Sunday, June 18, 2023

King Arthur Baking: Farmhouse Buttermilk Cake


What do you do with a big bottle of buttermilk that is rapidly moving towards expiration?  You google for recipes with desperation, that's what.  Luckily King Arthur saved my butt and had this gem of a cake posted.  It seems super simple, but it was so darn delicious, I may have even eaten it for breakfast.  If you've got some buttermilk to use up, you could do much worse.

Note: I used buttermilk in the topping also.

Farmhouse Buttermilk Cake
From King Arthur Baking

Cake
8 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature
2 cups packed light brown sugar
2 large eggs, at room temperature
2 cups buttermilk, at room temperature
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon kosher salt
3 cups all-purpose flour

Topping
6 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
1 cup packed light brown sugar
¼ cup whole milk
⅛ teaspoon kosher salt
⅔ to 1 cup pecans, diced

Preheat the oven to 350°F. Lightly grease a 9x13-inch cake pan.

Beat the butter and brown sugar together till smooth.  Add the eggs, beating till smooth.  Stir in the buttermilk and vanilla extract.  Add the baking soda, salt, and flour to the wet ingredients, beating until thoroughly combined.  Pour the batter into the prepared pan.

Bake the cake for 30 to 35 minutes, until the top feels set. The cake will be golden brown and just beginning to pull away from the edges of the pan. Towards the end of the baking time, prepare the topping.

Stir the butter and the sugar together. Add the milk, salt, and pecans. The glaze will be thick but pourable.

Top the baked cake with the topping and gently spread it in an even layer across the entire surface. Return to the oven for another 10 minutes.

Remove the cake from the oven. The topping will look very runny. You can eat the cake hot, with the glaze still gooey; or let the cake sit at room temperature for a few hours, by which time the glaze will have set.

No comments: