Dark Chocolate Spiced Rum Cake with Caramel Rum Frosting

Rum + Frosting + Chocolate in a dessert. This is what I was requested to make for a recent dinner party. We were so excited that a few of our good college friends were coming to visit our new house. So what did I do? Planned a dinner party, of course! This is the yummy dessert I came up with and served to our wonderful friendy friends.

With LOVE from Texas,
The Pint-Sized Mayo

Dark Chocolate Spiced Rum Cake with Caramel Rum Frosting

Yields 1 (12 cup/10-inch) Bundt Pan Cake

Ingredients for the cake:

• 1.5 cups (12 ounces) strong brewed coffee
• 3 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1.5 teaspoons baking soda
• zest of one large orange
• 1 cup Ghirardelli 60% Cacao Bittersweet Chocolate Chips
• 1.75 cups (3.5 sticks) unsalted butter
• 1 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
• 2  cups white granulated sugar
• 3/4 cup spiced rum (I used Captain Morgan’s)
• 2 large eggs
• 1.5 teaspoon vanilla extract

Ingredients for the frosting:

• 1/4 cup white granulated sugar
• 1/4 cup heavy cream
• 1/3 cup light coconut milk
• 3/4 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
• 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature
• 2 tablespoons spiced rum (I used Captain Morgan’s)
• 2 1/3 cups confectioners’ sugar (powdered sugar)

Directions:

First brew the coffee and allow it to come to room temperature.

In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, salt, baking soda, and orange zest. Set aside for later.

Preheat oven to 300°F. Spray the bundt pan with nonstick baking spray. (It usually contains oil and flour. If you are old school, you can cover the pan in butter and then dust it with cocoa powder.)

Once the coffee has cooled, add the cocoa powder to it. Mix until everything is combined.

Melt butter and chocolate chips in a double boiler (in a pan over hot boiling water, but not touching the boiling water – I used my large stand mixer stainless steel bowl). Whisk to combine.

Once completely mixed, remove from heat, and add the coffee mixture and 3/4 cup rum. Combine well. Add the sugar and whisk until everything is combined and smooth.

Whisk in flour mixture slowly (I do mine in thirds) into the liquid until all the flour mix has been incorporated fully.

Next, whisk in one egg at a time, and then finally the vanilla extract.

Pour batter in the prepared cake pan, and place in the oven.

Bake for about 1 hour and 40 minutes or until a bamboo skewer inserted in the middle comes out clean. Remove from oven and allow cake to cool completely in the bundt pan.

As you can see, my cake baked out of the pan a little. This is the time for quality control! Level it with a knife and have a little taste test. 😉

To make the frosting, start by making a caramel liquid. In a small saucepan over medium heat, slowly melt the sugar. Be sure to stir it continuously to melt evenly and avoid sticking.

When the sugar turns a dark caramel color, remove heat, and slowly pour in the heavy cream while continuing to stir. (It is ok if the mixture clumps a bit.) Return the pan to the burner and turn it on to a medium heat. Stir the mixture until everything is completely combined. Reduce the heat to a simmer, and cook for 2 minutes longer, while still stirring.

Pour the burnt caramel mixture into a heatproof liquid measuring cup (I used my Pyrex one.). Add in the coconut milk to make a total of 2/3 cup of liquid. Add the lemon juice, and whisk to combine.

Put the caramel mixture, butter, and rum, in a large bowl. (I used my stand mixer bowl with paddle attachment.) Beat with handheld mixer or paddle attachment until mixed.

Slowly add  (to avoid making a mess) the confectioners’ sugar until the frosting is well combined, shiny, and smooth.

Flip the bundt cake pan over on what you want to serve it on (in my case it was a cake board so I could put it on my cake pedestal with dome). If you greased the pan correctly and let the cake cool completely, the cake should slide out very easily!

Finally, drizzle the frosting over the top of the bundt cake. Allow the frosting set before serving.

Enjoy!!

