Mocha Rum Cake

I think the “Mocha Rum Cake” says it all; chocolate, rum and some strong brewed coffee.

The past few weeks went by in a whirlwind. I thought and did nothing else but bake. I am delirious (no not from the rum) to have done so much in such little time, but also as tired as my oven is . Cookies, cakes and more cakes have been my routine. Birthdays followed one after the other; the holiday parties and the activities overlapped and our kitchen was warm, fragrant and messy.

With so much going on, I did not think I would be able to take any photographs or post this recipe. But it would be such a shame if I did not, for it was one of the best cakes ever. I did manage a few shots, though none of the sliced cake(s).

It was A’s birthday and as I sat wondering if we should just order a cake from our favorite bakery, or make his all time favorite Pineapple  Cream Layer Cake. A few minutes later he announced that he will have to take dessert for his holiday party at work.  First we started thinking of a rum cake, but the golden rum cake did not quite feel right. Then I decided to bake a chocolate rum cake as I had my eyes on Jamie’s Bundt Cake recipe. He stepped in and asked if I could do a Mocha Rum Cake.

Coffee, dark chocolate and dark rum it had to be.

We do dream of delicious elaborately elegant tastes, but that does not necessarily mean that I can easily achieve them. Stepping into new territories when it comes to baking still intimidates me. When I do not have a specific recipe  to follow, it gets even worse.  I decided to do a trial run with this cake for his birthday. Then I had to bake a few more later if this one turned out fine.

I combined Jamie’s recipe with the idea of a the Coffee Flavored Chocolate Cake I had baked earlier. I also added a whole lot of dark rum and drizzled some more after it was baked.

Our little one was indeed curious and tried actually sniffing the cake to find out what was going on with the rum all weekend long;  she  went ahead and made her own cake for papa, with a little help from me,  layered it with cream and M&M’s  and also ended up taking a photograph. (her cake was made in the microwave, using the Microwave Cupcake recipe)

Coming back to the Rum Cake – I have no regrets even if I forgot some ingredients from Jamie’s recipe during this baking marathon. It just worked out fine; perhaps not a very fancy looking cake, but dark, elusive,  handsome and addictive. I should have known that nothing can go wrong with the trio together.

I did different glaze/frosting with each of the cakes, keeping the base exactly the same. One had a light rum and sugar glaze with a sprinkle of granulated sugar on it. I did a rum and chocolate light drip on the the others which I have in the recipe below.

Mocha Rum Cake – two ways…

One of the cakes was baked using brandy instead of rum, and that was wonderful too! So if you are trying this out, go ahead and use your favorite liquor.




(Recipe adapted from Coffee Flavored Chocolate Cake & Jamie’s Chocolate Rum Bundt Cake)

Mocha Rum Cake

Ingredients: (makes 1 cake in a 12 cup bundt pan)

1. 3 cups all-purpose flour
2. zest of one large orange (optional)
3. 1 teaspoon salt
4. 1.5 teaspoon baking soda
5. 1 cup (chopped) bittersweet/dark chocolate, chopped
6. 1  cup + 3/4 cup unsalted butter, melted + more to coat the baking/bundt pan
7. 1.5 cups strong brewed coffee
8. 1 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
9. 2  cups sugar
10. 3/4 cup  dark rum + 1/3 cup for soaking (make sure you use dark rum, otherwise you will have to settle for milder flavors)
    
11. 2 large eggs
12. 1.5 teaspoon pure vanilla/or orange/ or almond extract
13. all purpose flour or cocoa powder(preferred) for dusting

For the glaze: (optional):

1. 3/4 cup confectioners sugar
2. 2 tablespoon rum/or (and) orange juice
3. 3-5 tablespoon cocoa powder

Preparation:

If you are using the zest, rub it in the flour with your finger tips. Whisk salt, flour and baking soda.

Preheat oven to 300F. Grease a bundt pan (make sure it is 12 cups or bigger) with melted butter and dust it with flour or cocoa powder(Preferred, as this does not make a cake with white spots once done).

Brew the coffee and cool it down. Combine the cocoa powder with the brewed coffee until the mix is smooth.

Melt butter and broken chocolate in a double boiler (in a pan over hot boiling water).  When completely melted, remove from heat and add the brewed coffee with cocoa powder and the 3/4 cup rum. Combine well. Add the sugar and whisk until everything is combined and smooth.

Whisk in about 1/3 cup of flour at a time into this liquid, until all the flour mix has been incorporated. Whisk in one egg at a time, and the vanilla/or orange/or almond extract until it forms a smooth mix. It was be quite a runny batter.

Pour batter in the greased and floured cake pan and bake for 1 hr 40 minutes, or until the stick comes out clean and the cake bounces back. Cool completely in the bundt pan.

When completely cooled, turn it over on a plate or tray, you will serve in or a parchment paper which can be transferred to a serving plate. Poke holes in the cooled cake with a fork. Drizzle the 1/3 cup of rum slowly in the cake, cover it well and allow it to sit overnight in the refrigerator.

To make the icing/a light drip: Combine all the ingredients mentioned for the icing/drip and whisk until well combined and there are no lumps of the sugar and cocoa powder. Slowly spoon over the cake, a little at a time. Cover and refrigerate the cake.

If you want to do a light rum glaze, whisk confectioners sugar with some rum until it is only a little bit more runny than a paste and drizzle it over the cake. Sprinkle granulated sugar over it. Cover and refrigerate the cake.


Preparation Time: 30 minutes

Cooking Time: 1 hour 45 minutes

Resting time: 1 hour

Yields: 1 cake in a 12 cup bundt pan

Shelf Life: about 5 days refrigerated

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