Amaretto Pound Cake with a hot Amaretto Butter Glaze is the perfect dessert for every occasion! Classic pound cake gets an Italian spin with a hint of Amaretto Liqueur.
Traditional pound cake gets it name from how it is made: a pound each of butter, sugar, flour, and eggs. Pound cake tastes moist, rich, and slightly dense, and is staple in any baker’s kitchen.
This recipe is similar to the traditional, but with a hint of amaretto flavor and a hot amaretto butter glaze. Letting the hot glaze soak into the bundt cake, adds a delicious layer of flavor with a slightly sticky texture.
Amaretto Pound Cake is the perfect recipe to have on hand for the holidays, birthdays, coffee dates, or brunches. This cake is both decadent and dense, tasting almost like a condensed yellow cake, but with a hint of amaretto flavor. And, for another delicious Italian treat, be sure to try these Italian Pistachio Cookies!
Amaretto Pound Cake Recipe
This simple bundt cake recipe comes together quickly and is made in one bowl. The key is start with room temperature butter and a very large mixing bowl.
Firstly, preheat oven to 325 degrees. You want this cake to cook low and slow, otherwise you risk the edges being done before the middle. Next, grease a standard size bundt cake pan with butter and flour, or nonstick cooking spray; set aside.
Cream together the butter, sour cream, and sugar. If you don’t have sour cream on hand, you could always substitute greek yogurt. Be sure to whip these ingredients together until they are fluffy; it will take about 2 – 3 minutes to reach the desired texture.
Secondly, stir in the amaretto liqueur and vanilla. Add in the flour and mix until just combined. You’ll notice that there is no leavening agent (i.e. baking soda or baking powder) in this recipe. Rest assured that this is not a typo as pound cake does not need these to rise. Moreover, this ensures the compacted, rich, and dense texture of the cake.
Lastly, add the eggs to the batter, one or two at at time. Mix with handheld mixer until just combined. Pour the batter into the prepared bundt cake pan and bake for 65-75 minutes, or until the cake edges start to pull away from the sides of the pan. You can also test the cake doneness using a toothpick inserted in the center of the cake.
Amaretto Butter Glaze
During the last 5-10 minutes of baking, make the glaze for the cake. Note that this glaze is not going to be poured over the top of the cake, but rather allowed to seep in through holes poked into the bottom of the cake.
To start, add butter, sugar, amaretto, and water to a small saucepan over medium heat. Whisk mixture while bringing to a low simmer. Reduce heat and continue whisking mixture for about 3 minutes. Turn off heat.
Once the pound cake is done, remove from oven. While the cake is in the pan, use a fork or skewer to poke holes all over the cake. Use a butter knife to pull the sides of the cake away from the pan, including the center.
Carefully pour the hot amaretto butter glaze over the cake. Allow the glaze to seep into the cake entirely, before removing cake pan. To do so, simply loosen the cake edges, place a plate over top of the cake, and carefully flip the pound cake over on to the plate.
To serve, dust the top of the cake with powdered sugar. For a more decadent serving option, top with a dollop or fresh whipped cream or vanilla ice cream.
For a prettier presentation, you could also whip up a quick glaze for the top of the cake using powdered sugar, amaretto, and milk. Just stir together and drizzle over the cake. Top with sliced almonds if desired.
The Perfect Bundt Cake Pan
When it comes to Bundt Cake pans, there are so many different styles to choose from. What all of these cake pans have in common is that they are circular in shape with a hole in the middle – similar to a giant donut.
The standard Bundt Cake pan is a fluted cake pan with waves or ridges around the side. I have my used my simple Cuisinart Classic Non-Stick Bundt Cake pan for the past 10 years, and I have no intention on replacing it yet! It is durable, non-stick, and light in color, which helps yield a more even cooking time.
One of my favorite Bundt Cake pans is the Nordic Ware Jubilee Bundt Cake Pan. This pan creates a gorgeous diamond-patterned shape, that’s perfect for holding glaze or even blueberries, like I did for my Blueberry Lemon Bundt Cake.
When it comes to unique Bundt Cake pans, Nordic Ware has the best options. You can get an elegant heart-shaped bundt pan for Valentine’s Day, a pine forest bundt pan for the holidays, or a copper rose bundt pan that’s great for any special occasion.
No matter what pan you choose, always make sure to throughly grease and flour the pan before adding the batter. The non-stick coating just isn’t enough to keep the cake from sticking. Another option is to spray the pan with non-stick cooking spray or use Baker’s Joy Non-Stick Spray with Flour to make sure your cakes come out clean every time.
Bundt Cake Recipes
If you are looking for an easy to make cake that’s moist and full of flavor, then the bundt cake is perfect. This cake is goof proof and, thanks to the shaped pan, always produces a beautiful product.
