Chocolate Bourbon Cake

I made this for my co-worker's birthday. He's a big bourbon lover. To give you an idea of how good this cake is let me tell you the conversation my co-worker relayed to me that he had between him and his wife (he took the left-overs home): His wife: "You know I have a chocolate bourbon cake recipe." My co-worker: "You do?" His wife: "Yeah, but it only calls for 2 tbsp of bourbon. Do you know how much was in her recipe?" My co-worker: "She said a cup." His wife: "Well, no wonder hers is so much better!!" Now, I have to say that this isn't "my" recipe. I found it online from Simply Recipes. However, the blogger from that site said the recipe is from New York Times. So, there you have it. The cake was really good. And, I highly recommend it to all you bourbon lovers out there.

Ingredients:
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened, more for greasing pan
2 cups all-purpose flour, more for dusting pan
5 ounces high quality, unsweetened dark chocolate
1/4 cup instant espresso (can use instant coffee)
2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
1 cup bourbon whiskey (can use 1/2 cup), more for sprinkling
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
2 cups granulated sugar
3 large eggs
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 cup confectioners’ sugar (powdered sugar), for sprinklingFirst set your oven to 325 degrees. Take out your bundt cake pan; and spray it generously with cooking oil. Throw some flour in there and coat the pan. Now, take your instant espresso and cocoa put it in a 2 cup measuring glass. Then, add boiling water to the measuring cup until it reaches 1 cup. Stir until the powder dissolves. Stir in the whiskey and salt. Set aside to cool.

Now, take your standing mixer's bowl and add in the butter and stir for a couple minutes until it's light and fluffy. Add in the sugar and beat until well combined. Add in the eggs one at a time...stirring well after each addition. Next, beat in the vanilla, baking soda, and melted chocolate. Now, set your mixer's speed to low. Gently, pour in some of the whiskey mixture. Beat well. Then add in some of the flour. Keep alternating the whiskey mixture with the flour mixture until you end with the whiskey. Pour into your prepared bundt pan. Bake in the oven for about an hour or until a toothpick comes out clean when inserted into the cake. Once that happens, remove the cake from the oven and let cool for about an hour to so. Once cool, invert the bundt pan using a plate and it should come out easily. Sprinkle with some bourbon and/or powdered sugar. Enjoy!!

(click here for printable recipe)