Chocolate Whiskey Cake

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What’s better than chocolate cake? Chocolate cake covered in decadent whiskey sauce! My recipe is light, airy, easy to make in just one bowl, and totally addictive!

Slice of chocolate whiskey cake with Bundt cake and jar of whiskey sauce in the background

This cake would be great with any topping, but the the whiskey sauce makes it extra special. There’s even a little whiskey in the batter to give the cake itself a hint of that flavor.

Ingredients

Over head photo of labelled cake ingredients

This recipe uses mostly basic baking ingredients. Here are a few things to keep in mind as you gather them:

  • You can replace the sour cream with any plain yogurt. This substitution always works well.
  • You can use any type of cocoa powder you’d like. Use a darker cocoa powder if you prefer that flavor.
  • Don’t waste your money on an expensive whiskey for the batter. Any cheap whiskey will work. If you don’t want to use the whiskey at all, you can use water instead – but it will affect the flavor of the cake.
  • I highly recommend my whiskey sauce recipe for topping the cake, but you can use any recipe you like (or even substitute a store-bought or homemade butterscotch or caramel sauce).

How It’s Made

This whole recipe comes together in one bowl. You can mix by hand in a large mixing bowl or use a stand mixer as shown in the photos.

Start by mixing together all of the dry ingredients: flour, sugar, cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt.

Pour coca powder into the bowl of a stand mixer

Mix in eggs, sour cream, vanilla extract, melted butter, and vegetable oil.

Pouring vegetable oil into stand mixer

Mix in whiskey and water.

Adding whiskey to stand mixer

Important: To keep the cake from sticking to the Bundt pan, grease the pan thoroughly and then dust with flour. You can also mix a little cocoa powder into the flour before dusting to play up the chocolate flavor.

Pour the batter into the prepared pan.

Pouring chocolate cake batter into Bundt pan

Bake at 310 F for about an hour or until a toothpick comes out clean.

Let it cool in the pan for about 10 minutes and then invert onto a cooling rack.

When the cake is cooled, drizzle with whiskey sauce.

Pouring whiskey sauce over chocolate cake with a spoon

Expert Tips and FAQs

Can I make this with a different type of alcohol?

Yes! Try it with any alcohol you love the taste of!

Can I make it without the whiskey?

Yes! Use water instead of whiskey in the batter and use a store-bought caramel sauce or a simple dulce de leche or butterscotch sauce on top.

Help! My cake is sticking to the pan.

Make sure that you grease and flour the pan extremely well. Greasing alone is not enough for a Bundt cake.

How long can I store this cake?

Store for up to four days in an airtight container at room temperature. If you aren’t going to be eating right away, freeze the cake before adding the sauce, defrost, and add the sauce before serving.

Top down shot of chocolate whiskey cake with slice pulled out on a plate and jar of whiskey sauce

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Slice of chocolate whiskey cake with Bundt cake and jar of whiskey sauce in the background
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Chocolate Whiskey Cake

This chocolate cake covered in decadent is light, airy, easy to make in just one bowl, and totally addictive!
Course Dessert
Cuisine American
Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 1 hour
Cooling Time 1 hour 30 minutes
Total Time 2 hours 45 minutes
Servings 12
Calories 424kcal
Author Stefani

Ingredients

  • 2 1/3 cups all-purpose flour
  • 1 1/2 cup sugar
  • 2/3 cup cocoa powder
  • 2 teaspoons baking soda
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 2 large eggs
  • 3/4 cup sour cream
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 1/2 cup vegetable oil
  • 1/2 cup unsalted butter melted
  • 6 tablespoons whiskey
  • 3/4 cup water
  • 1/2 cup whiskey sauce

Instructions

  • Preheat oven to 310 F.
  • In a large mixing bowl, whisk together flour, sugar, cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt.
  • Mix in eggs, sour cream, vanilla, oil, and melted butter.
  • Mix in whiskey and water.
  • Grease a 10" Bundt pan and dust liberally with flour. (You can also add a little cocoa powder for flavor when dusting the pan.)
  • Pour batter into the pan and bake for one hour or until a toothpick comes out clean.
  • Cool on the counter for 10 minutes and then invert onto a cooling rack,
  • Once completely cool (about 1.5 hours), top the cake with whiskey sauce.
  • Store at room temperature for up to 4 days.

Video

Notes

You can substitute the sour cream for yogurt.
If you want to leave off the whiskey in the cake, you can replace it with water and use a caramel sauce instead of the whiskey sauce.
If you plan to freeze the cake for later, don’t add the whiskey sauce. Freeze it in an airtight container, then bring to room temperature and add the sauce before serving.

Nutrition

Calories: 424kcal | Carbohydrates: 53g | Protein: 5g | Fat: 21g | Saturated Fat: 15g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 4g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 55mg | Sodium: 435mg | Potassium: 140mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 26g | Vitamin A: 374IU | Vitamin C: 1mg | Calcium: 38mg | Iron: 2mg
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