Hot Buttered Rum Cake
An Original Recipe by Lorraine Elliott
Preparation time: 30 minutes
Cooking time: 2 hours
- 2 cups cake flour
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon bicarb of soda
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
- 2 teaspoons ground nutmeg
- 1 teaspoons ground cardamom
- 2 cups brown sugar
- 400ml/14flozs. oil (a mild flavoured oil)
- 3 eggs, at room temperature
- 1 cup buttermilk
Hot spiced buttered rum sauce
- 1/2 cup brown sugar
- 1/2 cup rum
- 1/2 cup water
- 80g/2.8ozs. butter
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cardamom
Buttered Rum Cream
- 1.5 cups brown sugar
- 1 cup water
- 2 tablespoons spiced rum
- 300g/10.6ozs. butter, cubed and softened
- 3 cups icing sugar, sifted
- 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
- 2 teaspoons ground nutmeg
- 1 teaspoons ground cardamom
Step 1 - Make the cake first. Line the base and sides of a 20cm/8inch round tin with high sides and preheat oven to 135C/275F (very low). Whisk the flour, bicarb, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg and cardamom in a jug. With an electric mixer, beat the brown sugar and oil together for 4 minutes. Then add the eggs, one at a time beating well between additions. Fold in the flour mixture alternating with the buttermilk until smooth (do not overmix).
Step 2 - Place in the prepared tin and smooth over the top. Bake for 1.5 hours to 1 3/4 hours or until the centre of the cake springs back when pressed gently.
Step 3 - Meanwhile make the buttered rum sauce. Mix the brown sugar, rum, water, butter and spices in a small saucepan and heat and cook for 10 minutes or until slightly reduced. Keep warm. When the cake is cooked but still hot, poke holes with a skewer in the cake and pour the hot syrup in-you won't use all of it, just add as much as the cake can take without flooding it. Cool and cover-this cake will last for 1-2 days like this.
Step 4 - Then make the buttercream. Combine the brown sugar and water in a saucepan and bring to a boil. Keep boiling until it becomes thicker and syrupy. Cool completely. Then beat with the butter, rum, icing sugar and spices for 5 minutes or until it becomes fluffy.
Step 5 - Trim the top of the cake and slice into three horizontally. Brush the remaining spiced buttered rum sauce onto the cake layer and spread with frosting and repeat for all layers. Decorate with cinnamon quills.