Thursday, November 29, 2012

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:

Butterfingers Rum Cake by Menopausal Mother | Featured on www.BakingInATornado.com




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!

Butterfingers Rum Cake | www.BakingInATornado.com | #recipe

(I made this one!)

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


Baking In A Tornado signature | www.BakingInATornado.com | #MyGraphics






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!

53 comments:

  1. That looks SO amazing!!! Thank you so much, Marcia, and thank you, Karen for hosting this awesome guest post!!! Will definitely visit her blog!

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    1. I was lucky that she agreed to do it, Roshni, she's really funny and this cake is amazing. And watch for her in the second group of December Secret Subject Swappers.

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  2. Holy cow ladies...that is the most amazingly yummy looking cake ever and it has rum? I know the recipe calls for 1/2 cup and you said we could use less...but could I use more? lol

    I agree Karen...Marcia is a very funny blogger and I also enjoy reading her posts. xo to both of you.

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    1. You're too funny, Bonnie. More rum, now why didn't I think of that?

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  3. Well, I love you AND Marcia.......and Captain Morgan, so this is my kind of post! I especially like how Marcia says in her recipe, "a little less rum if you don't want it too strong.." HAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAAHHAHAH She's hilarious. <3

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    1. Although she really is funny, I'm not sure that line was meant to be a joke. But if anyone could turn it into one, it's you Michele! ❤

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    2. Aw, I had to make a joke out of it. Classy as ever; you know me too well.

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  4. I think there needs to be a blog retreat for all of us ladies with lots of desserts. And alcohol. And no children. Think about it... it would be sweet (pun intended!)

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  5. Why oh why do I always read your blog when I'm starving??? Now I want to make this for breakfast. Which is probably not advised. Unless it is...
    Thanks for always inspiring deliciousness in a sometimes bitter world - to both of you dessert alchemists!
    Tracy @ Momaical

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    1. Oh Tracy, it is advised for you if you'll advise it for me. We Moms got each other's backs!

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  6. I love it! I can't wait to try it! Yum! I love liquor in all baked goods!

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  7. Ok, I can usually read your posts and think mmmm ill go buy something like that... Because I somehow manage to burn myself just turning in the oven. I am a mess in the kitchen. However, I'm still going to try to make the chick peas tonight... Sorry I digress...

    That cake is not buyable. That cake is beautiful... So much so... I'm going to give the recipe to my sister to make! Sorry, that has ill burn down the house written all over it.


    Oh, and I do love Marcia too!!

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    1. No, something that beautiful is not buyable, but MUST be made. Hope your sister shares once she sees the end result!

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  8. These recipes look absolutely yummy. I know what I will be doing this weekend.

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  9. Oh.My.Word. Rum AND Butterfingers? Yep - I'll be making this one. Thank you, Marcia, for sharing the decadence! And Karen...I may need to block you.

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    1. Just as long as you don't report me and have me thrown in FB Siberia. And don't think I'll believe you did it by accident!

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  10. Butterfinger is my favorite of all candy, and so I am now drooling over this cake. Unfortunately, I can't bake anything until after Christmas, as my kitchen is getting a makeover. This may just be the first thing I make in the new kitchen! I am certainly glad I clicked over from Marcia's post!

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    1. Lucky you, I'd love a kitchen makeover. This would be the perfect treat to be the first thing you make in your new space.

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  11. Two of my favorite lady bloggers! You girls are fun to read! And the cake, oh!!! the cake! It's on my list for cristmas sweets. It'll be something different as many haven't tried it or don't know of it! Thanks!

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    1. Can't wait to hear what you have to say after you try the cake. I'm making it myself soon. Drooling just thinking about it.

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  12. Rum is my weakness (passion?) and I love cake. I'm afraid if I tried to bake this I'd end up sloshed with a burnt cake. It sounds delicious.

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    1. I see this as a win/win. Either you'll end up with Marcia's amazing cake, or you'll end up sloshed with less calories. Go for it.

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  13. My stomach actually growled when I was reading this...haha! All of that butter..it has to be delicious. I have never made a rum cake before. This might be the year I try. I am the baker and dessert maker in my family. People are counting on me to surprise them with something great. It's nice to know I have this recipe in my back pocket ready and waiting! Thanks for sharing.

