Monday, June 22, 2009

the mixable one

Bacardi Rum Cake has been on my mind for quite some time. I hinted to my wife that I wanted one as Thanksgiving, Christmas and other celebrations approached. We ended up making gooey butter cakes and other treats instead. I finally dropped enough hints that my wife agreed to make one that we could have for both Father's Day and my birthday. The biggest hint was when I brought home some rum on Saturday.

Because I couldn't find my wife's recipe card, I printed a 1978 recipe that I found on the Internet and took it to a nearby package store. I had to ask the clerk what happened to Bacardi Dark Rum. He pointed me toward a shelf with Bacardi Gold, as it is now called. I also had to ask which size bottle had at least a cup of fluid because they were all measured in milliliters. Fortunately he had a book which told us that 200 ml was only 6.8 ounces. Not enough. That's why I ended up with a 375 ml bottle and almost 5 ounces left over. When he asked to see my I.D. to verify that I was the person on my credit card, I asked if I could pretend I was being carded because of my youthful appearance.

The official Bacardi Rum Cake starts with a layer of chopped pecans at the bottom of a tube or Bundt pan. The cake is served upside down with the nuts on top. My son doesn't like nuts, so we talked about leaving them off one area of the cake. I thought about it overnight and decided we should try making cupcakes instead. It would be easier to omit pecans from some cupcakes and not the others.



According to the package of Butter Recipe Golden cake mix, the cooking time for cupcakes is about half that of the full size cake. The tops were perfect but when we flipped them over, some of the bottom nuts looked like they were a little overcooked. I should have looked online for cooking tips and rotated the pan. Most of the rum flavor and the kick comes from the glaze, which is made from butter, sugar, water and rum. Before adding the rum, we used some of the glaze to top the nut-free cakes. The non-alcoholic glaze turned into an opaque paste. It did not soak into the cakes, like the high-octane stuff did.



To dress up the cupcakes, we added a dollop of Betty Crocker buttercream frosting. We experimented with some right side up and some upside down. Tomorrow, I'll tell you about my family's history with Bacardi Rum Cakes. In the meantime, feast your eyes on these.

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4 Comments:

Anonymous Amy said...

Hi Frank... Just wanted to wish you a Happy Birthday and tell you I heard you guys talking about your cupcakes this morning on my way home from work. Your cupcakes look great, I knew I have been craving something but I just couldn't put my finger on it. I haven't had any rum cake in almost 10 years! I can't wait to go out and make some they sound great! ~ Amy, Athens, TN

6/22/2009  
Anonymous Mary O said...

YUMMY! Enjoy the cupcakes, Frank! Have a great day today. :)

6/22/2009  
Blogger *Just Jen* said...

Happy Birthday Frank!!!

6/22/2009  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Hi Frank, Happy belated birthday,I just wanted to let you know I listen to you,Marc,and Kim every morning. When one is out,the show does seem to lack, the three of you have such good chemistry together.
I am also interested in your rum cake recipie,and was wondering if you was going to post it on your blog. It has been years since I had rum cake,and I would like to try to make one.Thanks again Frank, for all you bring to the show,oh and rember to "lift and seperate" lol Tommy.Newport,TN

6/25/2009  

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