This recipe takes your favorite Kentucky butter cake to another level! This amazingly moist cake is drizzled with a butter sauce and then topped with strawberries and cream for a show stopping treat!
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Kentucky Butter Cake with Strawberries and Cream
There is never a bad time for cake…never! If you haven’t had a Kentucky cake before I implore you to give this a go! It’s a perfect occasion cake, or simply enjoy it with a mid afternoon cup of coffee.
How To Make A Kentucky Butter Cake
Be sure to scroll down to get the full recipe!
Prep: Grease and flour a 10 inch tube pan and pre heat the oven.
Combine: Cream the butter and sugar and mix in the eggs in one bowl. In another bowl mix the dry ingredients. Combine the two bowls while adding buttermilk. Pour the batter into the pan.
Bake: Bake until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Let the cake cool.
Finish: Remove the cake from the pan. Poke holes in it and pour over the butter sauce. Top with the strawberries and cream.
How to make the butter sauce
Heat the sugar, salt, butter and water and whisk til combined. Remove from the heat and mix in the almond and vanilla extract.
How to make the strawberries and cream
Whisk together all of the ingredients, except for the strawberries until stiff peaks form. Fold in the strawberries.
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What Is A Kentucky Butter Cake?
A butter cake is similar to a pound cake, it has a rich and buttery taste and has fine crumbs with a moist and tender texture. It is much lighter than a pound cake though and the butter sauce that is poured over the cake creates a wonderful sugary crust.
Can you make it ahead of time?
It’s actually highly encouraged to make this butter cake at least a day, if not two ahead of time. This really allows the flavors to develop and the cake becomes more moist as it sits.
Let the cake cool and pour over the butter sauce, then store it at room temperature and keep it covered. Do not add the strawberries and cream topping until you are ready to serve it.
Can you freeze it?
Yes! This cake will keep well frozen for up to 3 months. Glaze the cake and let it cool completely before wrapping in plastic wrap and foil. Place in a freezer bag and freeze.
Allow the cake to thaw in the fridge overnight and let it come to room temperature before adding the strawberries and cream and serving.
Recipe Notes and Tips
- Use room temperature ingredients when you make the cake batter. It is harder to over mix them and results in a softer and fluffier cake.
- Thoroughly cream the butter and sugar until fluffy. This will help to trap air and will make your Kentucky butter cake less dense.
- Don’t over mix. When adding the eggs, just beat them until the yellow has disappeared. If you over mix them it can cause the batter to be too runny.
- Don’t keep checking your cake in the oven. Wait until 55 minutes to check for doneness otherwise your cake could collapse.
More Cake Recipes
- Old Fashioned Oatmeal Cake
- Italian Cream Cake
- White Layer Cake with Strawberry Filling
- Iced Lemon Loaf Cake
- Hummingbird Cake
- Gooey Texas Sheet Cake
Kentucky Butter Cake with Strawberries & Cream
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Ingredients
For the Cake
- 1 cup unsalted butter 226 grams, room temperature (2 sticks)
- 2 cups granulated sugar 400 grams
- 4 large eggs 200 grams, room temperature
- 1½ teaspoons pure vanilla extract 6 grams
- ½ teaspoon almond extract 2 grams
- 3 cups all-purpose flour 360 grams
- 1 teaspoon baking powder 4 grams
- ½ teaspoon baking soda 3 grams
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt 3 grams
- 1 cup buttermilk 227 grams
For the Butter Sauce
- 1 cup granulated sugar 200 grams
- ¼ teaspoon kosher salt
- ½ cup unsalted butter 113 grams, cubed (1 stick)
- ¼ cup water 57 grams
- ½ teaspoon almond extract 2 grams
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract 8 grams
For the Strawberries & Cream
- 1 pint heavy cream 454 grams
- 2 tablespoons powdered sugar 14 grams
- ½ teaspoon pure vanilla extract 2 grams (or Frangelico liqueur)
- 1 pint fresh strawberries 454 grams, washed, dried, hulled, and chopped
Recommended Equipment
- Kitchen Scale (optional)
Instructions
- Grease and flour (or spray with nonstick baking spray) a 10-inch tube pan. Adjust oven rack to the middle position and preheat oven to 350°F.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream the butter and sugar together on high speed until pale yellow and light and fluffy, about 3-4 minutes. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Add the vanilla and almond extracts and beat until incorporated.1 cup unsalted butter, 2 cups granulated sugar, 4 large eggs, 1½ teaspoons pure vanilla extract, ½ teaspoon almond extract
- In a separate large bowl, whisk the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt together. Add the flour mixture and the buttermilk alternately to the creamed mixture, beginning and ending with the flour mixture. Beat well after each addition.3 cups all-purpose flour, 1 teaspoon baking powder, ½ teaspoon baking soda, 1 teaspoon kosher salt, 1 cup buttermilk
- Bake at 350°F for 55-75 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Transfer the cake to a cooling rack set over waxed paper or parchment paper and allow it to cool for 15 minutes in the pan.
