This "spirited" cake has a dense, buttery crumb that soaks up the citrus-rum syrup in a snap. Serve it with a dollop of rum-infused whipped cream or a scoop of rum-raisin ice cream.
Buttermilk Rum Cake is a big favorite at holiday time in my Polish family. But, because the alcohol in the rum hasn't been burned off, it's definitely an "adults-only" cake.
Makes 12 generous servings of Buttermilk Rum Cake
Prep Time: 20 minutes
Cook Time: 1 hour
Ingredients:
- 1/2 pound (2 sticks) butter, softened
- 2 cups sugar
- 4 eggs, at room temperature
- 3 cups all-purpose flour
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 cup buttermilk, at room temperature
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- .
- Rum Syrup:
- 1 cup sugar
- 1 1/2 cups water
- 4 teaspoons lemon zest
- 2 tablespoons orange zest
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 2/3 cup dark rum
- .
- Glaze:
- 2/3 cup sugar
- 1/4 cup butter
- 1/3 cup orange juice
Preparation:
- Heat oven to 350 degrees.
- In a large bowl, cream together butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in eggs one at a time until well blended.
- In a separate bowl, combine flour, and baking soda and add to butter-sugar-egg mixture, blending well. Add buttermilk and vanilla and incorporate completely.
- Bake for 1 hour or until toothpick tests clean. Cool on wire rack for 20 minutes, then invert.
- Meanwhile, make Rum Syrup by placing sugar, water, and zests in a small saucepan over high heat, stirring constantly, until sugar is dissolved, about 5 minutes.
- Strain syrup into a 4-cup glass measuring cup and allow to cool. When cool, add the vanilla and rum and set aside.
- While cake is still warm, poke holes all over it and slowly pour some of the Rum Syrup over, letting it seep into the cake. When it has been absorbed, pour more syrup over. You might have to do this two or three times.
- While the cake is absorbing the Rum Syrup, make the Glaze by melting 2/3 cup sugar, 1/4 cup butter and orange juice in a small saucepan over medium heat until the sugar dissolves.
- Set cake over a cooling rack and pour Glaze over cake, letting it drip down the sides. Allow to harden and store covered for up to two weeks.
