OK, I’m posting two cakes recipes in a row. And I know, some of you out there are not cake lovers. Well, I have a thing or two to say about that! You are missing out! Because a piece of truly good cake is one of the best desserts out there. Especially if you are serving quite a few people, or in the case of this cake, taking dessert to a friend’s home. Which is exactly what happened with this cake.

Our dear friends Paul and Vivianna were hosting a dinner for their oldest daughter who is moving to New York City. So, I offered to bring dessert. But before we drove to Seattle for the dinner party, Mr. C. had a gig in Anacortes. So, whatever dessert I brought had to be in the car, all by itself, for quite some time. Apparently, cake can be very resilient! No signs of trauma. No frosting out of place. Just a happy cake waiting to be loved. And loved it was by one and all.    

Now to be fair, this cake takes a bit of time to prepare. Why? Well, because there are three separate parts to assemble before this incredibly moist and delicious cake can be considered ready for presentation.

I found the original recipe on the grandbaby-cakes.com site (a wonderful site BTW). I did make one tiny change to the ingredient list that I felt was necessary. I added just a bit of espresso powder to the mix because rum and coffee make great partners.

Now, the original recipe only called for two parts; the cake itself and the rum syrup that is poured on the cake while it is still in the pan and still warm. But when it came time for me to ever so gently entice the cake out of the pan, my cake obviously didn’t want to leave its cozy confines. So, I had to frost the cake to cover up the missing bits. (Not the first time I’ve had trouble with bundt pans. But that’s a sad story for another time.) And frankly, I knew better. You leave a cake in the bundt pan and then pour a sweet, sticky syrup all over it, and of course the cake is going to stick to the pan! Duh! But I was prepared for the inevitable. Frosting has many amazing qualities. The first being that it tastes wonderful. The second being that it covers up a multitude of sins.  

So, I decided what this cake really needed was a rum-raison buttercream frosting. And that’s exactly what I prepared to cover my poor battered and bruised cake. No one knew that I had avoided a disaster. They just enjoyed the heck out of the cake. Yeah frosting!

So, when you decide this is the cake for you, prepare to cover the cake with frosting. Unless of course you are better at removing cakes from a bundt pan, but even then, frost the darn cake anyway. The frosting really adds a lot to the final enjoyment of this cake.

Well, that’s it for now. The political circus that is keeping me crazy seems to be getting even worse. But I refuse to cave. I am going to remain happy, find enjoyment in friends and family, music, reading good books, eating good food, and knowing that I am not alone. We are all in this together. And whether the good guys win, or the few who shall remain nameless with only their own interests at heart win, there isn’t really a darn thing I can do about it. But I have chosen to remain civil, to care about others, and to keep working on myself. I will not let the evil one or two win! These few horrid people are not going to take my joy away from me.

May you too stay happy, healthy, and positive. Cook good food. Tell people you love them. Make life as enjoyable for your family and friends as you can. Make a difference in someone’s life. Share your happiness with others. Care about others from the bottom of your heart. Be a civil person.

And as always, peace and love to all.

For the cake:

½ c. (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temp.

½ c. vegetable oil

1 sm. pkg. (3.4 oz.) vanilla instant pudding

¾ c. granulated sugar

¾ c. light brown sugar

2 tsp. baking powder

1 tsp. fine sea salt

½ tsp. espresso powder

2¼ c. cake flour, fluffed

4 lg. eggs, room temp.

1 T. pure vanilla extract

½ c. whole milk, room temp.

½ c. dark rum

Prepare a 12-inch Bundt pan by spraying liberally with nonstick baking spray.

In a stand mixer fitted with paddle attachment, combine butter, oil, pudding mix, sugars, baking powder, salt, and espresso powder and beat on high for 3 minutes, until evenly mixed and fully hydrated.

Reduce speed and add flour in 2 additions and beat until thick and smooth.

Add eggs one at a time, scraping down the bowl between each egg.

Add vanilla, milk, and rum, and mix until smooth. Batter will be thinnish.

Pour batter into prepared pan. Give the pan a firm yet gentle tap on the counter. (This little jiggle helps release any trapped air bubbles, ensuring your cake comes out super smooth.)

Bake in a pre-heated 325-degree oven until golden brown and cake starts pulling away from the edge of the pan, about 50 minutes. Or until the internal temperature reaches 200-degrees.

Remove from oven and let cool in pan for 15 minutes. Meanwhile, make the Rum Butter Syrup.

For the Rum Butter Syrup:

¼ c. (½ stick) unsalted butter

¼ c. water

1 c. granulated sugar

⅓ c. white rum

pinch fine sea salt

Combine all the syrup ingredients in a small saucepan. Heat over medium heat and cook until the mixture thickens and reduces, for about 11 minutes.

After the cake has been out of the oven for 15 minutes, using a skewer, poke holes all over the surface. (The cake is still in the pan.) Slowly drizzle the syrup all over the bottom of the cake, allowing it to soak up all the yummy syrup.

Cover and let sit for at least 2 hours to allow the syrup to fully soak into the cake before turning it out onto a cake plate. (Don’t worry if the cake doesn’t come out of the pan as nicely as you would like. Not to worry. You’re going to frost and cake anyway. And frosting hides a multitude of sins! Or divots!

Store the cake in an airtight container.

For the Rum-Raisin Buttercream Frosting:

⅓ c. golden raisins

2-3 T. spiced rum

½ c. (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temp.

1½ c. powdered sugar

pinch ground cinnamon

pinch sea salt

¼ tsp. vanilla extract

Place the raisins in a very small saucepan. Add 2 tablespoons of the spiced rum. Bring to a low simmer, remove from heat, and allow to cool completely.

Beat the butter until soft and creamy. Add the powdered sugar, cinnamon, salt, and vanilla extract. Beat until creamy. Add more spiced rum if the frosting is too thick.