix, 1 tbsp cocoa powder
- Liberally spray a good quality bundt cake pan with cooking spray. Pour the cake batter into the bundt pan and spread to evenly disperse. Bake at 350 for 40-45 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Remove from the oven and allow to cool in pan for 10 minutes.
How to Make the Coffee Butter Sauce
- While the cake is cooling, place all of the coffee butter sauce ingredients into a medium bowl or saucepot.3/4 cup sugar, 1/2 cup salted butter, 1/4 cup Red Diamond coffee, 1-2 tsp vanilla extract
- If using a mixing bowl, microwave at 30-second intervals, stirring after each, until butter is melted and sugar is completely dissolved.
- If using a saucepot, cook over medium-low heat, stirring constantly, until the butter is melted and the sugar is completely dissolved.
- Use a wooden skewer or fork to poke holes all in the top of the cake while it is still in the bundt cake pan. Pour the hot sauce all over the cake and allow it to cool completely before turning the cake out onto a serving platter.
- Garnish each piece of cake with whipped cream and a sprinkling of cocoa powder or chocolate shavings if you like. Delicious with a cup of coffee!
Nutrition
I have measured out my life with coffee spoons.
~T. S. Elliot
Good Morning Christie,
You said we could use your Aunt Sue’s Easy Pound Cake recipe instead of a box mix, but what if any adjustments do I need to make to that recipe since the Coffee Butter Cake also has coffee, cocoa and pudding in it? TIA!
Hi Christie,
I love you recipes and stories! I am a Deep South woman! My mother, grandmother, greatgrandmother all from north Alabama and mother in law also from south Alabama. I am all things Christian, ladylike, family and southern.
I made your Coffee Butter Cake this week to send to the office for my sons birthday. It was a sensation, but I have a question. My coffee butter sauce was watery and brown. I made it twice with the same result. It looked nothing like your photos and video! I went with it anyway. However, everyone raved over the cake and asked for the recipe. I also made a powder sugar and milk glaze and drizzled the top. I have been asked to make another one and will probably make it the same again. I would just really like to know what made my sauce thin and dark? It tasted great but just too thin. I love this cake! I can work with it. Thank you.
This cake is so good! Even though it stuck to my bundt pan (I sprayed the heck out of it) and was a mess my husband has said multiple times this is so good and kept sneaking pieces. My mother in law loved it too.
I will make this again for sure. Could I use a 13×9 or a different pan next time? Thanks for the wonderful recipe. 🙂
I’m so sorry it stuck! You sure can make it in a 9×13. Hopefully that will work better. I’m so glad they liked it!
Hi. Had a terrible time getting the cake out of the pan. I sprayed the pan generously before putting the batter in to bake. I cooled the cake completely before removing from the pan. It was so moist it came out in pieces
This cake is so good! Even though it stuck to my bundt pan (I sprayed the heck out of it) and was a mess my husband has said multiple times this is so good and kept sneaking pieces. My mother in law loved it too.
I will make this again for sure. Could I use a 13×9 or a different pan next time? Thanks for the wonderful recipe. 🙂
If it has chocolate, I’m all in! This cake is soooooooooo delicious and not overwhelmingly sweet ~ the reason it is so delicious. It is such a simple cake to make and my house smells like a bakery. I have now made it twice and shared the recipe many times, upon request. I used brewed decaf coffee and it was delish. I will, however, admit I added a tablespoon of chocolate to my soaking sauce since we are choc-a-holics! Stepped it us to another level.