VANILLA CAKE WITH RUM AND CREAM
Cake
2¾ cups all purpose flour
1 ½ teaspoons baking powder
1 level teaspoon coarse salt
1 cup unsalted butter,at room temperature
1 cup granulated sugar
4 large eggs, beaten lightly
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 ½ teaspoons white rum
¾ cup milk, room temperature
¼ cup cream, room temperature
Glaze
½ cup confectioners’ sugar
2 Tablespoons white rum
*Note you can play with these two proportions to find the creaminess that you like.
Preheat oven to 325ºF. (180 ºC)
In a medium size bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt. Set aside.
In a new bowl, stir together the milk and cream.
In the large bowl of your mixer, on medium speed, beat the butter for about 30 seconds, just until smooth and creamy.
Gradually add in the granulated sugar, still on medium speed;
Beat until fluffy (about 5 minutes) scraping down the sides when needed.
Add in the eggs one at a time, beating well after each one, scraping periodically.
Pour in the vanilla and white rum, and beat for about 1 minute, until combined.
On low speed, add in 1/3 of the flour alternately with the 1/2 the milk.
Mix only until just combined, and scrape the bowl when needed.
Add the next 1/3 of the flour, and then the rest of the milk.
The final thing to add will be the last 1/3 of your flour mixture.
Scrape the bowl down as needed.
Use a spoon to transfer the batter into the pan.
Using the back of your spoon, to gently push the batter up the inner and outer sides of the pan.
Bake the cake on the rack set in the lower third of the oven, for about 45 -55 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, and the cake looks like it’s beginning to pull away from the sides of the pan.
(No peeking by opening the oven before 40 minutes!)
Transfer the pan to a cooling rack and let the cake cool for 15 minutes only.
Pick up the pan by its edges and, still holding it upright, tap it firmly against a hard surface.
This will loosen your cake.
Hold the cooling rack over the pan and flip.
Carefully lift the pan off of your cake, and let it finish cooling on the rack.
Glaze:
In a small bowl, stir together the confectioners’ sugar and the rum, adding the liquid in slowly until the glaze is the texture you prefer; add more sugar if needed to thicken it.
Stir until no lumps at all remain.
Set the cake on its rack atop a sheet pan, and drizzle the glaze over the almost-cooled cake.
Let the glaze set before slicing and serving the cake.
Recipe posted by Madeleine Potgieter
