Chocolate Rum Cake

I had never eaten a rum cake until two months ago.  We sell them at the store I work at, and one day I was able to try it when we set out samples for the customers.  They’re absolutely delicious!  It tasted like a lighter, moister pound cake with a lot of rum flavor. 

Then, Tim, my friend and co-worker, brought in two chocolate rum cakes on separate occasions.  They were even more amazing!  The cakes were rich, full of chocolate, and heavenly.  I asked him for the recipe and he told me it was an adapted recipe of Epicurious’ Mocha Rum Cake.

I baked this chocolate rum cake for Eric’s family’s Thanksgiving.  I thought chocolate cake would be a good dessert option for non-pie eaters.  I used the Epicurious recipe as a start, and then adapted it.  This cake is half the size of the original, and it doesn’t have coffee in it.  It has lots of butter in it, lots of melted chocolate, and a moderate amount of spiced rum.

And then I brushed more rum on top of the cake, after it was done baking.  You prrrobably shouldn’t serve this to little kids.  You probably shouldn’t bring it to a Thanksgiving dinner where there are little kids who love to eat chocolate cake.

I was running low on ingredients, so I made up an impromptu glaze for the cake using butter, cocoa powder, confectioners’ sugar and corn syrup.  It was good, and did the trick, but when I bake this cake again, I think I’ll use a dark chocolate ganache instead. 

Thanks, Tim, for the inspiration and recipe!  Be sure and check out Tim’s blog –  Worst Beer Blog Ever.  He started writing it a month ago, and posts frequently about beer, restaurants, and food.

Chocolate Rum Cake

3/4 cup unsalted butter
4 ounces dark chocolate, coarsely chopped
1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup packed brown sugar
2 large eggs
1 cup milk
1/4 cup rum
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

Chocolate Glaze
1/4 cup unsalted butter
2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
3/4 cup confectioners' sugar
1 tablespoon corn syrup
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Heat oven to 350 degrees F.  Coat inside of a Bundt pan with butter.  Lightly dust with flour.

Melt butter in a small saucepan over medium heat.  Remove pan from heat and whisk in chocolate until melted.

In a medium mixing bowl, sift together flour, cocoa powder, baking soda and salt.

In a large mixing bowl, using a mixer on medium speed, beat together brown sugar, eggs, milk, rum, vanilla extract and melted chocolate mixture until well combined - about 2 minutes.  Reduce mixer speed to low and beat in flour mixture and chocolate chips until just combined.

Pour batter into prepared pan.  Bake 20 minutes.  Reduce heat to 300 degrees F., and bake an additional 20-25 minutes or until well risen, set, and a toothpick inserted into cake comes out with moist crumbs attached.  Cool 30 minutes on a wire rack before running a knife around outer pan edges and inverting onto a platter.

To make the glaze, melt butter in a small saucepan over medium-low heat; whisk in cocoa powder, confectioners's sugar, corn syrup and vanilla until well combined and smooth.  Cool glaze enough for a good "drizzling consistency", and drizzle on top of cake.

Makes 8 servings