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    1. Your family will not be let down with this one. Take that recipe out of your back pocket and go for it!

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  14. Karen, you made a wise choice for your first guest post. It doesn't surprise me that Marcia is a wonderful baker. I've heard of this rum cake previously in fact. It seems to me Marcia has a talent for many things. She is a wonderful blogger, I'm probably not who you might typically think of reading her blog. I'm a haggard ol' fishermen... Grouchy, and sarcastic. I have a jaded view on things sometimes... She makes me laugh. So hard sometimes it makes my stomach hurt, THAT's worth something. But more than all that Marcia has been a wonderful friend. No one has been more encouraging to me in my own foray into blogging, she encourages and inspires me in so many other ways as well.
    Congratulations to you both, It's a match made in the kitchen. Cheers.

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    1. Love it, a match made in the kitchen. I've known for some time that Marcia's a great blogger, I just didn't know she was hiding this baking thing. I know now, though, and I'll be looking for more recipes from her!

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    2. Awwww...you guys are making me blush...

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  15. Cake and rum together. Dear lord. As a guy who can cook a few things this makes me want to start learning how to bake!

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    1. A cake like this would make everyone want to learn how to bake. Hope you try it!

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  16. Sent to you from Mighty MenoMom (my Super Power name for Marcia). I worked with a woman once whose husband was the endocrinologist in the hospital where we all worked. Every holiday, birthday, etc. she brought her Rum Cake, which from the sound of yours, is VERY similar (too lazy to get up to look). It was basically soaked in rum and we devoured it – not because of the rum, but because it was SO GOOD!. I had been thinking about her recently, though I haven't seen her since the 1970s. I looked up Marilyn and her husband on the Internet. Sadly both she and her husband passed away. But her cake recipe lives on and in her honor, I might make it for the holidays. Thanks for the reminder.

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    1. So glad Marcia sent you here. You MUST try her cake for the holidays!

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  17. Wow!!! "Double M," what a neat story. A recipe I will absolutely have to try. And maybe I'll have a Diet Coke sitting nearby and I can "spike" the cake & the coke... Enjoyed. Take care, Slu

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    1. I'm honored that she agreed to share this bitter/sweet story here.

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  18. Oh wow. YUM YUM YUM! Can't wait to try this puppy out...I was even thinking instead of butterfingers, using the Captain Lime Bite Rum and having a key lime rum cake...thoughts?

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    1. That's what I love about recipes. Sometimes you follow it exactly and other times you make it your own!

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    2. Yes--you can make it that way as well. I've made pina colada rum cakes, mojito rum cakes, key lime rum cakes, orange rum cakes...the possibilities are endless....

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  19. What a lovely guest post! I usually always pass over recipes that aren't completely homemade, but I'm learning that maybe I need to stop and try some. Particularly this one! Just pinned :)

    Thanks for sharing with my NO RULES Weekend Blog Party!

    Paula
    lifeasweknowitbypaula.blogspot.com

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    1. I learned that myself. Sometimes a shortcut is necessary, and sometimes it's just what tastes best. I think if this started with a home made cake the number of steps and amount of work would just be overwhelming. I hope you love it!

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  20. You made me drool a little! YES PLEASE! I've got to get my mom to try this recipe. I'm swamped with baking this month and i think she should make it :) I'm nominating her hehe! I'm stopping by from the weekend blog hop and i hope your having a great weekend!

    Nikki
    www.thecraftysideofsarcasm.com

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  21. Oh.. A rum fan here.. Rum and cake.. mmmm!
    Would love you to share it at our linky:
    http://meltingmoments.info/?p=3970

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  22. I'm hooked being expatriat I saw baking in a tornado and had to visit your blog.....Now, oh I have to go to my local USA food store here in Melbourne and buy butterfingers for the next family dinner. My son's will love this cake. hehehe I was on a blog hop but found you via menopausal Mother site. Great catchy name for a blog. New follower

    Handmade at Warratahstree

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    1. So glad you stopped by. And you will LOVE this cake!

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