Just this week, two different people mentioned to me how they frequently make the recipe I gave them for Black Russian cake and how it’s always a hit. Since Carter and I didn’t have a chance to bake today, I thought I’d take this change to pass along this tried-and-true favorite, which is incredibly easy to make.

The back story: Shortly before we were married, so not quite nine years ago, Jeff came home one day and asked me if I could bake a Kahlua cake. Apparently, a woman had brought one to a work potluck. With some probing, I figured out that it was a Bundt cake. I told Jeff, “No, I can’t make one because I don’t have a Bundt pan.” (Of course, why the pan mattered completely puzzled him.)

Shortly afterward, I registered for and we received a Bundt cake pan for a wedding present, and the quest began. I researched recipes online and made a Kahlua cake. But Jeff said it didn’t taste right. Fortunately, at a happy hour Jeff’s coworkers had in honor of us getting married, I met the original baker, who set me straight. It wasn’t just a Kahlua cake, it was a Black Russian cake: vodka is the key ingredient. Not a lot and it can be cheap, but vodka is essential to the flavor. After more researching and experimenting, here’s the recipe that’s become one of my signature offerings.

Black Russian Bundt Cake

Cake
1 package plain devil’s food cake mix, without pudding
1 three-ounce package instant chocolate pudding mix
1/2 cup water
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1/2 cup Kahlua
1/4 cup vodka
4 large eggs (room temperature)

Glaze
1 cup sifted confectioners’ sugar
1/8-1/4 cup Kahlua

Preheat oven to 350ºF. Lightly grease and flour a 12-cup bundt pan. 

Combine cake mix, pudding mix, water, oil, Kahlua, vodka, and eggs in a large mixing bowl. Beat for three minutes with an electric mixer. Pour batter in the pan and bake for 45 minutes or until toothpick inserted in middle comes out clean. Cool 10 minutes in pan, then remove and transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

For glaze, add Kahlua to the confectioners sugar until honey-like consistency. Drizzle glaze over cooled cake.

• Previous Entry: sick day
• Next Entry: Cornmeal apple cheese muffins