Friday, January 7, 2011

Bermudian Rum Cake

I’ve actually had a Bermudian rum cake in Bermuda, but I’d never made my own until now. This one is from The Greyston Bakery Cookbook. It’s similar to a holiday cake that gets soaked in a liquor-filled glaze only this is much simpler. In this case, you only apply the glaze once rather than several times over days or weeks, and the cake batter is one of the easiest ever to whisk together. The rum and orange juice and zest in the cake and the finely chopped pecans that end up coating it give it fantastic flavor before the rum glaze is even applied. Rum cakes that are soaked multiple times can end up tasting very boozy and I do quite like the taste of rum, but it’s not overwhelming here. In the glaze, the rum melds with melted butter and brown sugar into a lovely butterscotch with just a hint of rum. Soaking the cake with the glaze also extends the life of the cake. It gets better as it sits, and it lasts a few days longer than it would otherwise. To gild each serving a bit more, I whipped cream with Grand Marnier to top the cut pieces.

This simple whisked batter started with flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt being combined in a large bowl. In a separate bowl, milk, orange juice, vegetable oil, eggs, orange zest, and rum were whisked together and then added to the dry ingredients. The batter was stirred to combine and then carefully poured into a bundt pan that had been buttered and sprinkled with toasted and chopped pecans. You want to pour the batter slowly to as not to dislodge the pecans. The cake baked for about an hour, was left to cool, and was placed on a serving platter, and that’s where I learned a lesson. You should place the cake on a rimmed platter. I somehow believed that the cake would absorb every single bit of the glaze, and I foolishly chose a flat platter. The glaze was made by melting butter in a saucepan, adding sugar and water and stirring while simmering for five minutes. The rum was added off the heat. The cooled cake, on a platter with a rim, is then pierced all over with a wooden skewer before you slowly spoon the glaze over top. Most of the glaze will be absorbed, but some does collect around the base of the cake and that could work its way to the edge of a platter without a rim and dribble all over your dining room table. Whip some cream with a little sugar and Grand Marnier to serve with the cake.

The finely chopped pecans held their place on the surface of the cake and gave it some crunch, and the Grand Marnier whipped cream added more orange flavor. Certainly, a rum cake in Bermuda comes with a much better view, but this homemade rum cake was fresher, lighter, and even more delicious. Obviously, the best solution would be to pack up a homemade cake and go back for another visit to Bermuda.



32 comments:

  1. Wow that looks good. Sounds like a great way to make this cake. I love rum, but I like the flavor to meld with everything else instead of dominating.

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  2. This is a gorgeous cake and I love Bermuda rum (I love a dark and stormy).
    Greyston Bakery book is beautiful, I bought it last year after you reviewed it!

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  3. You know what! I have been looking for a while for a rum cake recipe without using vanilla pudding and cake mix. I just bought some rum from Cuba. I will sure take a look at the recipe. Thanks Lisa!

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  4. I love rum-drenched cakes! This one looks heavenly.

    Cheers,

    Rosa

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  5. I just made a rum cake, but it doesn't look anything like this deliciousness! That's a beautiful cake and I luv the use of pecans. The pan gives it a unique presentation (I need to find that pan!).

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  6. I saw rum cakes all over in the Bahamas as well. We even meant to buy some rum in the airport but missed it before we ended up going through security. I SO love that book but have not made this cake yet. I love the pecans dusting the pan!

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  7. What a gorgeous rum cake! It's a cake that I love but have never tried to recreate at home. I like your pan too - I never saw one like that - it makes the cake look so pretty!

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  8. The nuts on the outside are a perfect idea for that little crunch here and there. Plus, the cake has such a great sheen. Want want want.

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  9. Oh I can taste it now, a wonderfully rummy flavour would be fabulous, great cake mould too :)

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  10. Yum, anything with pecans is good enough for me.

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  11. WOW - this looks SO tasty! Great photo too. I have that cookbook and now you have inspired me to browse through it. Happy New Year!

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  12. That looks absolutely amazing!

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  13. What a delicious looking cake! I have never made a rum cake but I think I could handle it. ;) The pecans sound like a nice touch.

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  14. Never had rum cake, yours looks totally irresistible. The pattern of the cake mold is special.

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  15. Cake looks fabuloso! It kinda looks tropically. :p I actually have a bundt pan, but alas, I've never used it. This needs to change. So many things to look forward to in 2011!

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  16. I am so ready to have this. This looks fabulous Lisa. The mold is so pretty too. I had baked a sweet bread with coconut and spiced rum and we had loved every bite of it. The Grand Marnier to serve sounds really good too.

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  17. I feel tipsy just looking at that beauty of cake. ;)

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  18. You know how to make a girl forget all about resolutions! It looks simply marvelous. 8-)

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  19. I use to work in a bakery that had a best-selling rum and chocolate chip cake; that was my favorite cake. This one is even better and I love the addition of pecans in the crust.

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  20. woe is me--i've never been to bermuda AND i've never had a rum cake. :( it's a nice-looking treat, lisa, and i'm sure the taste is mighty fine too.

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  21. Oh my, I've been having a lot of rum cakes lately, seemed very common where we were in Mexico near the Caribbean, but I have to say that your version looks superior. The cakes I sampled were more like chewable rum. Too heavy, and yours looks like the proportions are exactly right.

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  22. I like this balanced version of rum cakes, and I have always wanted to try a really good one, just like the one you describe in this post. I like the technique of sprinkling chopped pecans onto the cake mold and butterscotch glaze that you drizzle over it. Oh so good!

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  23. That really looks wonderful, Lisa. I like the way the pecans are in the pan before the batter; going to try that with other cakes. :)
    Of course, anything with rum in it just has to be fabulous!

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  24. Positively luscious! Where's my piece?
    *kisses* HH

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  25. Wow- I may have to break my "no boozy desserts" rule for this cake. It looks delicious! And thanks for reminding me about this book. I've had it on my shelf for a while but have yet to cook from it. You've inspired me to break it out!

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  26. This looks amazingly delicious! Rum cake is so addicting and I love rum in lots of desserts. I need to pick up this cookbook! :)

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  27. I love rum cake but always see the cake mix recipes. Glad this one is from scratch and I'm sure even tastier!

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  28. What a gorgeous cake! It sounds delightful.

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  29. Your cake looks heavenly. Fantastic post and blog! Cheers.

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  30. http://tonettejoycefoodfriendsfamily.wordpress.com

    This is lovely! I had a run cake recipe I used to use that has been lost, but this , if I recall correctly, is even better.Thanks! I will be trying this.

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