Apple Bourbon Bundt Cake

2 sticks butter, unsalted and at room temperature

2 cups flour

3 Tbs + ½ cup bourbon or rye whiskey

½ cup candied ginger

1 ¾ cups brown sugar, light or dark

4 eggs at room temperature

2 tsp baking powder

1 tsp baking soda

1 ½ tsp cinnamon

1 tsp salt

½ tsp nutmeg

1 cup sour cream

1 Tbs vanilla

2 (1 lb) medium, firm tart apples, peeled, cored, and coarsely grated or finely minced

1 cup finely chopped, toasted pecans

½ cup sugar

1 ½ tsp grated lemon zest

2 Tbs lemon juice

Preheat oven to 325º. Grease a 12 cup Bundt pan.

N small bowl, combine 3 Tbs bourbon and candied ginger. Let stand 10 minutes.

Beat on med-high, brown sugar and butter until fluffy, approx. 5 minutes. Beat in one egg at a time.

In separate bowl, blend flour, baking soda and powder, cinnamon, salt, and nutmeg.

In separate bowl, whisk vanilla and sour cream together. Pour bourbon off ginger into the vanilla/sour cream mixture. (Put the ginger aside.) Add zest & whisk until smooth.

With mixer on medium, add the dry mixture and sour cream mixture in three additions alternating the two. Fold in the ginger, apples, and pecans. Scrape butter into prepared Bundt pan. Bake at 325º until golden brown and inserted skewer comes out dry. Approximately 70 minutes.

Cool in pan for 20 minutes. Remove to wire rack to cool, but don’t cool entirely before adding bourbon/sugar sauce (below).

Sauce: Combine ½ cup sugar and ½ cup bourbon in small sauce pan. Stir over low heat to dissolve the sugar. Add lemon juice and take off heat.

Make 10 slits on top of cake and pour half the sauce on the warm cake encouraging absorption. When cool, flip and pour on the remaining sauce. Flip again to serve.

Michael