Sunday, August 7, 2011

Butterscotch Swirl Cake





From the kitchen of One Perfect Bite...I'm honestly not sure where to start with my review of today's recipe. I saw it in Taste of Home magazine several years ago, but, for whatever reason, I postponed giving the recipe a try. While I was curious and absolutely love the flavor of butterscotch, I was put off by the ingredient list and the time required to make the cake. I could tell from the photo that its frostingless nature would make it perfect for toting to meetings or alfresco meals, but I wasn't sufficiently swayed to begin cracking eggs or taking whisk to hand. I've had an awful of of people traipsing through the house this summer, and that amount of company means an awful lot of baking. To avoid repetition, I decided to try some new things, like this cake. After all, how bad can anything made with this much butter and sugar be? As it turns out, I can recommend the cake it, but only conditionally. My palate kept picking up the exaggerated flavors of artificial butterscotch and rum and I wasn't thrilled. The rest of my tasters, however, loved the cake and it was gone within the day. Since mine was the only dissenting vote, I'm going to share the recipe with you today, despite my personal reservations. Here's the recipe for those of you I haven't scared away.

Butterscotch Swirl Cake...from the kitchen of One Perfect Bite courtesy of Taste of Home magazine

Ingredients:
Cake
1 cup butter, softened
2 cups sugar
6 eggs
3 teaspoons rum extract
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 cup (8 ounces) sour cream
1 package (3.4 ounces) instant butterscotch pudding mix
3/4 cup butterscotch ice cream topping
Glaze
1/4 cup butter, cubed
1/4 cup packed brown sugar
2 tablespoons 2% milk
1 cup confectioners' sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 cup chopped pecans

Directions:
1) Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease and flour a 10-inch fluted tube pan.
2) In a large bowl, cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add 5 eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Stir in extracts. Combine flour, baking soda and baking powder; gradually add to creamed mixture alternately with sour cream, beating well after each addition.
3) Transfer 2 cups of batter to another large bowl; beat in pudding mix, butterscotch topping and remaining egg until well blended. Pour half of plain batter into prepared pan. Top with half of the butterscotch batter; cut through with a knife to swirl. Repeat layers and swirl.
4) Bake for 65-70 minutes or until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean. Cool for 10 minutes before removing from pan to a wire rack to cool completely.
5) For glaze, in a small saucepan, combine the butter, brown sugar and milk. Bring to a boil. Remove from the heat; add confectioners' sugar and vanilla. Beat until smooth and creamy. Drizzle over cake; sprinkle with pecans. Yield: 12 servings.







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59 comments :

Ginny Hartzler said...

We love butterscotch, but that does look like a lot of work. So pretty, though!

www.you-made-that.com said...

yum that cake looks so good, I love butterscotch and caramel anything. Have a great week xoxo Suzanne

Y said...

I have to say, I adore butterscotch but I've never tried any cake recipe with the word "instant" in its ingredient list.

Beloved Green said...

I feel the same way about some lengthy ingredient lists. The cake looks lovely though, so I do hope it was worth the wait.

Chiara said...

A perfect cake for breakfast Mary, I love it!have a good Sunday...

Aldy said...

Oh-My-Word...This butterscotch cake looks absolutely beautiful, Mary! I'm in love with that second photo...breath-taking click.
Yes, I agree. Love trying new things :)

Have a lovely day!

Hugs,

Aldy.

Pondside said...

I've learned 'if Mary isn't crazy about it' I'm not going to be crazy about it, so I'll give it a pass!

Anonymous said...

I can't imagine better cake for sunday afternoon cofee.Looks great:)

The Harried Cook said...

I don't know about the taste, but the cake is picture perfect... but then again, so is everything you make! Pretty... And I think I would still love it because it is butterscotch - real or fake :) Thanks for sharing, Mary!

kitchen flavours said...

Your cake looks pretty good to me! I love butterscotch but I have not seen instant butterscotch pudding mix before, it is really interesting! Thanks for sharing, have a lovely week ahead!

