Yummy Rummy Cake

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Munira is cooking us another delicious dinner, and wants rum cake! So I gave it a try. I googled and found a few recipes, and two stood out to me: A vegan coconut rum cake that was somewhat similar to my favorite vegan chocolate cake, and a brown sugar and molasses based rum glaze. Since then, I've made both vanilla-coconut and chocolate-walnut versions of this (after Munira said try walnuts!). We thought the chocolate walnut was the best, but both are good depending on what you're looking for, so both variations are described below.

Ingredients

Dry:
For vanilla: 2 2/3 C whole wheat flour
For chocolate: 2 C wheat flour + 2/3 C cocoa
1 1/2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
optional:
For vanilla: 1/2 C shredded coconut or
For chocolate: 2/3 cup chopped walnuts

Wet:
2 C unsweetened almond milk (or coconut)
2 tsp vinegar
1 1/2 C sugar
2/3 C canola oil
3 tsp vanilla

Glaze:
for chocolate:
2 T vegan butter
1/4 C water
1/3 C sugar
1/3 C rum (add after above is brought to boil removed from heat)

for vanilla:
2 T vegan butter
1/3 C dark brown sugar
2 tsp molasses
1/3 - 1/2 C rum (add after above is simmered and removed from heat)

Topping (optional):
1/2 cup roasted walnut halves
powdered sugar (for dusting)

Note: If you want a white glaze -- particularly if you want a pretty bundt cake -- make another batch of glaze and mix in 2 C powdered sugar, and dribble over the top.

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease 9x13 pan or bundt pan with vegan butter and dust with flour.

Whisk together the nondairy milk with the vinegar and set aside.

In a large bowl, mix dry ingredients. Use your fingers to break up any chunks (esp. of baking soda. Mix well.

Mix the remaining wet ingredients into the milk. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry and mix until just combined (don't over mix).

Pour the batter into the cake pan and bake for 35 minutes, until a toothpick comes out clean.

Meanwhile, make the glaze: Add all glaze ingredients except the rum to a saucepan and gently heat until bubbly and the sugar is dissolved. Remove the pan from the heat and add the rum.

When the cake is done, do the following:
If using  bundt pan, let the cake sit at least 10 minutes and then invert it onto a platter.
Use a knife to make several holes in the top. With a spoon, slowly spoon half the glaze all around the top slowly, so that it has time to sink in.  If decorating with roasted walnuts, poke them into the holes and then use up rest of glaze.

Serve when cool! Nice with (vegan) ice cream.

Vanilla coconut (left) & chocolate walnut (right).







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