D loves Tortuga rum cake. Unfortunately they are only available in the Cayman Islands or from importers in Florida. You can buy them online but it will cost you $35 plus shipping and quite frankly, that's a lotta money for a just a little cake!

So it is quite fortunate for D to have me, as I possess both supreme cooker and caker skills. I also have a stubborn streak which requires me to know how to do everything myself all of the time. So naturally when he professed his love for Tortuga rum cake I had to learn how to make one from scratch. The reaction was excellent and got a 9.8/10 compared to real Tortuga. I used 3/4 of a cup of walnuts but D said that was too many. Anyways, here is the recipe I found somewhere on the internet, only re-written to eliminate confusing and pointless steps:

Almost Tortuga Rum Cake

Cake:
2 c flour
1½ c granulated sugar
4 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
½ c butter, cut into bits
3 tbsp vegetable oil
1 pkg vanilla instant pudding mix
½ c milk
4 eggs
½ c dark rum
½ c vegetable oil
1 tsp vanilla extract
½ c finely chopped walnuts

Rum Glaze:
½ c butter
¼ c water
1 c granulated sugar
½ c dark or spiced rum

Directions:
Preheat oven to 325 degrees.
Grease and flour a large Bundt pan. Sprinkle the chopped walnuts on the bottom.
In a large bowl combine flour, sugar, baking powder, salt, butter and 3 tbsp oil on low speed until the mix is the consistency of fine gravel.

Add pudding mix, milk, eggs, rum, remaining oil and vanilla extract. Combine on medium speed with electric mixer for 2 to 3 minutes, until batter is smooth, scraping down the bowl halfway through.

Pour batter into pan over walnuts and bake for approx 55 minutes or until fully golden and tester comes out clean.

Rum Glaze:
Combine butter, water and sugar in a small saucepan and bring to a boil. Reduce to a simmer and cook until sugar is dissolved and syrup has slightly thickened.

Remove syrup from the heat and stir in the rum. While cake is still cooling in pan, pour some of the hot syrup on top of the cake, allowing it time to soak in. Continue to add syrup until all of the syrup is added. (It will seem like there is way too much syrup but it will absorb eventually! - You can help it along by poking some holes with a cake tester in the cake.)

The cake is best when let to sit in pan for a few hours or overnight before turning out onto platter.

So there you have it. I should also mention this cake has something like 600 calories a slice and that your dog may act a little more idiotic after stealing a piece off the table. But damn it, it's delicious!

If you wanted to get really crazy you could use a flavoured rum to make it banana or coconut flavoured. I saw Passion Fruit Malibu rum in the LCBO the other day. Ehhhh? That could be interesting.

Labels: cooking, food, recipes