Rum Punch Cake [Recipe]

This is the week of King Arthur Flour in my house. It starts with a cake.

Anyway, King Arthur Flour sent me some items to review: an 8-inch cake pan, a bag of unbleached cake flour, “cake strips” and a bag of Pineapple Juice Powder. The Pineapple Juice Powder threw me for a loop, and I suddenly had visions of Iron Chef. I wasn’t thrilled with the idea of a dessert tasting heavily of pineapple, but I still wanted to take on the challenge of incorporating it in a delicious way.

I decided on the idea of a rum cake with pineapple frosting, and then I took it one step further. Rum Punch, which is a delicious Jamaica concoction, typically contains some combination of rum, orange juice, pineapple juice, and spices (often including ginger). There are plenty of variations, but this was my inspiration.

Here’s the recipe:

• 1 cup butter, unsalted
• 1 cup sugar
• 3 eggs
• 1/2 tsp. baking soda
• 1 T. cinnamon
• 3/4 t. ginger
• 3/4 t. allspice
• 1/3 cup dark rum
• 2 T orange juice *
• 6 T brown sugar *
• 2 cups unsifted flour (I used King Arthur Unbleached cake Flour)
• zest from two oranges

* The brown sugar/orange juice combo replaces molasses in the recipe and, mixed together, should measure roughly 1/2 cup. You can use molasses instead for a non-orangey cake.

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees
2. Grease and lightly flour the bottom of two 8 x 8 pans. You can also use two 9 x 9 pans or a 13 x 9, but you’ll need to adjust the baking time accordingly (you can base it roughly on a cake mix).
3. Cream the butter until light and fluffy
4. Beat in sugar.
5. Beat in eggs.
6. Mix the orange juice and brown sugar in a microwave safe bowl (or sauce pan) and heat until the sugar dissolves. If using the microwave, work in small increments like 10-20 seconds, stirring thoroughly each time. The mixture shouldn’t be hot, simply warm.
7. Mix the rum and orange juice/brown sugar blend.
8. Add the baking soda, cinnamon, ginger and allspice.
9. Slowly add the flour and rum mixture, alternating ingredients and mixing along the way.
10. Stir until well mixed.
11. Bake until done. The 8 x 8 pan will take 20-25 minutes.
12. Cool for 5-10 minutes in the pan and then turn out on a rack to cool before frosting.

Pineapple Rum Cream Cheese Frosting (adapted from iVillage)

• 1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened
• 8 ounces cream cheese, softened
• 1 t vanilla extract, for the frosting
• 1 T rum or ¼ teaspoon rum extract
• 3 1/2 cups powdered sugar
• 1/2 t butter flavoring (optional)
• 1/4 t pineapple juice powder

1. Cream the butter and cream cheese together until blended and fluffy
2. Add the vanilla. rum, butter flavoring and stir until blended.
3. Add the pineapple juice powder and mix..
4. Slowly add the powdered sugar while mixing.
5. Beat for 5 minutes or until you have a nice whipped texture.

I also made some candied oranges for a garnish. Gorgeous, right?

So, if you really like rum, I’d recommend brushing each of the individual cakes with rum before frosting. I didn’t, but I wish I had. I also upped the recommended spices because the first attempt wasn’t nearly spicy enough. The end result of the orange rum spice cake should be a combination of sweet and spicy flavors. The pineapple juice powder in the frosting makes the frosting more sweet as well, so the spice helps counteract that.

The cake should be stored in the refrigerator to keep the frosting from going funky or melting.

Related posts:

King Arthur Flour Cake Strips, Pineapple Juice Powder and More S’mores Cookie Recipe from Ocean Edge Resort How to Create Marbled Frosting on a Cupcake or Bundt Cake Fourth of July Flag Cookies A Sugary Sweet Fourth Halloween Birthday Adorable Airplane Cupcakes and Favor Boxes Decorating Skull Cakes for Halloween Parties Cinnamon Roll Pancakes | recipegirl.com

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