A Visit, a Cake and Rum

In the short time I’ve been blogging I’ve learned a few things. One is that if you want to blog, you need to read blogs. There’s so much to learn from others who’ve been doing the very thing you’re trying to do. I can’t say how I stumbled on Marcia’s blog, Menopausal Mother but from day one I was hooked. Marcia writes about the good, the bad and the ugly of middle age. She is honest and funny, refreshing and funny, and just plain funny. Whenever she posts, I read.

Marcia has been blogging longer than I have and has a loyal following. She hadn’t had a FB page for her blog and when she started one, we started a conversation. At one point she told me that she has a signature cake and actually offered me the recipe. I, of course, suggested she write about it. Since I do food on my blog and she doesn’t on hers (are you catching on to my evil plan), I did something I’d never done before.  I offered her a guest post.

And there it was, I extended an invitation. And lucky me, she accepted. So not only is Marcia visiting my blog today, but friends, she brought cake:

Marcia: 
There are 2 things in life that help me decompress after a particularly difficult day. I call them my “double B stress relievers” --- blogging and baking. Several months ago I discovered a blogger who shares the same ideal of “when the going gets tough, the tough get baking!” When this talented blogger & baker invited ne to do a guest post on one of my favorite holiday cake recipes, I was honored and ecstatic for the opportunity to participate. Thank you, Karen.

Baking is in my blood --- I grew up in a sugar-obsessed family. If you trace my family tree, it leads to sugar-coated roots. Baking was EVERYTHING! Holidays were our specialty --- the baking started weeks before Thanksgiving and didn’t end until after New Year’s. It was not unusual to find our family covered in flour and rolling out dough at 2:00 am. We were notorious for these holiday treats based on family recipes.

Although I was never a fan of spiked baked goods (I prefer my liquor in a glass, not in a cake), my oldest sister was always on a quest for a tasty rum cake recipe. Her obsession prompted our search for the elusive, perfect recipe. Sadly, she passed away before ever finding it, but one day as I was packing up her belongings, I came across a piece of yellowed paper in her kitchen --- it was the original Bacardi Rum Cake recipe. We had talked about this recipe before but never tried it because the base for the cake comes from a box mix. This was sacrilege in my mother’s home where everything was made from scratch.

In my sister’s honor, I decided to bake the cake, and was amazed by the results compared to all the homemade versions we had tried. After tweaking it a bit, I came up with a delicious version that would make my sister proud. This cake has now become a family tradition and a rum cake ritual in our neighborhood during the holidays. I’ve made it with all different types of glazes and toppings, but the Butterfingers cake seems to be the most popular. The cake is so good that back in the day even pirate rum runners such as Captain Hook and his cousin Captain Morgan would have given an arm (or a leg) for the recipe. Enjoy this holiday treat . . .  and beware the pirates!

(I made this one!)

Be sure to read Marcia’s blog here: Menopausal Mother
Check out her new FB page here:  Menopausal Mother – FB

BUTTERFINGERS RUM CAKE
                           recipe by: www.MenopausalMother.com
                            posted on: www.BakingInATornado.com

CAKE:

1 box Pillsbury yellow cake mix

1 box instant vanilla pudding

1/4 cup oil (plus a few drops more)

1/2 cup water

1/2 to 3/4 cup white rum (depending on how rummy you like your cake!)

4 eggs

1 tsp vanilla

*Mix all ingredients together and pour into a greased bundt cake pan. Bake at 325 degrees for 40-45 minutes (or until knife inserted in center comes out clean). Let cool 10 minutes before glazing.

GLAZE:

1 and 1/2 sticks butter

1 and 1/2 cups sugar

1/2 cup water

1/2 cup rum (or a little less if you don’t want it too strong)

*Combine all ingredients in a saucepan and boil 1 minute, stirring constantly, until all sugar is dissolved. Remove cake from pan and begin glazing while still warm. Use a medium sized serving spoon or a baking syringe to “inject” glaze into the soft cake. You can use the tip of the spoon to poke the cake and drizzle the glaze inside as well. Drizzle glaze all over the outside of the cake too, until it is completely soaked inside and out. Set aside.

SECOND GLAZE (CHOCOLATE):

2 TBSP butter

2 TBSP unsweetened cocoa powder

1/4 cup heavy whipping cream

1 cup confectioner’s sugar, sifted

1 tsp vanilla

*Melt butter in saucepan over medium heat. Add cocoa and cream and whisk rapidly until mixture thickens (1 –2 minutes). Do not boil. Remove from heat and whisk in the confectioner’s sugar and vanilla until smooth. Spoon glaze over top of cake and let it run down the sides.

BUTTERFINGERS TOPPING:

12 oz Butterfingers candy bars, crushed in chunks. DO NOT USE A FOOD PROCESSOR to crush the candy --- it will be too fine. I broke it apart and smashed it so that I had both little chunks and large chunks.

*Scatter candy pieces over top and sides of cake. You want to do this while the chocolate glaze is still warm so the candies stick to it easily. I push some of the larger pieces into the cake as well. 

 *This cake tastes amazing served warm but also freezes well and is just as delicious if slightly warmed in the microwave!