Duncan D. Horne - the Kuantan blogger said...

yum butterscotch!

Greetings from Malaysia!

Duncan In Kuantan

Anonymous said...

What a beutiful looking and delicious sounding cake! Very impressive.

Mumsfilibaba said...

The cake looks so beautiful. I never baked something with butterscotch.

Alessandra said...

Well, I am not sure where I could find 1 package of instant butterscotch pudding mix
and butterscotch ice cream topping,
but I love the photo of the slice, very inspiring :-)

Ciao
Alessandra

Federica Simoni said...

splendida questa torta! complimenti!!!!!

Sonia ~ Nasi Lemak Lover said...

This cake look incredible good!

Jamie said...

It is really a beautiful cake! What perfect marbling, Mary! And the elegant topping is just perfect, too. But thanks for the honest opinion. My dad baked cakes with boxed pudding inside and we loved them, but, like you, we are now used to homemade so I fear that we would sense the artifical flavors. But it certainly was worth the try and a lovely picnic or brunch cake it is.

Diane said...

I love butterscotch but I have to say you have put me off trying this :-) Take care Diane

Martha said...

It does look good and looks like a good cake to tote!!! I'm saving it for the next time I do have to tote!

Tracy's Living Cookbook said...

You are right-that ingredient list might put some people off! But I love bundt cakes, and yes, they are perfect for toting! It is a beautiful cake with the frosting and the perfect swirls!

Barbara said...

It's a lovely cake, Mary and I do love butterscotch, but for some reason, I've never liked boxed butterscotch pudding. The only reason I would make this is your comment about everyone else liking it. That counts for something, right? Especially when you want to offer something new and different.

Natalie said...

so funny the way some people go crazy over a recipe while others can do without...at least you made some people happy with this cake!! :)

Susan Lindquist said...

Perfectly gorgeous cake! Maybe backing off on the rum extract and using real rum might take that strange'tang' from the taste ... I love the idea of butterscotch as it's not a flavour that I often come upon in baked goods ... I think I will make this cake the next time there's a crowd coming for dinner!

Inspired by eRecipeCards said...

Oh Mary... BEAUTIFUL another winner

Valerie Harrison (bellini) said...

It might not be your favourite cake Mary, but it was well received!

Maris (In Good Taste) said...

It truly looks like a masterpiece!

Karen Harris said...

I just love butterscotch but might be a bit put off by the lengthy list of ingredients too. Thanks for making it and reviewing it for us.

Kim said...

The cake looks good, but I agree with you, the list of ingredients, instant butterscotch pudding???? I know what you mean... This is probably the kind of cake that would please my familly, although!

~~louise~~ said...

Good morning, Mary. It looks like I'm just in time for Butterscotch Cake.

Oh wait, it's all gone. I can certainly understand why. It looks so inviting. Sometimes, the eyes are all that is needed to enjoy.

Thanks for sharing...

Sue/the view from great island said...

I get a knee jerk mistrust of any recipe with this many ingredients, but then again I'm a big bundt cake fan. I know what you mean about artificial flavors, they can really stick on the tongue. Looks gorgeous, though!

PeggyR said...

This sounds very good! I love butterscotch.

Andrea @ Vegvacious said...

I have to say that it certainly does look pretty! I have to admit that other than trying my hand at Monkey Bread, I've never made anything in a bundt pan....in fact I don't even own one!!

My Little Space said...

Mary, I have to vote for a 'Yes'! Cause I'm a big fan of butterscotch. :o)
Thanks for sharing.
Kristy

Cassie | Bake Your Day said...

Hi Mary, the cake looks beautiful and I love your honest review! I love butterscotch so I will be anxious to give this one a try, especially with a family full of butterscotch lovers too. I think I'll save this one for Labor Day weekend, it will be perfect. Many blessings to yoU! ~C.

