Chocolate Whiskey Cake

This cake is to celebrate the end of a long spring and summer working on the road, and (hopefully) a return to baking. I've missed it. As much as I love fieldwork, it gets exhausting after a while and I just want to go home and eat, sleep, and bake. I suppose that's one of the problems with working as an archaeologist, as opposed to just being a student.

The cake is very simple to make, but it's a real showstopper. It's your basic moist, rich bundt cake, but the addition of whiskey takes it to a fantastic new level. I took it to a potluck and got rave reviews.

I used this recipe from Epicurious, with a few additions. I nearly cut down on the amount of whiskey, thinking a half cup would be overkill... but I'm glad I didn't, as it was the perfect amount (I used Knob Creek bourbon). I also added about a cup of chopped bittersweet chocolate, which I'd highly recommend if you like your chocolate cakes really chocolatey - and I bet more chocolate would be even better. And since I only had a 6-cup bundt pan, I divided the batter between that and an 8-inch cake pan and baked the cakes for slightly less time than the original recipe calls for.

The cake is great on the day it's baked, but keeps really well and becomes almost fudgey when refrigerated. And even more boozy. Which can only be a good thing.

More field photos: San Luis Obispo County

Stormy morning in Templeton

Crazy geology on the road to Lake San Antonio

So pretty...SO...DAMN...HOT.

Look, it's The Saddest Bear in the Whole World. He lives in the chocolate store in Paso Robles and is clearly suffering from the after-effects of a chocolate binge. I know the feeling.
(Here's a close up.)