Rum & Raisin Cake
This is the best cake that I’ve ever baked in my life. (Well, so far…)
You might be skeptical, but know that I rarely use absolutes, so this was as much of a surprise to me as it might be to you. I definitely didn’t set out thinking this was going to be the best bake of my life; it was just a cake baked on a whim, inspired by one of my go-to ice cream flavours of rum and raisin. But with a combination of a recipe based on this highly-rated Caribbean-style rum cake, a dose of good vanilla, rum, and gula melaka, and a whole lot of cake-soaking, it makes sense in hindsight how this cake turned out so well!
The cake starts off with the usual butter, flour, sugar, and baking powder situation. But where all the flavour comes from is from a whole load of fatty, rich ingredients that get added in. There’s milk and eggs, a heavy dose of caramel-ly, bittersweet gula melaka, a big splash of vanilla and rum, and finally, plump, bulbous raisins soaked in more rum.
What makes this cake extra special though, is that post-bake, it gets soaked in a buttery vanilla rum syrup. And not just a few brushstrokes of it; nearly two cups of soaking syrup gets poured on and infused into the cake. It might sound like a lot, but the more you pour, the more the cake absorbs, as if it’s hungry for more rum.
The result is a suuuuper moist, deeply complex cake with the perfect texture that’s in between butter cake and fruit cake, and a big big flavour bomb of rum and raisin.
I very rarely say things are “the best”, but just try this and you might just have a new favourite cake like I do!
Rum & Raisin Cake
Makes one 10-12-inch cake
Total cook time: 75 minutes
Ingredients
170g (¾ cup) unsalted butter, softened at room temperature
360g (3 cups) all-purpose flour
150g (¾ cup) caster sugar
5g (1 tsp) salt
9g (2 tsp) baking powder
120ml (½ cup) whole milk
4 eggs
2 egg yolks
150g (½ cup) molasses or gula melaka
80ml (1⁄3 cup) rum
10ml (2 tsp) vanilla extract
120g (1 cup) raisins, soaked in 60ml (¼ cup) rum
Soaking syrup
120g (½ cup) unsalted butter
150g (¾ cup) granulated or caster sugar
120ml (½ cup) rum
60ml (¼ cup) water
5ml (1 tsp) vanilla extract
Method
Heat an oven to 180°C (350°F).
In the bowl of a stand mixer (or a large bowl if mixing by hand), combine the butter, all-purpose flour, caster sugar, salt, and baking powder. Mix on low with the paddle attachment for 1-2 minutes, until sandy. Then, add in the milk and mix for 10-20 seconds until combined. Next, while mixing on low, add in the eggs in 2-3 batches, then pour in the molasses, rum, and vanilla extract. Mix for 30-45 seconds until combined, then finally add in the raisins, along with any residual rum. Mix until a smooth batter forms.
Ready a lined or greased 10-inch bundt pan or a cake tin, and pour the cake batter into the bundt pan. Bake in the oven for 1 hour, until a cake tester poked into the cake comes out clean.
While the cake is baking, make the syrup by combining butter, sugar, rum, water, and vanilla extract in a pan. Bring to a boil, then take it off the heat and stir until all the sugar has dissolved.
When the cake is done, take it out of the oven. Then, with the cake still in the mold, use a thin skewer or cake tester to poke holes all over the cake from the exposed side, and roughly ¾ of the way deep into the cake.
Then, spoon or brush the soaking syrup over the top of the cake, letting it absorb through the holes. It might seem like a lot of liquid for the cake to absorb, but keep spooning and brushing it, and you’ll be surprised that the cake can take on all of it.
When done, let the cake cool completely, then let it sit, covered, at room temperature for at least 2 hours to infuse, or up to 12 hours overnight.
Remove the cake from the pan or mold. If you’re having trouble unmolding the cake, a quick 5 minutes in a 160°C (320°F) oven should help make it easier to unmold. Then, slice, eat, and indulge in what may very well be your new favourite cake! (For storage, you keep the cake in a container in the refrigerator for up to 5 days.)
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