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.
If you're not a baker try the "Doctored Cake Mix Anisette Cake" version in our recipe card all the way at the bottom scroll down and hit print for quickly avoiding ADS.
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 (the batter should be light yellow in color)
- add the rest of the ingredients and beat again for 2 more minutes
- bake in a prepared greased pan, and always use the toothpick method to ensure it's baked all the way through
- cool completely before frosting or dusting with powdered sugar
- Tip: this cake also tastes great topped with sweetened whipped cream, fruits or even lemon pudding!
Tips for making the best Anisette Cake:
- 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
Shopping List (refer to the printable card below for measurements)
- flour: all-purpose flour
- baking powder: a leavening agent to make it rise
- butter: salted butter
- sugar: granulated sugar
- eggs: fresh eggs
- whole milk: full fat
- anise extract (use only extract) or use lemon extract with 1 tablespoon zest, orange extract with zest, or almond flavoring
- vanilla: only use pure vanilla extract
- pinch of salt: table salt is fine
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 that have all the simple ingredients mom always had on hand.
Milk, flour, eggs, butter, and anise flavoring ( use extra,t 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 powdered sugar and water frosting over the top.
- For Doctored Cake Mix Version:
- 1 package of yellow cake mix, plus 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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Pin for later
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Sour Milk Cake
Pistachio Cake
