Easy Hennessy Pie Recipe

Hennessy is one of the largest cognac producers in the world, as it sells approximately 70 million bottles a year and accounts for 60% of the world’s supply just by itself.

Due to its extreme popularity, it stands to reason that people have found creative ways to use Hennessy in all kinds of different food recipesfrom barbecue wings to peach cobbler.

One of the ways that people like to use Hennessy is in a delicious cake for dessert. It can be of all kinds, but one of the most popular options is a creamy strawberry sponge cake that we will teach you to prepare at home.

It’s a perfect birthday cake for anyone of drinking age.

How to make Hennessy pie

Mixing an alcoholic beverage into a cake is a great way to give it that strong flavor that offsets the sugary nature of the cake and frosting, leaving behind a more flavorful and unique palette that is sure to impress anyone who serves it.

To keep it simple, we’ll also be using a strawberry-flavored ready-made cake mix. For the frosting, you can choose between the strawberry or vanilla flavor, depending on your preference.

We recommend the vanilla one, because if you want to top the cake with fresh strawberries, it can end up tasting too strong and one-dimensional.

Ingredients:

(8 servings)

• 2 boxes of “Duncan Hines Strawberry Cake Mix” (mix for strawberry cakes)
• 8 fresh eggs
• 4 sticks of unsalted butter (melted)
• 1 cup of milk
• 1 bottle of Hennessy
• 2 tablespoons vanilla or almond extract
• 1 16-20oz container frosting, strawberry or vanilla

Instructions:

We are going to make this cake in 2 parts. First of all, we have to prepare and bake the cake mix. Our go-to mix is ​​Duncan Hines Strawberry Cake Mix. However, you are free to substitute your own if there is a different brand you prefer!

Some of the ingredients listed may differ from those called for by the cake mix, this is because we are making the cake extra special with that added frosting and Henessy.

Step 1:

Start by preheating the oven to 350°F and preparing your pans. We like to use 2 bundt pans, but any regular bundt pan you have available will do.

Step 2:

Lightly grease the pan to prepare it for baking.

Step 3:

Now we prepare the cake mix. Start by mixing the butter melted, milk, eggs and a generous amount of Hennessy (we’ll let you decide the amount) in a large bowl.

Step 4:

Beat everything together, preferably with an electric mixer, for 30-45 seconds until everything is well incorporated.

Step 5:

Add to this the prepared cake mix and vanilla/almond extract. Next, beat everything at medium speed for 2 more minutes.

Step 6:

Distribute the mixture in the 2 molds (or in the one you have decided to use) and bake for 40-45 minutes until they are ready.

A convenient way to check that they are done is to use a toothpick: just stick it into the cake and if it comes out clean, it’s ready! If there is still a runny mixture, let it cook for another 5-10 minutes.

Step 7:

Let the cakes cool completely before removing them from the pans and placing them on a plate.

Step 8:

Now that the cakes are ready, let’s prepare the frosting!

Pour the desired amount into a small bowl and microwave for 10-15 seconds to make it a bit more liquid.

Step 9:

If you want, you can add another 4 tablespoons of Henessy to the frosting, which will give it a special touch.

Stir the frosting around a bit and pour it over the cakes, letting it drip down the sides. You can use the back of the spoon to lightly spread the frosting over the cake, but don’t go overboard as the natural poured look is really nice.

Step 10:

You can serve it like this or alternatively you can add some garnishes like sliced ​​fresh strawberries or spike some pretty vanilla slices on top of the cake.

Ingredient Substitution

This is a pretty basic cake, and as such, there are some nice, easy substitutions you can make if you’re missing a particular ingredient.

Although this cake is strawberry flavored, it’s also so easy to make a chocolate Hennessy cake! You can also swap out the Hennessy for brandy or bourbon and even make it into a pound cake.

1. Homemade Cake Mix

If the specific type of cake mix needed for this recipe is not available at your grocery store, you can make your own with a little flour, sugar, baking powder/soda, salt, and a little dry milk.

You can add a little strawberry flavoring to it and it will be just as delicious.

Here are more details on how to do it.

2. Mashed bananas

If you want to keep the sweetness of the cake mix, but don’t feel like using as much butter. Banana puree is a fantastic alternative.

They’ll give your cake a hint of banana flavor that complements the strawberry nicely, but they won’t take away from the flavor or undermine the Hennessy either.

It helps to beat these before further beating into the cake batter, the smoother the better!

With what to accompany the Hennessy cake

By itself, this cake is an already rich and delicious dessert that can stand on its own.

But of course, depending on the occasion, there are many things you can serve alongside it, here are some of our top suggestions.

Fresh fruit

If you’ve already decided not to top the cake with fresh strawberries, a nice plate of fresh fruit can complement the sweetness of the cake and the richness of the Henessy.

They don’t have to be strawberries either! Blueberries and fresh cherries also make a delicious pairing.

Whipped cream

Of course, to enhance a cake you don’t need to serve it with a second course, just a generous drizzle of whipped cream on top of a piece of cake adds a delicious creaminess and moist element that pairs excellently with the cake.

Frozen

Like whipped cream, a big scoop of ice cream on top of the cake is a fantastic combination. Especially since the ice cream melts into the cake, delicious!

The recommended flavor is vanilla, as we’ll still be getting a lot of the strawberry flavor, so we don’t want to overpower it.

But others, like mint, chocolate, or banana ice cream, taste great with strawberries, so don’t be afraid to experiment.

Icing sugar

No additional sugar is added to this cake, as we use both the frosting and possibly the fresh strawberries, which are already quite sweet.

But if you have a bit of a sweet tooth and want it to be a real dessert, sift some icing sugar over the top to add that extra sweetness.

This is especially effective if you’ve used fresh strawberries in the cake, as a little sugar dusting on them looks lovely.

How to store Hennessy cake

There are two ways to do this: one is to leave the cake unfrosted and store the frosting in a small bowl until you have a piece ready to serve, then just heat it briefly in the microwave and drizzle at the last moment.

The other is the most common way, simply because it is more comfortable, which consists of frosting the entire cake and then storing it. The frosting takes on a nice hard texture, which some find more appealing than the warm, runny one.

Store in the fridge

The ideal is to cover it, if you have already cut it into slices you can transfer them to airtight containers of a suitable size. Or, if the cake is whole, you can transfer the entire cake to a large bowl and cover it with plastic wrap.

Once stored in the fridge it should last up to two days. However, if it is not defrosted and well wrapped, it can be kept for up to two months.

Store in the freezer

The easiest method in this case is to first make sure the cake is fully cooked, wrap it in plastic wrap, and then place it in a large zippered freezer bag to further protect it from freezer air. It’s especially useful for anything that has fresh fruit in it.

If stored this way, it will keep for up to 4 months.