I’m no stranger to baking with booze. I’ve used a red dark ale in cake and some Jack Daniels in a batch of vegan chocolate cupcakes. But I’ve never poured a decent, peaty-tasting scotch into something I was going to throw into the oven. I’m sure some would cry heresy and a waste of good booze. Especially when in this hella-expensive booze province a bottle of mid-range scotch comes to a whopping $60.
But trust me, the scotch gives this cake a decided earthiness that helps to cut the sweetness (and next time I bake this, I’ll cut down the sugar a bit more to just a half cup). There’s steel cut oats in here too which add texture but doesn’t weigh this cake down. In fact, despite the oats and the whole wheat flour additions, this cake is light and springy and the perfect thing to eat with a spot of tea. This cake is also perfect for breakfast – it must be the oats that makes this highly suitable to early morning snacking.
This cake can be made in 2 loaf pans, but I wanted the cake to bake in a round pan. Unfortunately, I only have one 8″ pan and I still had batter left over, so the rest went into a prepped loaf tin. It worked out perfectly, so I suggest splitting the batter between 2 loaf tins to make things easier.
elsewhere: Pop on over to Poppytalk and take a peek at my latest garage sale find along with a recipe for a super simple frozen yogurt.
scotch whiskey oat cake
1 c steel cut oats
1 1/3 c buttermilk
1 c all-purpose flour
1 c whole wheat flour
1/2 c or 3/4 c sugar, depending on your taste
1 T baking powder
1 t baking soda
1/2 t salt
1/2 t nutmeg
1 t cardamom
3/4 c roasted walnut oil (or vegetable oil)
1 large egg
1 c dried cranberries
1/3 c scotch whiskey
2 T butter, melted
coarse sugar for sprinkling over topPreheat oven to 375F.
In a medium sized bowl, pour the buttermilk over the steel cut oats and let them sit for 30 minutes. If you’ve got old oats, they may need to sit longer – try overnight! Prep 2 loaf pans, or 1 8″ cake pan plus 1 loaf pan, by buttering each pan and dusting with flour.
Meanwhile mix together the flours and sugar, along with the baking powder, baking soda, spices, and salt. Beat the egg into the steel cut oat and buttermilk mixture and pour into the dry mix along with the oil. Stir to combine, and add in the cranberries and the whiskey. Pour into prepared pans, drizzle with melted butter and sprinkle with a handful of raw sugar. Bake for 40 minutes or until a cake tester inserted comes out dry. Let cool for 5 minutes before removing pan – cool on a wire rack.
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Baking with booze is the best. I’ve baked with plenty of booze, but never scotch, so thanks for the great idea!
One of my favorite cakes is the Melissa Clark whiskey cake with the entire cup of whiskey! This one has much less, but it’s also more breakfast friendly which evens it out 😉
I love steel cut oats, baking with them is new to me unlike booze which I try to pour into everything including my mouth.
This is a great recipe and I can’t wait to churn out a batch – wait even better excuse to go peruse the liquor store! Win WIn!
This looks great, and I’m going to try it asap. I have a bottle of Bowmore Islay on the counter, and I add at least a few drops to all things baked–I figure it’s sort of like adding vanilla. It’s also not bad in a glass!
This sounds great! I can’t wait to give it a go.
baking with booze is the best.
i would love to see you do some crepes; maybe a savory version?
i just made cake pops with a hint of midori liquor–so good, but i’ don’t like the candy melts as much.
Kasey, me too. The scotch was a new one for me and I’m so glad that it worked out so well.
Chihiro, I think I’ve made that cake too – it’s a chocolate one, right? It was good. This one is quite different but just as tasty.
Ha! I love that Michelle – you and me, we’re a lot alike 😉
Thanks Leah!
Vanillasugar, I’d love to make some savoury crepes. Yum!
I do love me some alcoholic baked goods but I’ve never seen whiskey used in cake before! Love the concept. And with the exam I have in a few hours…I could totally use a slice of this for breakfast. Take the edge off.
This looks great, I love the ingredients! I’m not a huge scotch fan, but I’m going to give it a go…I like how you described what it does to the flavour of the cake!
Have a great weekend!
oh yum. i do love oat cake, and it sounds even more wonderful with booze!
I love cardamom, the husband loves scotch whiskey, and we both love oats. A recipe for our entire household!
My husband bought a bottle of scotch to drink with a friend last week and then told me I should “cook something” with what was left! This sounds perfect.
Hi. What is the oven temp for this cake? Thanks.
Joanne, the scotch is different, but it really works out well here. My husband took the loaf cake to some friends and they all demanded the recipe!
Eva, it’s good here. I’m not the biggest scotch fan, either, but baking with it gets two thumbs up!
