Kentucky Butter Cake

5 from 5 votes

8 Comments

• Pin
• Share

By: Jill Mills Updated: Mar 7, 2025

Kentucky Butter Cake is a moist, dense bundt cake infused with a rich buttery sauce. It’s made with a handful of simple ingredients and is so easy to prepare!

Kentucky butter cake is a cross between classic gooey butter cake and a bundt cake. It’s a moist, buttery cake baked in a bundt cake. The true charm of the recipe, though, is the butter sauce drizzled on top after the cake bakes. It keeps the inside of the cake ultra moist and infuses every bite with more sweet buttery flavor.

Why I Love This Kentucky Butter Cake Recipe

Here are a few things that make this recipe one I make over and over again.

• Simple ingredients list. There’s only a handful of ingredients needed for both the cake and the butter sauce. The best part? They’re all very basic ingredients that I almost always have on hand.
• The butter sauce! Butter and sugar are melted together, then drizzled over the cake when it comes out of the oven, similar to a poke cake. This allows the sweet butter sauce to infuse into every bite of the cake.
• Moist & dense. This cake has the classic dense texture of a bundt cake and ingredients like buttermilk add extra moisture. The butter sauce also helps keep it super moist!

Recipe Ingredients

One of my favorite things about this recipe is that the ingredients list is so simple. The exact measurements can be found in the recipe card below.

For the Cake

• Butter – Softened. If using salted butter, you may want to reduce the amount of added butter.
• Granulated Sugar
• Eggs
• Buttermilk – Buttermilk adds moisture and helps create a tender crumb.
• Vanilla – I have a butter flavor vanilla I use to bake with when I come across fun recipes like this one! I have tried it in this recipe and it does make the cake even MORE buttery, if that’s possible. If you don’t have it, regular vanilla or rum extract both work just fine!
• All-purpose flour
• Baking soda & baking powder – Help the cake rise in the oven.

For the Buttery Syrup:

• Granulated Sugar
• Water
• Butter – Softened. Salted or unsalted both work here.
• Vanilla – I also love to use the butter vanilla in the filling sauce.

How To Make Kentucky Butter Cake

This cake is so simple and straightforward to make. I love how easy it is!

• Prep. Preheat the oven to 350F. Butter the bundt pan, making sure every crevice is covered, then lightly sprinkle flour on top.
• Make the batter. Beat the butter and sugar for two to three minutes, until smooth and creamy. Add the eggs, two at a time, and then mix in the vanilla and buttermilk. Combine the dry ingredients in a separate bowl, then mix into the butter mixture in increments.
• Bake. Transfer the batter to the prepared pan. Bake on the middle rack for 50-55 minutes.
• Make the butter mixture. Combine the butter, sugar, and water in a medium pan. Stir on medium until the butter is melted and the sugar is dissolved. Remove from heat, stir in the vanilla, and set aside.
• Add the sauce to the cake. Immediately after removing the cake from the oven, use a skewer to poke holes in the top of the cake. Pour the butter mixture over the top, allowing it to soak in. Let sit for 15 minutes.
• Serve. Flip the cake onto a serving dish to remove it from the pan. Sprinkle with a light dusting of powdered sugar.

Proper Storage

• Room temperature. Kentucky butter cake can be stored in an airtight container, or tightly wrapped in plastic wrap, on the counter. It will stay good for 3-4 days.
• Freezer. The cake can also be frozen. Wrap the cake (or slices) tightly in plastic wrap then freeze for up to 3 months. Thaw on the counter.

More Easy Cake Recipes

• Butterfinger Poke Cake
• Rum Cake
• Pumpkin Mug Cake
• Hot Milk Cake
• Chocolate Bundt Cake
• Strawberry Dump Cake

5 from 5 votes

Kentucky Butter Cake Recipe

Kentucky Butter Cake is a moist, dense bundt cake infused with a rich buttery sauce. It's made with a handful of simple ingredients and is so easy to prepare!

Servings: 16 slices

Prep: 30 minutes mins

Cook: 55 minutes mins

Total: 1 hour hr 25 minutes mins

Print Rate Save Saved!

Ingredients

  

1x2x3x

• ▢ 1 cup butter (two sticks) softened
• ▢ 2 cups sugar
• ▢ 4 large eggs
• ▢ 1 cup buttermilk
• ▢ 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• ▢ 3 cups all-purpose flour
• ▢ 1 teaspoon baking powder
• ▢ 1 teaspoon salt
• ▢ ½ teaspoon baking soda

Buttery Syrup

• ▢ 1 cup sugar
• ▢ ¼ cup water
• ▢ ½ cup butter softened
• ▢ 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Instructions

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
• To prepare the bundt pan, cover the entire inside of the pan with butter, making sure every crevice is covered. Lightly sprinkle flour over the butter coating, covering the entire inside of the pan. This will ensure your cake will not stick. Set the pan aside to prepare the batter.
• In a large mixing bowl, or using a stand mixer, combine the butter and the sugar. Beat them together for two to three minutes, until they are smooth and creamy. Add in the eggs, two at a time, and then mix in the vanilla and buttermilk. (The mixture will look like it’s curdling, and that’s totally normal.)
• Add the baking powder, salt, and baking soda to the flour. Begin adding the flour mixture into the batter, mixing in increments, scraping the sides of the bowl as necessary.
• Once the batter is well mixed, it will be light yellow, thick, and creamy. Pour into the pan, and evenly spread the batter filling the pan.
• Bake the cake in the center of the oven, on the middle rack, for 50-55 minutes. Five minutes before the cake is removed from the oven, quickly begin to prepare the butter filling, by combining the butter, sugar, and water, in a medium saucepan. Stir on medium heat, until the butter is completely melted and the sugar is dissolved. Remove from heat and stir in the vanilla, then set aside.
• Remove the cake from the oven and use a skewer, or dowel to poke at least 15 holes around the top of the cake. Pour the melted sugar and butter mixture over the cake, filling the holes, then allow the cake to sit for about 15 minutes, so it can absorb the sauce.
• Flip the cake onto a serving dish, to remove the cake from the pan before the sauce thickens and sticks the cake to the pan.
• Sprinkle with a light dusting of powdered sugar before serving.

Last Step:

Please leave a rating and comment letting us know how you liked this recipe! This helps our business to thrive and continue providing free, high-quality recipes for you.

Nutrition

Calories: 412kcal | Carbohydrates: 56g | Protein: 5g | Fat: 19g | Saturated Fat: 12g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 5g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 94mg | Sodium: 351mg | Potassium: 95mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 38g | Vitamin A: 624IU | Calcium: 44mg | Iron: 1mg

Did You Make This?

Leave a comment & rating below or tag @kitchenfunwithmy3sons on social media!