“This butter rum cake was made for me in the Caribbean and I just had to recreate it when I returned home,” buzzes chef Ainsley Harriott. “It’s quite possibly the best rum cake ever!
“It calls for a packet of instant vanilla pudding, which is quite usual in the Caribbean and America, but not so easy to get hold of here. You can use instant custard powder or an instant dessert mix like butterscotch Angel Delight, instead. Yes, I know it sounds strange – but it really does work!”
Ainsley Harriott’s butter rum cake
Equipment
- Bundt pan
- Mixing bowls
- Saucepan
- Serving platter
Ingredients
- 125 g unsalted butter plus extra for greasing the tin
- 250 g self-raising flour plus extra for greasing the tin
- 60 g walnuts chopped
- 30 g cornflower
- 3 tsp baking powder
- 1 tsp salt
- 4 eggs
- 200 ml whole milk
- 200 ml dark rum
- 1 tbsp vanilla extract
- 6 tbsp vegetable oil
- 300 g granulated sugar
- 75 g packet instant vanilla pudding mix
- crème fraîche or ice cream to serve
- 125 g unsalted butter for the rum syrup
- 75 ml water for the rum syrup
- 150 g granulated sugar for the rum syrup
- 1 pinch salt for the rum syrup
- 100 ml dark rum for the rum syrup
Method
- Preheat the oven to 180°C/160°C fan/gas 4.
- Grease and flour a 27-cm bundt pan or fluted cake tin and sprinkle the bottom with the chopped walnuts.
- In a large bowl, combine the self-raising flour, cornflour, baking powder and salt.
- In a separate bowl, whisk together the eggs, milk, rum, vanilla extract and three tablespoons of the vegetable oil.
- Cream the sugar and butter in a food mixer fitted with a balloon whisk until pale and fluffy. Slowly add the dry ingredients and the remaining three tablespoons of vegetable oil and continue to mix for a few minutes on a medium-low speed, until the mixture looks like sand. Add the instant pudding mix and the egg mixture, scraping any mixture from the sides back down into the bowl with a spatula, and mix again on medium speed until well combined. The cake batter should be thin and smooth.
- Pour the batter into the bundt tin and bake for 50–60 minutes, until an inserted skewer comes out clean.
- Meanwhile, make the rum syrup. In a saucepan set over a medium-high heat, combine the butter, water, sugar and salt and cook, stirring, until the butter has melted and the sugar has dissolved. Bring to the boil, then reduce the heat to low and simmer for 10 minutes. Remove from the heat and slowly stir in the rum. Set aside to cool.
- Remove the cake from the oven and let it rest in the tin for 10 minutes. Loosen the cake slightly from the tin (inverting it onto a plate works best), then place it back in the tin. Poke several holes into the top of the cake with a skewer to help the syrup seep in, then slowly pour half of the rum syrup over the cake. Let it stand for 15–20 minutes, then invert onto a serving platter and slowly pour the remaining syrup over the cake until it is all absorbed.
- Serve with a dollop of crème fraîche or ice cream. Delicious and naughty… enjoy!
Nutrition
Ainsley’s Caribbean Kitchen by Ainsley Harriott, photography by Dan Jones, is published by Ebury Press.
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