Brown-Sugar Cake With Bourbon and Berries Recipe (With Video)

Prep Time:

20 mins

Total Time:

2 hrs 40 mins

Servings:

8 to 10

Our easy brown sugar cake is a single-layer snacking cake that’s finished with raspberries and blueberries and a sprinkling of coarse sugar—no frosting needed. It bakes up like a big, delicious, and crunchy muffin top. It's a fun dessert for a summer potluck or party, as it travels well. Be sure to serve it with plenty of whipped cream or a scoop of vanilla ice cream. And do try our tasty variations; this simple cake also works wonderfully with other fruits from apricots to peaches to plums to cherries—and other alcohol in place of the bourbon.

bourbon and brown-sugar cake with berries — Credit: Kate Mathis

Directions

Preheat oven, prep pan, and whisk dry ingredients:

Preheat oven to 350°F. Butter a 9-by-2-inch round cake pan. Line with parchment; butter parchment. Whisk together flour, baking powder, and salt.
Beat butter and sugars, add eggs, then bourbon:

Beat butter with granulated and brown sugars on medium-high speed until light and creamy. Add eggs, one at a time, beating to combine after each addition. Beat in bourbon.

Don't rush creaming the sugar and butter, mix until they are truly light and fluffy.
Add dry ingredients and milk, alternating:

Add flour mixture in three batches, alternating with milk and beginning and ending with flour; beat until combined.

Mix just until combined when adding the flour; don't overmix.
Transfer to pan, add berries and sugar, and bake:

Transfer batter to prepared pan. Sprinkle top with berries, pressing some down into batter. Sprinkle generously with sanding sugar. Bake until edges begin to pull away from pan and top springs back when lightly touched, 50 minutes to 1 hour.
Cool:

Let cool in pan 20 minutes. Turn out onto a wire rack carefully (cake is quite fragile when warm); remove parchment. Turn cake top-side up; let cool completely, about 1 hour.

Variations

Apricot: Replace bourbon with kirsch. In place of berries, use 12 ounces apricots (4 large or 6 small), sliced 1/2 inch thick (2 cups); toss with 2 tablespoons granulated sugar.

Peach or Nectarine: Replace bourbon with dark rum. In place of berries, use 12 ounces peaches or nectarines (about 3), sliced 1/2 inch thick (2 cups).

Plum: Replace bourbon with 1 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract. In place of berries, use 12 ounces Italian prune plums (3 to 4), sliced 1/2 inch thick (1 1/2 cups); toss with 1 tablespoon granulated sugar.

Cherry: In place of berries, use 1 pound sour cherries, pitted (2 cups); toss with 2 tablespoons granulated sugar.