Bourbon Biscuit Cake Recipes

BOURBON BISCUITS

Steps:

• Beat the butter and sugar together until creamy, then mix in the rest of the ingredients. Add a splash of milk if the mixture looks a bit dry - it should come together as a dough.
• Line three baking sheets, dust lightly with flour, then roll and pat one-third of the dough out to the thickness of a £1 coin on each. Cover and freeze for 15 mins.
• Heat oven to 180C/160C fan/gas 4. Slide the dough off the trays and put a new piece of parchment on each. Trim the edges of the dough to straighten, then cut into rectangles, roughly 6 x 3cm. Lift each one carefully onto the tray, leaving some space between them as they'll expand. Bourbons usually have a pricked pattern, so use a cocktail stick to do this if you want (not too many or they'll break up). Put the dough back in the freezer if it gets too soft.
• Bake for 8-10 mins, then leave to cool on the sheet as the biscuits will be soft when they're hot. Sprinkle over some sugar. Will keep for a week in an airtight container.
• Meanwhile, make the filling. Beat the butter and icing sugar together, then divide the mixture into three. Add the cocoa to one lot, a dot of pink colour to another, and leave the last one plain (add a little more icing sugar if you need to). Spoon each into a piping bag or a sandwich bag with the corner snipped off.
• When the biscuits have cooled completely, pipe the icings onto half of them, then sandwich together with the other halves. Leave to set.

KENTUCKY BOURBON CAKE

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 275 degrees F (135 degrees C). Grease a 10 inch tube pan and line bottom with parchment paper.
• Soak raisins and cherries in 2 cups of bourbon or whiskey for 48 hours. Before making cake, drain well and reserve the bourbon.
• In a separate bowl, mix flour, nutmeg and baking powder. Set aside.
• In a small bowl, cream butter with the white sugar. In a separate small bowl, cream yolks and brown sugar until very light.
• In a very large bowl, combine the two sugar mixtures and blend well.
• Alternately add flour mixture and reserved bourbon in three stages, mixing well with each addition.
• Add soaked fruit and fold in. Add nuts and fold in.
• In a clean medium bowl, whip egg whites until stiff but not dry. Fold into batter until evenly distributed.
• Pour into prepared 10 inch tube pan. Place a pan of water in the bottom of the oven and bake for 4 to 5 hours at 275 degrees F (135 degrees C). Ovens vary, so watch the baking time. Test cake with wooden pick. (May take longer than 5 hours).
• Remove from oven and allow to cool for 15 minutes before turning out. When almost cool, brush sides and inside hole heavily with bourbon. Wrap cake with bourbon soaked cheesecloth, then with plastic wrap. Refrigerate overnight and saturate again with bourbon. Cover with plastic wrap and then with foil and store for at least 2 weeks in a cool dry place.