Amaretto Pound Cake

As often happens during the month of January, I’ve been going through my kitchen cabinets trying to assess what I have, what I really need, and what I really don’t. In excavating the liquor cabinet I discovered that I had two brand new bottles of amaretto. I’m not entirely sure how that happened, but I vowed to put it to use in a new and different way. For whatever reason I started thinking about my mother’s rum cake and it caused me to wonder how such a cake would be if I replaced the rum with amaretto. These days with the prices of everything so astronomically high, it’s not often that I experiment, but I couldn’t imagine any way in which this wouldn’t work. I was right! If you are an almond lover like I am, you will be over the moon. If not, you’re still going to love it. I allowed it to soak overnight (an absolute must!), and could hardly wait to extract it from the baking pan first thing in the morning. I ended up having a big slice with a cup of coffee. What a way to start the day! I took a hefty slab of it over to my number one son; he and his wife loved it as much as I did. Never have I had a pound cake with such intense flavor as this one.

Amaretto Pound Cake

 2 c. flour

1½ c. sugar

1 3.4-ounce box instant vanilla pudding mix

2 t. baking powder

1 t. salt

8 T. unsalted butter, softened

½ c. vegetable oil

½ c. whole milk, room temperature

4 large eggs, room temperature

½ c. Amaretto

2 t. almond extract

 Syrup 

8 T. unsalted butter

¼ c. water

1 c. sugar

¼ t. kosher salt

½ c. Amaretto

½ t. almond extract

 Preheat the oven to 325°F. Spray the heck out of a 10- to 12-cup Bundt pan with Baker’s Joy; set aside.

 Place the flour, sugar, pudding mix, baking powder, salt, butter, and vegetable oil in the work bowl of a stand mixer. Beat, at medium speed, until the mixture appears sandy. Beat in the milk, and then beat in eggs, one at a time. Scrape down, and stir in the amaretto and almond extract.

 Pour the batter into the prepared pan. Bake for 50 - 60 minutes until cake tests done. Remove the cake from the oven. Leave the cake in the pan to cool slightly while you make the syrup.

 To make the syrup:

 In a medium-sized saucepan combine the syrup ingredients, except almond extract. Bring to a rapid boil then reduce to a simmer and cook, without stirring, for about 5 to 8 minutes, until the syrup thickens slightly. Remove from the heat and stir in the almond extract.

 Use a long skewer to poke holes all over the cake. Keep the cake in the pan and slowly drizzle the syrup over the cake (still in the pan). Do this in increments in order to allow the syrup to soak in.

 Cover the pan loosely with plastic wrap and allow the cake to sit overnight at room temperature to soak in all of that luscious syrup. When ready to serve, loosen the edges of the cake and invert onto your serving plate. If the cake won’t release, don't force it. Place it in the oven, turn the oven to 350°F, and warm for about 10 minutes, to soften the sticky syrup. Remove the cake from the oven, and tip it onto the serving plate.

 Store at room temperature, covered, for several days. Freezes well.

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