simple Kentucky Butter Cake recipe

I have no clue why this delicious butter cake is named for the state of Kentucky, but the recipe has been around since at least 1963, when Nell Lewis of Platte City, Missouri entered it into the Pillsbury Bake-Off Contest and won. It’s an old-fashioned vanilla buttermilk pound cake drenched in a luscious butter and sugar syrup. The syrup not only adds exceptional moisture to the cake, but it also creates a crisp coating on the surface, almost like a glazed donut. Kids love it, grown-ups love it—this simple butter cake is hard to beat. A big thank you to my longtime reader, Karen Tannenbaum, for sharing the recipe with me.

Ingredients
1 cup butter, softened
2 cups sugar
4 large eggs, room temperature
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup buttermilk
BUTTER SAUCE:
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup butter, cubed
1/4 cup water
1-1/2 teaspoons almond extract
1-1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract