The Kentucky Bourbon Cake and Coming from Behind
Kentucky Bourbon Cake
“And They’re Off!”
I think it’s obvious why I chose to make the Kentucky Bourbon Cake last weekend. This was one of the easiest recipes to plug into my fifty-two-week rotation of confections, because the Kentucky Derby and bourbon go together like my birthday and tequila.
We attended our friends’ annual Kentucky Derby party with the Kentucky Bourbon Cake to complement the mint juleps.
In Vintage Cakes, the author Julie Richardson notes that this cake was the “prize-winning entry by Nell Lewis at the 1963 Pillsbury Bake-Off Contest in Platte City, Missouri.” A prize-worthy cake was sure to be a hit on a prize-winning sort of day.
The Simplicity of a Glazed Bundt
My previous week’s cake was simple to whip up, and so was this one. I’ve discovered that a recipe with plentiful eggs and buttermilk is a surefire track to success (another Derby reference).
I love the simplicity of a bundt cake with a glaze—no fussing over frosting consistency, crumb-coating, or fancy swoops and swirls. In this case, you stab the warm cake with a skewer (if you’re me, counting the holes in multiples of three), and pour most of the glaze over the hole-riddled bundt while it’s still in the pan. The remaining glaze goes over the surface once turned out onto a serving plate.
Good Ole Jim
I’m not sure I'd call this a “special” ingredient, but I chose good ole Jim Beam for my bourbon. I honestly think I only keep it around for my occasional bourbon-brown-sugar salmon glaze. Now I think I’ll be keeping it stocked for future tried-and-true potluck cakes.
Good ole Jim was incorporated into the fine buttermilk bundt, while also infusing the warm, sugary-buttery glaze with a boozy finish. Simple, easy, guaranteed pleasy!
We Have a Winner
I’ve had other booze-drenched cakes, but this one (pardon the pun) takes the cake! Along with betting on the winning Derby horse, my bet on this cake also paid off. This was a moist, fine, and flavorful simple cake.
I’m not even a fan of bourbon (again illustrating why this bottle was probably older than my middle-aged retired racing hounds). But something about this cake just worked. Not a single boozy crumb came home with me.
You’re Not Behind: The Transcend Moment
Not just this cake, but this entire Vintage Cake Project I’ve started has been part of my midlife transformative journey. To be honest, I started up my website having no idea what I was doing. I still don’t really know, and that’s okay with me right now.
For the longest time, I felt like I was behind. I mean, how did I get to midlife without feeling like I know “what I want to be when I grow up” or what my passion or purpose is? I’ve come to realize that purpose in life is a spectrum, not an endpoint.
Let’s look at Golden Tempo, the winner of the Kentucky Derby (thanks for putting cash in my pocket, by the way). This beauty was at the back of the field—not even visible when the camera was on the front runners. Every time I see the videos, the come-from-behind brings tears to my eyes. What a lesson in not giving up when you feel behind!
Winning one race isn’t a purpose or an endpoint. It’s just a point. It’s a start.
I still don’t know my “purpose.” But this process is my pull from behind. I no longer feel like I’m in last place in the race of life. Of course, the race is with ourselves, not with others. There is no winner or loser in life, but there is how we perceive ourselves, and I feel like I’m gaining ground.
If you feel like you’re behind or you don’t know where you’re going—take a step. Think of Newton’s law: “an object in motion stays in motion”. You must get started and figure it out as you go.
Like Golden Tempo, you’ll have to dodge some obstacles along the way, but don’t give up. Your future is there in front of you. The track is laid out. You just have to GO.