Bourbon Pecan Pound Cake

Thu, 9 April 2026

This moist cake is made with cream cheese and coconut –

gorgeous texture and flavour, and not too sweet.

Ingredients

100 g chopped pecans

345 g soft butter

225 g cream cheese, room temp

600 g white sugar

6 large eggs

425 g self-raising flour

3 g salt (½ teaspoon)

60 mls bourbon

45 g desiccated coconut

10 mls vanilla extract

Method

Preheat oven to 150 degrees C. On a small baking sheet, bake chopped pecans in a single layer for 5 to 7 minutes until lightly toasted and fragrant. Set aside to cool.

In a large bowl, beat butter and cream cheese at medium speed until fluffy. An electric hand mixer (or stand-up mixer) works best for this. Gradually add sugar. Beat until light. Add eggs one at a time and blend until creamy.

In a small bowl, combine flour and salt. Add alternately with bourbon, beginning and ending with flour mixture. Beat just until blended – batter will be thick. Stir in coconut, vanilla, and pecans. Pour into greased and floured tube pan. Loaf pans can also be used.

Bake 150 degrees Celsius for 1 hour and 30 minutes. If you choose to make two or three smaller cakes instead, decrease the baking time to one hour. Cake will be golden brown on top, and will begin to crack. Cool in pan 10 to 15 minutes. Serve with freshly-whipped cream or custard. Can also optionally be served with salted caramel sauce.

Salted Caramel Sauce

Ingredients

I30 g butter

200 g light muscovado sugar

30 mls heavy cream

¼ teaspoon salt (less than one g)

Dash of vanilla

Dash of bourbon, optional

Method

In a small saucepan over medium-high heat, whisk together butter, brown sugar, heavy whipping cream, and salt.

Bring to a boil (should take at least a minute), then reduce heat. Simmer for 5 minutes, whisking frequently. It needs to simmer for the full five minutes.

After you have turned off the heat, stir in vanilla and bourbon, then remove from heat.

Pour caramel into a heatproof jar. Allow it to cool a few minutes before using.