Espresso Kahlua Bundt Cake

Espresso Kahlua Bundt Cake is a stunning cake with a swirled glaze that can be enjoyed for breakfast, tea time or after a luxurious dinner. Bake it in a heart pan and you have a Valentine’s Day dessert also!

I apologize for the silence–a nasty respiratory virus is making its way through my family, and I have been seriously under the weather. My poor husband–it never fails. We are always sick on his birthday.

Anyhoo, I have an awesome discovery to share: I am head over heels for Bake from Scratch, a fantastic magazine I have fallen in love with the last few months. I think it publishes six times a year, including a holiday issue, and its homey yet creative baking is right up my alley. The recipe I adapted from for this cake is not online, but for an example of another cake I have bookmarked, check out this scrumptious Meyer Lemon-Olive Oil Coffee Cake. Swoon!

For this Espresso Kahlua Bundt Cake, unsurprisingly I was instantly attracted to the swirled glaze. How gorgeous is that? I reduced the espresso in the cake just a tad because John really does not care for a strong coffee flavor (I know, crazy, right?) and upped the vanilla. It was originally a loaf cake recipe, so I doubled it and baked it in a heart bundt pan for Valentine’s Day. I also chose this heart pan because the flat top allowed the swirl in the glaze to really shine. Like many such recipes, after being doubled I had extra cake batter and so made some mini bundts as well.

We all enjoyed this cake. Sammy, Alex and I especially loved it for breakfast, which probably was not the intent of the original creator but oh well. Something about that strong coffee flavor is much more likely to call out to me in the morning or afternoon than after dinner for dessert. Although the swirl is stunning enough you kind of want to serve it after a nice dinner. What do you think?

4 from 1 vote

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Espresso Kahlua Bundt Cake

Closely adapted from Bake from Scratch. I toned down the espresso by 1 tablespoon in this recipe because my husband is not the biggest coffee fan. But if you love it, add some more.

Course: Dessert

Cuisine: bundt, Cakes

Ingredients

For the cake:

• 2 cups (4 sticks, 454 g) unsalted butter, melted
• 2 cups (400 g) sugar
• 2 T vanilla bean paste
• 1 cup whole milk (or use 2 T heavy cream plus 14 T low fat milk)
• 1 cup Kahlua
• 3 T instant espresso
• 6 cups (750 g) AP flour
• 4 t baking powder
• 1/2 t fine sea salt
• 6 eggs

For the Swirled Glaze:

• 2 1/2 cups (300 g) confectioners' sugar, divided
• 2 T Kahlua
• 2 t instant espresso
• 4 T heavy cream

Instructions

First make the cake:

1. Preheat the oven to 325 F. Thoroughly spray a 10-12 cup bundt pan with baking spray. If you use a smaller (10 cup) bundt pan, have a mini loaf or mini bundt pans ready for excess batter. 

2. Whisk together the melted butter, sugar and vanilla bean paste in a large bowl.

3. Whisk in the milk and Kahlua. Then whisk in the instant espresso until it is dissolved.

4. In a separate smaller bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder and salt. 

5. Lightly beat the eggs and add them to the butter mixture. Whisk.

6. Add half the flour and whisk it in. Then add the remaining flour and switch to a silicone spatula. Mix until thoroughly incorporated.

7. Pour the batter into the prepared bundt pan. If there is extra batter, prepare the mini pans and the batter to them.

8. Bake until a cake tester inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean. For mini cakes, it will probably be around 20-30 minutes--just follow your common sense. For the larger bundt cake, plan on 60-75 minutes, depending on the size of the bundt. When the cake is ready it will also begin pulling away from the sides of the pan.

9. Let cool in pan for 10 minutes before inverting onto a cooling rack to finish cooling.

When the cake is completely cool, make the glaze:

1. Divide the confectioners' sugar in half between 2 small bowls. 

2. In one bowl, add the Kahlua and instant espresso. Whisk until smooth.

3. In the other bowl, repeat with the heavy cream.

4. Pour glazes over the cooled cake. Either swirl them as you pour, or if you have a flat top, use a tooth pick or chopstick to swirl together.

5. Let set before slicing.

Looking for a collage to pin?