Irish Almond and Caraway Cake

Irish Almond and Caraway Cake
Makes 16 servings

For the cake
Vegetable-oil spray for misting the pan
Flour for dusting the pan
1 box (18 1/4 ounces) plain yellow cake mix
1 box (about 3.4 ounces) vanilla instant pudding mix
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1/2 cup water
1/3 cup. Irish whiskey
4 large eggs
1 cup finely chopped slivered almonds
1 tablespoon caraway seeds
1 teaspoon grated lemon zest

For the glaze
1 cup confectioners’ sugar
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice (or more if needed)
1 tablespoon Irish whiskey

Preliminaries: Heat oven to 325 degrees. Lightly mist a 12-cup Bundt pan
with vegetable-oil spray, then dust with flour. Shake out the excess
flour.  Set pan aside.

Prepare the batter: Place cake mix, pudding mix, oil, 1/2 cup water,
whiskey and eggs in a large mixing bowl. Blend with an electric mixer on low
speed for 1 minute. Stop machine and scrape down side of bowl with a rubber
spatula. Increase mixer speed to medium and beat for 2 minutes more,
scrap­ing side down again if needed. The batter should look thick and well
blended. Fold in almonds, caraway seeds and lemon zest.

Bake the cake: Pour batter into prepared pan, smoothing it out i
with a rubber spatula. Place pan on center rack of preheated oven.

Bake cake until golden brown and just starting to pull away from side of pan, 48 to 52 minutes.

Cool the cake: Remove pan from oven and place on wire rack to cool for 20
minutes. Run a long, sharp knife around edge of cake and invert it onto a
rack to cool for 30 minutes more.

Make the glaze: Meanwhile, combine confectioners’ sugar, lemon juice and
whiskey in a small bowl, and stir with a wooden spoon until smooth.

Glaze the cake: Slide cake onto a serving platter and pour glaze over cake, letting it drizzle down the sides and into the center.

Presentation: Let the glaze set before slicing the cake.

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