Thanks cindy!
Mrs L, what timing!!
Kay, thank you for your sharp eyes! I’ve amended the recipe to include the oven temp. Thanks!!
And how is the scotch for sipping? 🙂 Looks so yummy. A great excuse to have scotch for breakfast!
I’m rolling around these flavors in my mouth and really loving what I’ve imagined. Oats & Scotch sounds just about perfect to me.
Does it taste at all of scotch? Don’t hate me, but I am really averse to basically every type of hard liquor that’s put in front of me — much prefer wine, beer. I’m loving the overall mixture of ingredients, but the 1/3 cup of scotch has me iffy. Put me at ease?
Cheers,
*Heather*
Nicole, the scotch is a good sipper! Yes, a good way to have a nip at breakfast 😉
Thanks lo, I’m sure you’ll love the flavours in real life too. So complimentary.
Heather, there’s no alcoholic bite in this cake at all. None. But depending on the type of scotch you buy, it could taste like peat and that’s the flavour that is imparted. It’s not boozy at all. But the scotch does provide depth and everyone who had it couldn’t identify the flavours but loved the cake. So, no worries there!
More fabulousness from Ms. Pleat. The cake’s in the oven, I went for cherries over cranberries. Now onto your froyo for the side dish. Hey, when you publish your cookbook, I can edit each recipe for completeness. This time, you’ve listed three ingredients that aren’t in the recipe: oil, nutmeg, cardamon.
Robert, thank you. You are awesome. I guess hustling to get out a post while I’m in the midst of doing 10 other things isn’t the best when I don’t keep a watchful eye on it. I am super thankful for your watchful eyes. And all my readers who keep filling me in 🙂 Thank you!
I hear you on the expensive booze province! This cake sounds really good except I don’t have whiskey or scotch at home nor do I ever purchase it. But what I do have is a bottle of Grand Marnier so maybe, I can use that instead?
Bijoux, Ontario has cheaper booze than BC! Sigh. I’m not sure about the Grand Marnier since it’s really sweet. Hmmmm.
Really? I had no idea! I seldom go to the liquor store but the few times I do go for the Food & Drink magazine (hehe) I find most alcohol beverages expensive. A small bottle of Grand Marnier cost me $18. I actually wanted to get a bottle of Frangelico (hazelnut scented liquor) but that cost $25. No way Jose! Anyway, I’ll give this recipe a try with Grand Marnier and let you know how it goes. Remember, I like sweet 🙂
Bijoux, give it a try and let me know how it goes!
What a yummy combination…question: the oats should be cooked first, right??
What a yummy combination…question: the oats should be cooked first, right??
What a yummy combination…question: the oats should be cooked first, right??
What a yummy combination…question: the oats should be cooked first, right??
What a yummy combination…question: the oats should be cooked first, right??
What a yummy combination…question: the oats should be cooked first, right??
What a yummy combination…question: the oats should be cooked first, right??
What a yummy combination…question: the oats should be cooked first, right??
What a yummy combination…question: the oats should be cooked first, right??
What a yummy combination…question: the oats should be cooked first, right??
What a yummy combination…question: the oats should be cooked first, right??
What a yummy combination…question: the oats should be cooked first, right??
c’tina, no the oats do not need to be cooked first. They do soak in the buttermilk for 30 minutes (or you could leave them overnight) – they’re chewy but it gives the cake nice texture.
