Well if you are wondering who JD is, it is Jack Daniels- the founding father of the famous Jack Daniels Whiskey. It would seem natural that whiskey be one of the key ingredients for his birthday cake.
This cake does not have oil, milk or water. The liquid that does make this cake moist is the melted butter and the sweetness, other than the topping, comes from brown sugar. Please note that this cake does not rise high and fluffy, it will be dense and about 1 3/4 inch thick. However, the texture is definitely one of cake and not like bars.
Since I did my spring cleaning late this year, this particular recipe was perfect. This item is proof that delicious cake does not always require lots of time or exotic ingredients. So if your friends just let you know they will be arriving shortly, pull out this recipe. Other than the bake time, it comes together in a snap.
JD's Birthday Cake
adapted from Jack Daniels Cookbook
Ingredients/Cake
1 cup melted butter, cooled
2 cups packed light brown sugar
4 eggs
1/2 cup whiskey
2 tsp baking powder
2 1/4 cups flour
1/2 tsp salt
1-6 oz package of semi sweet chips/regular or mini
1 cup chopped pecans
Ingredients/Glaze
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 cups powdered sugar
1/4 cup melted butter
3 tbs whiskey
Prepare a 9/13 inch pan by buttering the inside. Then line the bottom and 2 long sides with parchment paper, leaving an overhang on the long sides. Butter the face up side of the parchment. Preheat the oven to 325 degrees.
In a large bowl, whisk the eggs, whiskey and brown sugar together and set aside. In another bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder and salt. Mix the dry ingredients in with the wet until smooth. Pour batter into prepared pan. Sprinkle the surface of the batter with chocolate chips and pecans.
Place in oven and bake until center is firm and edges start to pull from pan. This should take about 45-50 minutes. Remove and let cool in pan on rack for 30 minutes. Then pull up on parchment and transfer cake to rack to finish cooling.
To make glaze, stir together butter,whiskey and vanilla. Then sift in the powdered sugar and stir until smooth. Using a squirt bottle or a fork, drizzle glaze on top of cake.
**LAST YEAR: Orange Grand Marnier Cake**