Whether you glaze your bundt cakes, or serve it as is, everyone appreciates a bundt. Here are some fan-favorite bundt cake recipes from This Delicious House:
Bake this cake for a special event or birthday party, or take along to a potluck dinner – everyone will love it. And, you may want to take a few copies of the recipe to share. Enjoy!
Amaretto Pound Cake with Amaretto Butter Glaze
Equipment
- standard bundt cake pan
Ingredients
- 1 cup butter, softened (two sticks)
- ½ cup sour cream
- 2 cups sugar
- ¼ cup Amaretto Liqueur
- 1 tablespoon vanilla
- 2 ½ cups all purpose flour
- 6 large eggs
Amaretto Butter Glaze
- ½ cup sugar
- ¼ cup butter (half a stick)
- 2 tablespoons Amaretto Liqueur
- 1 tablespoon water
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Coat a nonstick bundt pan with cooking spray; set aside.
- In a large bowl, cream together the butter, sour cream, and sugar until fluffy; about two minutes. Add in the amaretto and vanilla and mix to combine. Pour in the flour and mix to combine. Beat in the eggs, one at a time, until mixture is fully combined.
- Pour batter into prepared bundt cake pan and bake for 65 to 75 minutes, or until the a toothpick inserted in the middle of the cake comes out clean or the sides of the cake start to pull away from the pan.
- During the last 5 minutes of baking, make the glaze. In a small saucepan over medium heat, whisk together the sugar, butter, amaretto, and water. Bring to a slow boil, reduce heat, and simmer for three minutes.
- When cake is done cooking, remove from oven and use either a fork or skewer to poke holes all over the cake while it is still in the pan. Use a butter knife to loosen the cake around it's edges in the pan, including the center hole. Carefully pour the hot glaze over the cake allowing the glaze to seep into the cake.
- Once all of the glaze has been absorbed, loosen the edges and center of the cake again using a butter knife. Flip cake over onto serving platter. Dust the top of the cake with powdered sugar before serving.
Patsy
No leavening? I assume the eggs create the rise? I have had other pound cakes that were just too dense and sometimes gummy– does this cake have adequate expansion?
Angela Allison
Pound cakes don’t have leavening agents.
Tricia
Will be making this cake for Christmas. Would it be ok to use a stand mixer??
Angela Allison
yes! So much easier that way too. Enjoy!
Tiffany
It was very good! I loved the glaze and how it was put on the bottom of the cake.
Angela Allison
Thanks for the comment. So happy you enjoyed it!
Linda
Just mouth watering! I adore almond anything and this beautiful bundt cake is right up my alley. Can’t wait to make it! Thanks so much for this wonderful recipe!
Anna Babicz
Can you use almond extract instead of Vanilla or maybe half and half?
angelakallison
Almond extract can be really strong and overpowering. You can add it, but I wouldn’t do anymore than 1/4 teaspoon to start.
Becky
Husband said one of the best cakes he had ever ate!!! Will for sure be making it again and again!!!
angelakallison
Thanks for the comment! So happy you all loved it!! 🙂
PamJ
Hi – Loved the recipe. Used salted butter since the recipe did not call for salt otherwise. Used salted butter for the glaze, too. Topped it with a heavier powdered sugar glaze and tossed on dry roasted sliced almonds. Everyone loved it. Thank you!
angelakallison
Thanks for the comment! So happy you loved the recipe 🙂
phyllis Medlin wood
okay I am not an experienced baker and have a tendency of my food coming out not good. This cake was awesome! The only thing is when I went to flip out on my platter, it fell apart. I’m thinking maybe I should have let it cool down first. But the way I read the recipe after the glaze absorbs and you run your knife around the edges then you flip it right after. So what do you think?
angelakallison
Glad you enjoyed the cake! I would say that you want to make sure you use a butter knife to loosen the edges before flipping the cake out. Also, be sure to adequately grease the bundt pan. And yes, letting it cool for at least 10-15 minutes in the pan before flipping it out would’ve helped as well. Thanks for the comment. Enjoy!
Lisa Matheny
HUGE HIT!!! Even the No-Carb eaters couldn’t resist and said it was well worth the “cheat”.
I’ll be making this over and over.
Thank you!
angelakallison
So happy to hear that you loved it! It’s definitely cheat-worthy 🙂
Suzy
We love Amaretto flavored desserts! So tasty and good! That glaze is perfect on top of this cake!
Toni
This is such a gorgeous cake! It was a huge hit with my family.
Erika
This cake is so moist and makes a great after dinner treat! 🙂
Heidy L. McCallum
This pound cake is on a whole new level with the amaretto added to the recipe. One of my favorite flavors to use in baking.
Shadi Hasanzadenemati
I love your recipe, I’ll be making it again!
Vanessa R.
Just made this tonight. Used frangelico instead of ameretto and didn’t use the butter glaze and this tasted just like my Ukrainian grandmother’s poundcakes. I’ve been trying for years to recreate that memory because unfortunately no one got that recipe from her. Thank you! I will be making this again!