BROWN BUTTER CAK E WITH BOURBON BUTTER GLAZE

I have made this cake in a classic bundt tin as it is a recipe that I got in Philadelphia while on my travels. It is quite an unusual mixture, made by browning the butter before you even start to make the base of the cake, and it is such a great recipe. If you can’t find bourbon, use whiskey instead.

SERVES 8

● 250g butter, plus extra for greasing

● 200g caster sugar

● 2 tsp vanilla bean paste

● 4 large eggs

● 125ml buttermilk

● 375g self-raising flour

● 1 tsp table salt

FOR THE BOURBON BUTTER GLAZE

● 75g butter

● 125g caster sugar

● 50ml bourbon

TO SERVE

● Double cream, softly whipped

Preheat the oven to 190°C/ 170°C fan/375°f/gas 5 and grease a 28cm bundt tin

1. Heat the butter in a pan set over a gentle heat until it turns nut brown. Remove from the heat and cool for 10 minutes.

2. In a stand mixer, beat together the brown butter, sugar and vanilla. Add the eggs one at a time, beating after each addition, then beat in the buttermilk.

Fold in the flour and salt and mix until smooth.

Pour the batter into the tin and bake for 1 hour.

3. Just before the cake is ready, make the bourbon butter glaze. Pop the butter into a pan over a gentle heat and cook until it turns nut brown. Add the sugar, keeping the pan over the heat until the sugar has dissolved. Pour in the bourbon and stir.

4. Tip the cake onto a plate and, while it is still warm, spoon the glaze over the top. Once cool, fill the centre with whipped cream and serve.

This is an edited extract from Butter: Comforting, delicious, versatile – over 130 recipes celebrating butter by James Martin (£22 Quadrille) with photography by John Carey