Tennessee Whiskey Cake

Yes, I know.  I post a lot of birthday cakes on here.  The thing is, I think it's fun to experiment with different cakes for birthdays.  It helps, too, that my husband isn't partial to any one type of cake (well, except for cookie cake).  In fact, I believe that in the five-plus years we've been married (which has been six birthdays for him) he's only had one repeat birthday cake!  Anyway, I'm not sure where I found this recipe.  If I were to guess, it's from Rachael Ray, but I'm not sure.  But it was fabulous.  And easy.  And doesn't require frosting (I think I'm losing my sweet tooth, because frosting just doesn't do it for me the way it once did.  Sigh).  It's called a Tennessee Whiskey Cake, but my husband's from Kentucky, and we always have bourbon in the house, so I made my own little version!

1 stick unsalted butter, softened

½ cup brown sugar

½ cup granulated sugar

3 large eggs

1 cup flour

½ teaspoon baking powder

½ teaspoon ground cinnamon

¼ teaspoon salt

¼ teaspoon baking soda

¼ cup milk

½ cup molasses

¼ cup Tennessee whiskey

½ cup chopped pecans

Vanilla ice cream, for serving

Chocolate sauce, for serving

even more chopped pecans, for serving, optional

Preheat the oven to 350º. In a bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, cinnamon, salt, and baking soda.

Using a stand mixer, beat the butter at medium-high speed until creamy; gradually add the brown and granulated sugars and mix well. Add the eggs one at a time, beating well and scraping down the sides of the bowl after each addition. On low speed, beat in the flour mixture, one-third at a time, alternating with the milk and ending with the dry ingredients. Mix in the molasses on medium-low speed. Mix in the whiskey until smooth, about 30 seconds.  Fold in a small handful of chopped pecans.

Grease a 10-inch cake pan and sprinkle another (larger) handful of chopped pecans in an even layer in the pan.  Pour cake batter over nuts and spread evenly.  Bake for 30-35 minutes. Let cool.

Drizzle the cake with chocolate sauce and sprinkle pecans over top.  Then serve the cake with vanilla ice cream, chocolate sauce, and chopped pecans on top.