A cake that uses up a novelty item from the store cupboard.
The weekend is here but I have an inflamed throat. It is difficult to swallow and so toast and cereal (I am a fan of Crunchy Nut Cornflakes) is not on the menu for breakfast.
The pavements outside the house are being dug up and so the drilling is an added source of discomfort.
The answer to anything is always cake and looking through the cupboards I spot bottle of spiced rum butter. There is also some spiced rum to use up although I think Mr Gochugaru’s preference would be to drink it and not use it in a cake. This rum butter contains edible glitter: you can always trust Fortnum and Mason to lead the the way in glam groceries.
Seeing as there are raisins to use up, I thought to make a spiced raisin cake. This is either too late (Christmas was nine months ago) or too early (Christmas is still three months away) for anything with a touch of spice and festivity to it. Nevertheless, cake is cake and always welcome in our house.
Rum or brandy butter is made up of equal amounts of butter and sugar whipped up together. The addition of alcohol makes it a touch more luxurious at Christmastime, where it is traditionally eaten with mince pies and Christmas puddings. You can always find tubs of it reduced to almost nothing as supermarkets try to empty their shelves in the new year, when they foolishly start bringing in Easter eggs. You can freeze the butter and use later for cakes such as the one here.
For the Cake:
100 g raisins or sultanas
2 tablespoons rum or brandy
175 g self-raising flour
200 g rum butter or brandy butter
100 g unrefined castor sugar
3 medium-sized eggs
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
½ teaspoon grated nutmeg
A pinch of salt
You will also need a 2-lb loaf tin, lined with grease-proof paper.
How to Make:
Place the raisins or sultanas in a small pot and add the rum or brandy. Heat very gently for 1 minute and then cover the pot with a lid. Let the alcohol soak into the dried fruit for at least half an hour.
When you are ready to make the cake, preheat the oven to 170°C/ 325ºF/ Gas 3.
The cake is easy to make. Place the flour, rum or brandy butter, sugar, eggs, spices and salt into the bowl of a free-standing electric mixer. Beat until you get a smooth batter, then mix the fruit in using a spatula.
Pour the batter into the ready prepared baking tin.
Bake in the preheated oven for 1 hour, or until the cakes bounce back when touched. A metal skewer inserted in the centre should come out clean.
I used my Thermomix to make the cake:
Place the raisins or sultanas in a small pot and add the rum or brandy. Heat very gently for 1 minute and then cover the pot with a lid. Let the alcohol soak into the dried fruit for at least half an hour.
When you are ready to make the cake, preheat the oven to 170°C/ 325ºF/ Gas 3.
Place the flour, rum or brandy butter, sugar, eggs, spices and salt into the TM bowl.
Mix 15 seconds/ speed 5.
Scrape the side of the bowl, and mix again 10 seconds/ speed 5.
Add the soaked fruit and mix 5 seconds/ REVERSE speed 5.
Pour the batter into the ready prepared baking tin.
Bake in the preheated oven for 1 hour, or until the cakes bounce back when touched. A metal skewer inserted in the centre should come out clean.
Just a few simple ingredients…
The cake is delicious, more so than I could have expected for something randomly thrown together. In fact Junior 2 asked why I had not called it ‘Rum and Raisin Cake’. She also said that this would make a better Christmas cake than the heavy ones I always make. Finally by way of a festive improvement she suggested adding some orange zest. This last part is a really good idea because I have seen Cointreau butter on the supermarket shelves at Christmas time, and finally I have a reason to buy it.
One thing to point out is that the raisins did sink to the bottom of the cake, very much like the dilemma I had with the cherry cake. I could try to fix the problem but since no one said anything about the position of the fruits, but merely said it was a lovely slice of cake, I might just leave it as it is. Happy baking and happy eating!
