Anisette is a very strong flavoring that resembles black licorice in taste and I just love the aroma of this homemade cake baking.
The cake was always served plain, mostly baked in a bundt pan back in the vintage days of the 1960s which was a huge craze in those days.
This is a bundt cake mom made using all pantry ingredients with anisette flavor was my Grandmother's recipe originally from Rome, Italy she adapted it as I have over the years.
Dad even enjoyed the leftover with his morning cup of coffee as he read the daily newspaper, the smell, and the taste of this cake were the best memories of this cake.
This old-fashioned basic recipe can be flavored any way you like, the cake is plain until you add the anise flavorings so if you're a fan and found this, you'll love the cake if not you can add anything you like to the batter!
If you are a fan of anisette flavoring like our family, you may also like to try Italian Anisette Biscotti, another delicious cookie we always had in the cookie jar.
Read through the tips and suggestions, this will be the only cake recipe made from scratch you'll ever need, and if you're not a baker try the "Doctored Cake Mix Anisette Cake" version.
Easy Step By Step for Making Anisette Cakes Made from Scratch
- preheat the oven and flour and grease a cake pan ( a bundt pan is what mom used)
- always cream the sugar and butter until light around 3 minutes
- add the rest of the ingredients and beat again for 2 more minutes
- bake in a prepared pan
- cool completely before frosting or dusting with powdered sugar
Tips:
- Change the flavoring to lemon, orange, and almond extracts (use lemon zest and orange zest with those flavorings also)
- Add nuts if desired walnuts, pistachios
- Add coconut and chocolate chips to the batter
- In a hurry used canned frosting and add extract to taste
- Any kind of pan can be used not just a bundt pan, baking time will vary
- Always insert a toothpick or use a piece of spaghetti in the center to see if the cake comes out clean
- If using a convection oven mode, cakes bake better with shallow sides like a 13 x 9 pan
- This cake can be served with fresh fruits and whipped cream as an alternative to frosting
- Make sure you cool the cake completely before frosting it
- Always preheat the oven no matter which method
- Grease and flour whatever pan you decide to use or line it with parchment paper
- never use alcohol it will evaporate with no flavoring use only pure anise extract
Ingredients You Will Need (refer to the printable card below for measurements)
- flour
- baking powder
- butter
- sugar
- eggs
- whole milk
- anise extract (use only extract) or use lemon extract with 1 tablespoon zest, orange extract with zest, or almond flavoring
- vanilla
- pinch of salt
More Cakes To Try
Sour Cream Coffee Cake Cupcakes
Blueberry Cake Mix Cake
Spanish Bar Cake
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Vintage Cakes
We love old-fashioned vintage cakes has all the simple ingredients mom always had on hand.
Milk, flour eggs, butter, and anise flavoring ( use extract not imitation or alcohol) are all must-haves in the house to make this anisette cake.
Again you can use this batter as a basic recipe for any cake flavoring,.
It's perfect with any cup of coffee and don't forget the Sambuca for the coffee, that was always on the table along with a bowl of sugar cubes.
A memorable cake we will always enjoy thinkng of mom and grandma in the kitchen baking on a Sunday morning.
Yield: 15
Mom's Scratch Anisette Cake
This is a bundt cake mom made using all simple pantry ingredients with anisette flavor. A dessert cake is often served with a cup of demitasse coffee on Sunday in our Italian home.
Prep time: 10 MinCook time: 45 MinTotal time: 55 Min
Ingredients
- Mom's Scratch Anisette Cake Recipe
- 2 1/2 cups flour
- 2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
- 3/4 cup butter
- 1 3/4 cups sugar
- 3 eggs
- 1 1/4 cups whole milk
- 1 teaspoon anise extract or more if you like very strong flavors (use only extract) or use lemon extract with 1 tablespoon zest, orange extract with zest , or almond flavoring
- 1 tablespoon vanilla
- pinch of salt
Instructions
- Heavily grease and flour in a cake pan.
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
- Cream the sugar and butter for at least 3 minutes until light and fluffy.
- Add the milk, eggs, and flavorings.
- Beat the flour next with all the rest of the ingredients for two minutes.
- Pour into the prepared pan, and bake for around 45 minutes or until the toothpick comes clean.
- Cool either dust with powdered sugar or use a thin drizzle of thin powdered sugar and water frosting over the top.
- For Doctored Cake Mix Version:
- 1 package of yellow cake mix plus use the eggs, oil, and water called for on the cake mix box
- 1 tablespoon vanilla
- 1 teaspoon anise extract
- Mix to package instructions, cool, and frost with powdered sugar and water to make a thin icing, and add a little bit of anise extract for flavoring or dust with powdered sugar.
Notes
Tips:
- Change the flavoring to lemon, orange, and almond extracts (use lemon zest and orange zest with those flavorings also)
- Add nuts if desired walnuts, pistachios
- Add coconut and chocolate chips to the batter
- In a hurry used canned frosting and add extract to taste
- Any kind of pan can be used not just a bundt pan, baking time will vary
- Always insert a toothpick or use a piece of spaghetti in the center to see if the cake comes out clean
- If using a convection oven mode, cakes bake better with shallow sides like a 13 x 9 pan
- This cake can be served with fresh fruits and whipped cream as an alternative to frosting
- Make sure you cool the cake completely before frosting it
- Always preheat the oven no matter which method
- Grease and flour whatever pan you decide to use or line it with parchment paper
- never use alcohol it will evaporate with no flavoring use only pure anise extract
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Hot Milk Cake
Sour Milk Cake
Pistachio Cake
