Alaskan Spirits
Farm-to-Bottle
Let’s get the obvious—and accurate—pun straight out of the way: Alaska’s distilleries are bottling true Alaska spirit.
We’re not only talking about figurative Alaska spirit here. ...
Sponsored by 
This cake is a marriage between a cozy, booze-soaked spice cake and one of my all-time favorite cocktails. The strong character of Port Chilkoot Distillery’s Wrack Line Rye is the perfect complement to the warming spices of the cake. Bonus points if you pair with a sazerac (using Port Chilkoot Distillery’s Green Siren Absinthe, naturally).
Ingredients
For the cake and dry
- 2 cups plus 3 tablespoons (10.5 oz) all-purpose flour
- 5 tablespoons (2 oz) corn starch
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1¼ teaspoons baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon baking soda
- ¾ cup (6 oz) and ¼ cup (2 oz) white sugar, divided
- ¾ cup (5 oz) brown sugar
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon ground nutmeg
- ¼ teaspoon ground ginger
- ¼ teaspoon ground cloves
- ½ teaspoon ground black pepper
For the cake and wet
- 10 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
- ½ cup buttermilk
- ½ cup Wrack Line Rye whiskey
- 3 tablespoons vegetable oil
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1½ teaspoons anise extract
- 6 egg yolks
- 15 dashes Peychaud’s bitters
- 3 egg whites
For the whiskey sauce
- ½ cup butter
- ¼ cup water
- 1 cup brown sugar
- ¼ cup Wrack Line Rye whiskey
For the absinthe glaze
- 1½ cups powdered sugar
- ¼ cup Green Siren Absinthe
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
Preparation
Preheat oven to 350° F. Lightly grease a Bundt pan, and sprinkle sugar inside to coat thoroughly.
Whisk together flour, cornstarch, baking powder, baking soda, salt, brown sugar, spices, and ¾ cup of the white sugar in a bowl. Set aside.
In a separate bowl, whisk together the melted butter, buttermilk, Wrack Line Rye whiskey, vegetable oil, extracts, egg yolks, and bitters.
In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, beat egg whites until frothy, then stream in the remaining ¼ cup of white sugar, and continue to whisk on high until stiff peaks form. Remove from bowl.
In the mixer bowl, add both the dry ingredients and the wet ingredients, and whisk on medium-low until ingredients are combined. Gently fold the egg whites into the cake batter, until no streaks remain.
Pour into the prepared Bundt pan and bake for 40—45 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean.
While the cake is cooking, make the whiskey sauce by combining the butter, water, and sugar in a saucepan and boiling until the sugar is dissolved and the mixture is syrupy, about 4 minutes. Remove from the heat and whisk in the Wrack Line Rye, but be careful as the syrup will bubble up considerably!
When the cake has cooled for 10 minutes, brush some of the sauce over the cake. Let it soak in, then repeat the process. Turn the cake out onto a serving plate, and brush the top with the sauce 2—3 times, letting the liquid soak in between each coating.
For the absinthe glaze, simply whisk together the powdered sugar, Green Siren Absinthe and lemon juice in a small bowl. When the cake is cool, drizzle the glaze over the top. Serve.
Cheers, responsibly!
About this recipe
Sponsored by Port Chilkoot Distillery
Related Stories & Recipes
Grounding in Wild Foods
Frost laces the edge of a puddle as I crouch to tie my shoe. I stare at it a moment. Of course, I know winter is on its way. I can smell the cooler air when the wind blows, but I wasn’t expecting any ...
