Another moist, tasty treat from our book club last week! I have not been able to post too many recipes because I have been plowing through Bobby Dean’s new book “From Mama’s Table to Mine” and making failure after failure from that book. I’m totally done with it and will never look back! The food was edible… but nothing great. So disappointing.
This was a very moist cake with a hint of rum flavor. All the recent cake recipes are from Jeanne Ray’s novel “Eat Cake.” Very pretty and very delicious. Here is a photo of the cake table:
Talk about wow!
Ooh, have I mentioned I signed up with Wildtree this week? I’m so excited! Come click on the Wildtree link to see all the wonderful all-natural products that make dinner fast and healthy. I will have some of their yummy recipes in the future, too!
Now, if you need something quick, delicious and red/white/blue for the Memorial Day BBQ, here is a great recipe – Berries ‘n Stars Pastry:
Sweet Potato Bundt Cake with Rum-Plumped Raisins and a Spiked Sugar Glaze
Serves 16-20
Cake:
3/4 cup golden raisins
1/3 cup dark rum, plus more if needed
3 cups flour, plus more for the pan
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon kosher salt, plus extra for salting the water
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
3 large sweet potatoes
4 large eggs
2 cups sugar
1 cup vegetable oil
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
3/4 cup buttermilk
Glaze:
1/2 cup packed dark brown sugar
4 tablespoons unsalted butter
3 tablespoons whipping cream
1 tablespoon reserved rum from cake recipe
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray with Baker’s Joy or grease and flour a 10 inch bundt pan.
2. For 30 minutes or so, soak the raisins in the rum. Sift together the flour, baking powder, soda, salt and spices.
3. Prep the sweet potatoes while the raisins are soaking: peel and cut into 1″ pieces. Boil in a large pot of water until tender. Pour them into a colander to drain. Next, mash them and measure out 2 cups.
4. With your mixer (use a whisk attachment if available), beat eggs and sugar together until light and fluffy – about 2 minutes. Add vegetable oil and vanilla.
5. Drain raisins BUT keep the liquid!!! (I always seem to miss those important steps.) Add 1/4 cup of that drained liquid to the batter. Add the 2 cups of sweet potato mash to the batter. Mix to combine.
6. Next, you are going to do the alternating method. This is when you add about one third of the flour. Then, half the buttermilk. Another 1/3 of the flour. The other half of the buttermilk. Finally, end with the rest of the flour.
7. Fold in the raisins. Pour into your bundt pan and bake for 80 minutes. Cool 10 minutes and then turn upside down onto a wire rack. Don’t cool completely – make the glaze! It needs added to a warm cake, not cooled cake.
8. To make the Glaze: In a saucepan mix the sugar, butter and cream. Bring to a boil and then let it boil another 3 minutes. Take the pan off of the heat. Add 1 Tb. of the reserved rum or fresh if you ran out.
9. Using a toothpick (or I like skewers because they are longer), poke a bunch of holes into the cake. Drizzle 1/3 of the glaze. Now wait 15 minutes. Add the rest of the glaze. Now, let the cake cool completely.