- Run a knife around the inside edge and around the edge in the center of the tube. Carefully remove the cake from the pan and set it upright onto the wire rack to cool further.
- While the cake cools, make the butter sauce: In a small saucepan set over medium heat, combine the sugar, salt, butter, and water. Whisk until butter is melted and the sugar and salt are dissolved. Remove from the heat and whisk in almond and vanilla extracts.1 cup granulated sugar, ¼ teaspoon kosher salt, ½ cup unsalted butter, ¼ cup water, ½ teaspoon almond extract, 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- Make the strawberries and cream: Add the heavy cream, powdered sugar, and flavoring to a stand mixer bowl. Whisk until stiff peaks form and transfer to a medium bowl. Fold in the chopped strawberries and keep refrigerated until ready to serve.1 pint heavy cream, 2 tablespoons powdered sugar, ½ teaspoon pure vanilla extract, 1 pint fresh strawberries
- Poke holes in the warm cake and evenly spoon ¼ cup Butter Sauce over cake, let stand 5 minutes. Repeat the procedure twice more and brush any remaining sauce over the sides of the cake. Cool completely and serve with a large spoonful of Strawberries & Cream.
Last step! Don’t forget to show me a pic of what you made! Upload an image or tag me @thecookierookie on Instagram!
Becky’s tips
- Use room temperature ingredients when you make the cake batter. It is harder to over mix them and results in a softer and fluffier cake.
- Thoroughly cream the butter and sugar until fluffy. This will help to trap air and will make your cake less dense.
- Don’t over mix. When adding the eggs, just beat them until the yellow has disappeared. If you over mix them it can cause the batter to be too runny.
- Don’t keep checking your cake in the oven. Wait until 55 minutes to check for doneness otherwise your cake could collapse.
Nutrition Information
I USE MY 9X13 PAN. EASIER TO ADD SAUCE AND SHARE, TIRED OF CAKE STICKING AT TIMES.. WORKED GREAT FOR RUM CAKE AND WILL TRY THIS YUM RECIPE.
Thanks for sharing, Mary!
Can I mix with strawberry cake and make a swirl cake?
Modify to your liking!
With a few tweaks to make it more my own, this recipe in general is awesome. I added the Frangelico liqeuer to the batter as well & less of it to the cream “icing”. I also chopped strawberries, used vanilla zucker, & Whipit in the whipped cream. I usually always do some minor changes to baking recipes & they always come out fantastic! I have to say this is my 3rd favorite cake just behind Black Forest Cherry cake & bienenstich kucken. I have been baking a ton more over the last several years than ever over my life time & am enjoying it. This cake was made for my youngest daughter’s 7th birthday & it was a major hit!
That’s great! Thanks for sharing, Gen!
Instead of water in the butter sauce, could you use bourbon?
I bet that would taste really yummy!! Let me know how it turns out!
I have never even heard of Kentucky butter cake but now I am craving it something fierce! It looks amazing, especially with strawberries and cream on top. Thanks for the cake inspiration!
Thanks, Monica!! I hope you enjoy it!
Can’t wait to try this. Question: why do all you recipes print a basically blank 1st page and then print recipe on p.2 & p.3? Very annoying and a waste of paper.