All Cakes Considered - Melissa Gray [24]
The only thing I tinkered with in this recipe was the almonds: I double the quantity and toast them. I love toasted almonds and figured it was a great opportunity for you to learn a new skill. A warning here: If you’re feeding more than 8 people at the office, double the recipe, use 2 round cake pans, and add about 10 more minutes of baking time. I made the mistake of doing a single cake and was faced with a legion of sad, puppy-eyed beggars reduced to scrounging cake crumbs, tearing at their eyes, rending their shirts, and asking, “Why? WHY didn’t you bake TWO?!?” So dramatic, I thought the world was ending. This is one problem you run into, doing office cakes—your colleagues’ disappointment is proportional to their gratitude.
Dorie Greenspan’s Rum-Drenched Vanilla Cakes
This rum–soaked vanilla cake is kind of like pound cake with a “yo-ho-ho” and an “arrrrrrrrgh, Matey.” Christopher Turpin, All Things Considered’s executive producer, almost fell out of his chair when he tasted his first slice, exclaiming, “OH MY GOD! IT’S RUM! Wow!” I opted not to give Steve Inskeep a slice that day, because he was still on the air with Morning Edition. Hey, friends don’t let friends eat rum-soaked cake while hosting a national radio show.
Dorie’s original recipe called for rubbing the pulp of a pair of moist, pliable vanilla beans into the sugar. That might be a little much since you’re just starting out here, so I’ve just substituted vanilla extract. But I do use high quality dark rum, just as she instructs. This is another recipe for which you don’t need to plug in your mixer.
Make the syrup as soon as you get the cakes into the oven—that way the syrup will be cool when you’re ready to use it. This recipe calls for loaf pans. Depending on how you slice it, you can get between 10 and 14 servings off a loaf. With 2 pans, that means 20 to 28 servings (nice that I did the math for you, isn’t it?).
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YOU’LL NEED
Two 8 ½-inch loaf pans
A cookie sheet
A sturdy hand whisk
A basting brush (It’s like a paint brush, but for cooking.)
FOR THE CAKE
1 stick plus 7 tablespoons (15 tablespoons) unsalted butter
2⅔ cups all-purpose flour
2½ teaspoons baking powder
Pinch of salt
2¼ cups sugar
6 large eggs
1½ tablespoons vanilla extract
⅔ cup heavy whipping cream
2½ tablespoons dark rum
FOR THE SYRUP
⅓ cup water
¼ cup sugar
¼ cup dark rum
TO MAKE THE CAKE
1. Center a rack and preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line the bottom of your pans with parchment paper, and spray the sides and bottoms with baking spray.
2. Melt your butter, either on the stove top or in the microwave on high power. Set aside and let it cool. In the meantime, take out your eggs and bring them to room temperature (about 30 minutes).
3. In a separate bowl, dry whisk the flour, baking powder, and salt together. Set aside.
4. In a large bowl, measure out the sugar and then add the eggs, one at a time, whisking after each addition until thoroughly blended with the sugar.
5. Whisk in the vanilla extract, then the cream, then the rum.
6. Using a rubber spatula, gently add a third of the flour mixture, stirring until just blended before adding the next third. Repeat until all of the flour mixture has been blended in. The batter should be smooth and thick.
7. Fold in half of the melted butter. When incorporated, fold in the rest.
8. Pour the batter into the prepared pans and smooth the tops with the spatula.
9. Place the pans on a cookie or baking sheet and bake. After 30 minutes, check the cakes for color. If they are browning too quickly, take a sheet of aluminum foil and lightly cover them.
10. Bake for an additional 25 or 30 minutes, until a toothpick or thin knife inserted in the center of each cake comes out clean.
TO MAKE THE SYRUP
11. You start by making what’s called a simple syrup: Stir the water and sugar together in a medium saucepan over medium heat. After the sugar dissolves, bring the mixture to a medium boil. (Medium, because a full