All Cakes Considered - Melissa Gray [34]
6. Pour the batter into the prepared pan, spreading it evenly with the spatula.
7. Bake for 45 to 50 minutes, or until the top is set and the edges are beginning to pull away from the sides of the pan. Remember, this cake has a gooey center, so your clean toothpick/skewer/ clean knife method will not work!
8. Allow the cake to cool in the pan for 1 hour and 30 minutes. Yes, 1 hour and 30 minutes.
9. This is not a particularly strong cake, so our usual flipping it over to a plate and then to a rack would stress it out. SO: flip directly onto a serving plate and unmold. Allow to cool to room temperature, which will take approximately 2 hours.
TO MAKE THE GLAZE
10. While you’re waiting for the Tunnel of Fudge to cool, use your time wisely and mix your glaze: Combine the confectioners’ sugar, unsweetened cocoa, and 4 teaspoons of the milk. Beat with a mixer or stir aggressively until the glaze has a smooth texture. Add more teaspoons of milk in order to get it to the right consistency for drizzling.
TO FINISH THE CAKE
11. When the Tunnel of Fudge Cake has reached room temperature, gently spoon the glaze over the top of the cake, allowing some to roll down the sides. Serve.
Butter Rum Cake
The cake I most associate with a Bundt pan is my Aunt Janet Gray’s Rum Cake. The only problem is that it violates my basic tenet of “bake no cake mixes”, so off to the Internet I went in search of a from-scratch rum cake.
Unfortunately, I found a LOT of recipes that start with a cake mix, and it took a while for me to track down one that didn’t. I’m not sure where I found this recipe (I wasn’t planning on writing a book when I jotted it down). But I do know that it originally called for rum extract, and I instead used Bacardi rum, because why use extract when you’ve got the real deal? It’s a winner AND looks FABU in a Bundt.
Note that this recipe calls for cake flour, rather than all-purpose. It will work with all-purpose; it just won’t be as light and delicate.
Butter Rum Cake is easily sliced thin, so you can expect to serve 16 to 32.
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YOU’ll NEED
A 12-cup Bundt or 10-inch tube pan
FOR THE CAKE
2 sticks (1 cup) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 cup sugar
1 cup light brown sugar
4 large eggs
1 tablespoon light rum
3 cups cake flour
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking powder
½ teaspoon baking soda
1 cup sour milk (see Tip)
FOR THE GLAZE
⅓ cup unsalted butter
¾ cup sugar
3 tablespoons water
2 teaspoons light rum
Tip: No sour milk? Substitute buttermilk. What? No buttermilk? Add 1 tablespoon of lemon juice or distilled white vinegar to 1 cup of milk and let stand for 5 minutes.
TO MAKE THE CAKE
1. Center a rack and preheat the oven to 325 degrees F. Prepare a Bundt or tube pan.
2. Cream the butter with the mixer on medium speed, and gradually add the sugars, beating well.
3. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition.
4. Add the rum and beat to incorporate.
5. In a separate bowl, dry whisk the flour, salt, baking powder, and baking soda together.
6. With the mixer on low, add 1 cup of the flour mixture, beat, and then add ⅓ cup of the sour milk and beat again. Repeat until all of the flour mixture and sour milk are blended into the batter.
7. Increase the mixer speed to medium-high. Beat until all the ingredients are well incorporated.
8. Pour the batter into the pan and bake for 1 hour, or until a toothpick or thin knife inserted in the middle comes out clean.
TO MAKE THE GLAZE
9. Melt the butter in a small saucepan over medium heat. Add the sugar, water, and rum and stir until smooth. Remove from the heat.
TO FINISH THE CAKE
10. As soon as the cake is out of the oven, before removing it from the pan, take a toothpick or skewer and poke holes through it. Then pour three-quarters of the glaze over the top of the cake. Let cool in the pan for 10 to 15 minutes.
11. Unmold the cake onto a cake rack and let cool for 10 more minutes. Put a plate under the rack and drizzle