While browsing AllRecipes, I found this recipe for an amaretto bundt cake that starts with a boxed yellow cake mix. Apparently, over 150 people think it is good enough to warrant a five star rating, so I had to try it myself.
I think cake mixes are wonderful. I used to be opposed to them, thinking that it was a cop out to use them – an unnecessary shortcut. Then, after our wedding, I was talking to our incredible caterer who told me she uses cake mixes quite often. And, trust me, our wedding cake was divine.
Back to the recipe…. I put everything in my can’t-live-without-it stand mixer and let it do all the work. Then, after pouring the batter into a bundt pan, it went into the oven. That’s pretty much it. Maybe 10 minutes of prep work, including opening packages and a bit of clean up.
The glaze was also simple. Amaretto plus confectioner’s sugar. I did use more than 1/2 cup of amaretto to get all of the sugar dissolved. Probably about another 2 teaspoons. After about 35 minutes, I deemed the cake done enough. The cake soaked up the glaze pretty thoroughly. I loved the sound of the glaze hitting the hot cake. And the smell was incredible. Yum.
After the recommended 2 hour cooling time, I removed the cake from the pan. And, of course, cut a slice to try. So very good. The cake is very moist and smooth. The amaretto glaze, which had penetrated toothpick depth, created a darker ribbon through the bottom of the cake. I will admit that a couple of bites were so soaked in amaretto that it was a bit overwhelming. Perhaps next time I will rethink that extra bit of amaretto in the glaze.
This recipe is definitely a keeper. I think it would be great to serve or give away during the holidays.
Ingredients
- 1 18.25 ounce package yellow cake mix
- 1 5.1 ounce package instant vanilla pudding mix
- 4 large eggs
- 1/2 cup water
- 1/2 cup canola oil
- 1/4 teaspoon almond extract
- 2 tablespoons amaretto liqueur
- 1/2 cup amaretto liqueur
- 1 cup sifted confectioners' sugar
Instructions
Preheat oven to 350°. Grease and flour a 10-inch Bundt pan.
Combine cake mix, instant pudding mix, eggs, water, oil, almond extract, and 2 tablespoons amaretto liqueur. Mix well. Pour batter into prepared pan.
Bake 40-45 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.
While cake is baking, make the glaze. Combine 1/2 cup amaretto liqueur and confectioners' sugar. Mix until smooth. If necessary, add more amaretto (1-2 teaspoons at a time) until mixture is smooth and pourable.
Use a toothpick or fork to poke holes in warm cake. Drizzle glaze over cake so that some of it fills the holes. Cool cake for at least 2 hours. Then, remove from pan.
Notes
Recipe adapted from AllRecipes.
December 19th, 2007 at 10:18 pm
I agree that this cake is absolutely special that I have it on my yearly list of baked goods for Christmas. I use Disaronno Amaretto as I have found this to be the best for the recipe. Last year I got a little curious and decided to try this recipe using chocolate cake mix and pudding…fantastic to say the least! I dust some confectioner’s sugar over both recipes after cooling and it looks like snow, very festive.
December 19th, 2007 at 11:32 pm
Jodi, I bet that chocolate and amaretto combination is wonderful!
March 5th, 2010 at 8:18 am
I took on the endeavor of baking my own wedding cake a couple of years ago and chose this amaretto cake recipe as one of the three tiers. I baked it in regular layer pans, filled the layers with Bavarian cream filling and iced it (over the amaretto glaze) with cream cheese icing. It was absolutely amazing! I have gotten so many requests to make this cake for other people and it is still talked about years later. Definitely a keeper!
November 18th, 2012 at 2:44 pm
Where s the receipe….I see the picture and comments, but no ingredients or directions…????
November 20th, 2012 at 11:18 am
Mary, the recipe is no longer on AllRecipes. But, I found a copy of it in my recipe collection and added it to the post. Enjoy!
April 12th, 2013 at 5:07 pm
Try it with chocolate mix & pudding. DEVINE!