Kill 'Em With Kahlua Cake

About author / Josh Gunn

Bachelor chef; southern cooking; mixologist; university professor. Josh's recipes will delight (and sometimes terrify) you.

Last week I suggested that one can clobber the holiday blues by getting into the center of holiday spirit: make some food and give it away! My first thought with this week’s advice was to share my bourbon fruit cake recipe, which I assure y’all is delicious and a crowd pleaser, despite all the jokes we make at this poor cake’s expense. I forgot, however, that the cake takes three weeks to prepare; whoops!

Then I thought to myself, “hmm: is there a cake that one of my buddies make that is similarly steeped in booze?” I immediately thought of my friend Adria and her famous Kahlua cake. Adria gets invited to gatherings because she truly lights up a room. She is both brilliant and beautiful. She is perhaps the best listener I know, and is fiercely loyal, right down to offering to beat people up for you (she’s a boxer and practices with pink gloves, of course).

There is no denying, however, that she’s also invited to gatherings because folks want her cake. I overheard a mutual friend confess she would punch a nun or innocent child in the face for Adria’s Kahlua cake. For serious! Everyone salivates just thinking about Adria’s cake.

Now, it took some convincing, but I did manage to liberate the cake recipe from my friend’s steel-trap mind. I argued that this was a season of giving, and that Adria should give all of us the gift of knowledge. I argued that if she let me share the recipe, then my readers would have something to make and share with their friends, and her cake would thus be like a happy virus, spreading across the world. I argued that Adria would soon be blessed with fame. “What else is cake,” she responded, “if not for sharing?”

Now, understand that this cake is the perfect cake for bachelors to make for all its symbolism. It’s relatively easy and quick, but extremely delicious--not too sweet, it goes very well with coffee. Think about this cake as real world manifestation of The Big Lebowski: it’s basically a self-rising White Russian, as if “the Dude” was carrying around a bundt pan instead of a “Caucasian” to while away the day. And like fruit cake, you can let this cake soak in a White Russian soaked cheesecloth for a day or two so that the flavor sinks in.

I must confess when I tested this recipe it came out well, but not as good as Adria’s. Like many recipes, the original maker’s oven, seasoned pans, and “style” or preparation always influence how food comes out. There’s got to be something about Adria’s kitchen that lends this cake a special-something. And hell, there is no more beautiful sight than Adria on your doorstep holding a cake pan! Nevertheless, y’all need to trust me on this one: it’s a divine cake. If you changed out one of the three wise men with “the Dude,” he’d abide and offer little baby Jesus a slice of this cake instead of gold, frankincense, or even myrhh!

Serves/Makes: 16

• 1 box (18.5 ounce size) moist chocolate cake mix
• 1 cup sour cream
• 1/2 cup oil
• 4 large eggs
• 1/2 cup warm water
• 1 package (4 ounce size) instant chocolate pudding mix
• 1/4 cup Kahlua
• 1 package (12 ounce size) semisweet chocolate chips

***Glaze***

• 1/2 cup butter, cut in bits
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 1/2 cup Kahlua
• 1/2 teaspoon instant coffee granules