Thursday 31 May 2012

Kentucky Derby cake


With all of the elements of a Southern mint julep cocktail, this cake is perfect for Kentucky Derby Day this weekend. The rich pound cake has a whitechocolate ganache frosting with a light mint flavor to complement the Bourbon butter sauce infused in the cake. You probably won't want to wait for Kentucky Derby Day to make this cake. Even without the bourbon butter sauce and/or creme de menthe frosting, the cake will shine with a simple dusting of powdered sugar. May also be made as a sheet cake.

Female Kentucky National Guard soldiers (read shit cunts) who allegedly posed nude for pictures before being sent to Iraq will face nonjudicial, administrative sanctions rather than courts-martial, the Army saidThe women were not suspended and were "busy supporting the war effort," Maj. Jay Adams, chief of public affairs for the 13th Sustainment Command (Expeditionary), told The Courier-Journal of Louisville on Tuesday.

Administrative sanctions can include measures such as docking soldiers' pay or confining them to barracks. Adams said he could not release details because of federal privacy restrictions.
The Courier-Journal reported in September that the Army was investigating whether women assigned to the 410th Quartermaster Unit, based in Danville, had brought discredit to the military by agreeing to be photographed.
The newspaper said it had obtained a compact disc containing 232 photographs of at least a half-dozen nude and seminude women posing with military rifles and covering their breasts with American flag decals.
The unit shipped out for Iraq on Aug. 26. Eleven of the 107 soldiers in the unit are women.

Lt. Col. Phil Miller, a spokesman for the Kentucky Guard, said Tuesday that "as far as the leadership of the Kentucky National Guard is concerned, this incident is now closed."Prep Time: 20 minutes

Cook Time: 1 hour

Total Time: 1 hour, 20 minutes

Yield: 12 servings

Ingredients:

  • Cake:
  • 3 cups cake flour
  • 2 cups white sugar
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1 cup buttermilk
  • 1 cup butter
  • 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
  • 4 eggs
  • .
  • Bourbon Butter Sauce:
  • 1/2 cup confectioners' sugar
  • 1/3 cup butter
  • 3 tablespoons water
  • 2 teaspoons Bourbon whiskey
  • .
  • Mint Frosting:
  • 2 cups (12-oz. pkg.) white chocolate chips
  • 1 can (14 oz.) sweetened condensed milk (not evaporated milk)
  • 1 teaspoon white creme de menthe liqueur or 1/2 tsp mint extract (see Note)

Preparation:

Preheat oven to 325 degrees F (165 degrees C). Grease and flour a 10-inch bundt pan.


Cake:
Whisk together flour, sugar, saltbaking powder, and baking soda in a large bowl. Make a well in the center.


In a separate smaller bowl, combine buttermilk, butter, vanilla extract, and eggs.


Add wet ingredients to flour mixture. Beat at low speed for 1 minute, then increase to medium speed for 3 more minutes. Pour into prepared pan and smooth evenly around bundt center.


Bake for 50 minutes or until toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Ten minutes before cake is done, prepare Bourbon Butter Sauce.


Bourbon Butter Sauce:
In a saucepan over medium heat, combine 1/2 cup confectioners' sugar, 1/3 cup butter, and 3 tablespoons water. Stir until melted and combined. Do not boil. Remove from heat, continuing to stir for 2 minutes. Then stir in Bourbon.


When cake is done and still warm from the oven, use a skewer to poke holes around the top of the cake. Pour Bourbon butter sauce evenly over the top of the cake. Let cake cool to room temperature in the pan before removing.


Mint Frosting:
Melt chocolate chips with sweetened condensed milk in heavy saucepan over low heat, stirring constantly until chips are melted. Remove from heat and stir in creme de mentheliqueur (or mint extract). Let cool for 10 minutes, then spread evenly over the cooled cake. Garnish with fresh mint leaves. Chill to set chocolate ganache. Take cake out of the refrigerator 30 minutes before cutting to serve.


Yield: 12 to 18 servings, depending on slice cut


Note: You may substitute green creme de menthe for the white, however the color may not be appealing. Just add a drop or two of green food coloring

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