Thanks! I made this yesterday, and I love the flavor…next time I’ll soak the oats over night or par cook them. Let’s just say the texture turned out such that I enjoyed savoring the bread, chewing very slowly, so as to not crack any teeth, lol. I had soaked them for an hour…my oats are old though, had expired 10/15/2010…but they didn’t smell rancid, so I used them. If you sew old oats, it may take longer, lol
Thanks! I made this yesterday, and I love the flavor…next time I’ll soak the oats over night or par cook them. Let’s just say the texture turned out such that I enjoyed savoring the bread, chewing very slowly, so as to not crack any teeth, lol. I had soaked them for an hour…my oats are old though, had expired 10/15/2010…but they didn’t smell rancid, so I used them. If you sew old oats, it may take longer, lol
Thanks! I made this yesterday, and I love the flavor…next time I’ll soak the oats over night or par cook them. Let’s just say the texture turned out such that I enjoyed savoring the bread, chewing very slowly, so as to not crack any teeth, lol. I had soaked them for an hour…my oats are old though, had expired 10/15/2010…but they didn’t smell rancid, so I used them. If you sew old oats, it may take longer, lol
Thanks! I made this yesterday, and I love the flavor…next time I’ll soak the oats over night or par cook them. Let’s just say the texture turned out such that I enjoyed savoring the bread, chewing very slowly, so as to not crack any teeth, lol. I had soaked them for an hour…my oats are old though, had expired 10/15/2010…but they didn’t smell rancid, so I used them. If you sew old oats, it may take longer, lol
Thanks! I made this yesterday, and I love the flavor…next time I’ll soak the oats over night or par cook them. Let’s just say the texture turned out such that I enjoyed savoring the bread, chewing very slowly, so as to not crack any teeth, lol. I had soaked them for an hour…my oats are old though, had expired 10/15/2010…but they didn’t smell rancid, so I used them. If you sew old oats, it may take longer, lol
Thanks! I made this yesterday, and I love the flavor…next time I’ll soak the oats over night or par cook them. Let’s just say the texture turned out such that I enjoyed savoring the bread, chewing very slowly, so as to not crack any teeth, lol. I had soaked them for an hour…my oats are old though, had expired 10/15/2010…but they didn’t smell rancid, so I used them. If you sew old oats, it may take longer, lol
Thanks! I made this yesterday, and I love the flavor…next time I’ll soak the oats over night or par cook them. Let’s just say the texture turned out such that I enjoyed savoring the bread, chewing very slowly, so as to not crack any teeth, lol. I had soaked them for an hour…my oats are old though, had expired 10/15/2010…but they didn’t smell rancid, so I used them. If you sew old oats, it may take longer, lol
Thanks! I made this yesterday, and I love the flavor…next time I’ll soak the oats over night or par cook them. Let’s just say the texture turned out such that I enjoyed savoring the bread, chewing very slowly, so as to not crack any teeth, lol. I had soaked them for an hour…my oats are old though, had expired 10/15/2010…but they didn’t smell rancid, so I used them. If you sew old oats, it may take longer, lol
Thanks! I made this yesterday, and I love the flavor…next time I’ll soak the oats over night or par cook them. Let’s just say the texture turned out such that I enjoyed savoring the bread, chewing very slowly, so as to not crack any teeth, lol. I had soaked them for an hour…my oats are old though, had expired 10/15/2010…but they didn’t smell rancid, so I used them. If you sew old oats, it may take longer, lol
Thanks! I made this yesterday, and I love the flavor…next time I’ll soak the oats over night or par cook them. Let’s just say the texture turned out such that I enjoyed savoring the bread, chewing very slowly, so as to not crack any teeth, lol. I had soaked them for an hour…my oats are old though, had expired 10/15/2010…but they didn’t smell rancid, so I used them. If you sew old oats, it may take longer, lol
Thanks! I made this yesterday, and I love the flavor…next time I’ll soak the oats over night or par cook them. Let’s just say the texture turned out such that I enjoyed savoring the bread, chewing very slowly, so as to not crack any teeth, lol. I had soaked them for an hour…my oats are old though, had expired 10/15/2010…but they didn’t smell rancid, so I used them. If you sew old oats, it may take longer, lol
Thanks! I made this yesterday, and I love the flavor…next time I’ll soak the oats over night or par cook them. Let’s just say the texture turned out such that I enjoyed savoring the bread, chewing very slowly, so as to not crack any teeth, lol. I had soaked them for an hour…my oats are old though, had expired 10/15/2010…but they didn’t smell rancid, so I used them. If you sew old oats, it may take longer, lol
C’tina, good to know about the old oats! Yeah, they shouldn’t be hard enough to crack any teeth!
Everything about this cake sounds amazing! Love that you incorporate steel cut oats!
Thanks Ashley, they give this cake some serious texture!
It looks like wonderful and tasty cake! Somethink a bit old-fashioned to bake – I was looking for something like this for a very long time as I’m somehow fascinated by old recipes (from 1940s and so on)
Thanks for such a lovely recipe!
Have a nice day!
i don’t know if i could bear to pour single malt into this. some things are just so good all by themselves! none the less, i just bookmarked this with my cookmarked.com account. we shall see…
I made this last night in honour of Robbie Burns’ birthday! I loved the light crumb of this cake, which I think must be because of the buttermilk.
I’m a big fan of steel-cut oats for breakfast, and though I followed the recipe closely, I found their texture in the cake wasn’t quite “cooked” enough for me. In future I might actually prepare them as I would for porridge, then add into the batter. The somewhat-hard oats were too much of a contrast with the rest of the cake.
And I subbed spelt flour and it worked out nicely! The flavour of this cake is really nice. Almost muffin-ish; I can pass it off as a healthy afternoon snack 🙂
Elena, it could be that your oats aren’t fresh. If they’ve sat around a while, they will take longer. I’ve amended the recipe to note that they may need an overnight soak if you have freshness doubts. Thanks for sharing and I’m glad you liked the bread! Glad you were able to sub in spelt easily.