Unknown said...

oh my geepers...this looks amazing. BTW guess what I used your breading on my chicken for last night and IT WAS GREAT!!!! Hugs.

Susan..... said...

I am not a fan of butterscotch but my husband loves it and begs me to make a butterscotch cheesecake because that's the only butterscotch recipe I have. Well, now I have two and he would love me to make this and I will be doing so as soon as possible. Your baking is impeccable, Mary. I can only hope it comes out half as good looking as yours.

Lifewithspices said...

Love butterscotch n this is so so yummy..

Kim said...

i have yet to make a swirl cake! perhaps my next endeavor? :) butterscotch sounds fabulous!

Cooking Creation said...

That sure is one beautiful cake!

Janie said...

I am going to try this because I love Bundt cakes. They are easy to make, transport and freeze!

BUT I am not a fan of run flavoring, so I am going to leave it out..
I am thinking that one with chocolate swirl would be good to.

Question..does anyone know if it has to be "instant" pudding or can it be regular?

SweetSavoryPlanet said...

My kids love butterscotch. I think it is pretty good myself.

Beautiful cake!

Foodiewife said...

Let's face it. You're a purist, in that I rarely see package mixes in your recipes. It's one of the reasons I love your blog. I appreciate your honesty. My guess is that most of my friends and family would love this, and I probably would too. I have a dangerously huge sweet tooth, so most any dessert temps me more than a savory one. You still made it look lovely.

Unknown said...

I guess they all can't be home runs, right? It looks lovely no matter how it tastes :)

Karen (Back Road Journal) said...

I'm going to go with your great taste buds and pass even though others that tried it said it was good. I think that it could probably be reworked by your excellent hands and if so, we will see a revision. I'm sure it was good but just not up to your standards.

Unknown said...

One of the reasons I'm not a fan of most butterscotch things is exactly what you pointed out. It always tastes artificial to me.

Joanne said...

I have a feeling that the more we bake with real ingredients, the more we begin to be able to taste the artificial in recipes like this. But to everyone else, they taste great!

lena said...

hi mary, i wouldnt mind getting a piece of this even if it's using instant pudding mix, you already made this looks so good!

Ellen Whyte said...

Please may I come and live with you? I'll do washing up!

Wishing you Happy World Cat Day.

scrambledhenfruit said...

That certainly is a gorgeous cake, even with all of your reservations. :) I do love butterscotch!

That Girl said...

I bet your guests love your baking.

Elin said...

Mary...I was just talking about butterscotch in cakes and here I got a good :) thank you for sharing this...I will make this as soon as I make the butterscotch sauce for this cake :))

Have a great day....
Elin

Anonymous said...

You had me at butterscotch and then kept me with the caramel. Thank you!
Karen

Anonymous said...

The cake looks lovely but I wouldn't make a cake with instant pudding mix in it either. Maybe your tasters didn't know about the mix! :)

kyleen said...

I love the swirl!

Roz | La Bella Vita Cucina said...

My goodness, it sure looks superb to me! Gotta try this and see. Thanks for your honesty!

Karen S Booth said...

That is JUST the most beautiful cake I have seen in a while....and butterscotch is my favourite flavour.
LOVELY photos!
Karen

Veronica Miller said...

Oh my goodness, I ran across this on Pinterest and was excited to see it was your post, Mary! I felt the same way about this cake, but I did win a blue ribbon for it at the fair last year so I think we're in the minority! Definitely not my favorite cake. But I know the woman who created the recipe (she's an online buddy I met on myspace and is a field editor for TOH)--she has won a blue ribbon for it at her state fair in California for the past 10 years or more! So yeah, we're the black sheep I guess. :)

FABBY'S LIVING said...

Oh wow, this butterscotch cake I ran into looks amazing! Thank you for the recipe. Have a great week.
FABBY

Unknown said...

This looks awesome!!! This recipe is also perfect. Next tomorrow on my birthday we will surely make it.
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