“Maria Portokalos: What is it?
Harriet Miller: It’s a bundt.
Maria Portokalos: A bun?
Harriet Miller: A bundT.
Maria Portokalos: A bondt?
Harriet Miller: BUNDT BUUNDT!!
Maria Portokalos: It’s a cake! I know! Thank you! Thank you very, very much.
[whispering to Aunt Freida]
Maria Portokalos: There’s a hole in this cake! ”
– My Big Fat Greek Wedding

Red Velvet Cheesecake Marbled Brownies

Red velvet cheesecakey brownies! I don’t even think I have to say anything further. Enjoy!

With LOVE from Texas,
The Pint-Sized Mayo

Red Velvet Cheesecake Marbled Brownies

Yields one 9″ x 13″ pan

Ingredients for the brownies:

• 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter
• 4 ounces dark chocolate chips
• 2 cups granulated white sugar
• 4 large eggs
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
•  3 teaspoons red food coloring
• 1 1/3 cups all purpose flour
• 1/2 teaspoon salt

Ingredients for the cheesecake:

• 16 ounces cream cheese, room temperature
• 2/3 cup granulated white sugar
• 2 large eggs
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 350°F, and spray a 9″ x 13″ pan with nonstick spray. Set aside.

In a small microwave-proof bowl, melt butter and chocolate together. Stir with a fork until very smooth. Set aside to cool for a few minutes.

In a large bowl, whisk together sugar, eggs, vanilla extract and red food coloring.

Add in the chocolate mixture and stir until smooth. Next, add flour and salt into the mixture, and stir until everything is just combined.

Pour into the prepared pan.

In a medium bowl, add all the cheesecake ingredients together. Beat cream cheese, sugar, egg and vanilla extract until smooth. Spoon the mixture, in dollops, on top of the brownie batter.

Take a butter knife and gently swirl the two layers.

Place the pan in the oven, and bake for 35-40 minutes, until brownies and cheesecake are set or until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out with clean and edges are slightly browned. Remove from oven, and allow to come to room temperature.

Enjoy!!

“Because you don’t live near a bakery doesn’t mean you have to go without cheesecake.” – Hedy Lamarr

Dark Chocolate Reese’s PB Cake

Reese’s! A lot of people’s favorite candy. My husband’s favorite candy. I’m pretty sure I could put chocolate and peanut butter on anything and my husband would eat it. I also needed to make a “finale” cake for my class, and this just seemed like the natural one to go with.  This is my take on these two beautifully paired flavors all rolled up in one cake.

With LOVE from Texas,
The Pint-Sized Mayo

Dark Chocolate Reese’s PB Cake

Yields 1 double-layer 9-inch round cake

Ingredients for the cake:

• 2 cups light brown sugar
• 2 tablespoons molasses
• 1.75 cups cake flour
• 3/4 cup cocoa powder, dutch processed
• 1.5 teaspoons baking soda
• 1.5 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 2 eggs, large
• 1 cup buttermilk
• 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, melted
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1 cup (8 ounces) coffee
• 1 cup (4 ounces) Reese’s minis

Ingredients for the peanut butter frosting:

• 1 cup creamy peanut butter
• 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 2 tablespoons heavy cream
• 1/2 teaspoon sea salt
• 2.5 cups confectioners’ sugar (powdered sugar)

Directions for the cake:

Place the racks in the middle of the oven. Preheat oven to 350°F, and spray 2 9″-round pans with non-stick baking spray.

In large bowl or stand mixer bowl, whisk the light brown sugar with the molasses. (2 cups of dark brown sugar can be substituted for this step.) Add the flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, baking powder, and salt together and whisk until combined.

Next, add eggs, buttermilk, melted butter and vanilla to dry mix. Mix for 2 minutes with a whisk to fully incorporate.

Then, slowly pour in hot coffee and mix thoroughly.

Pour the batter into both pans evenly and bake for 35-40 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean. Rotate the pans halfway through the baking period.

Remove from oven and cool in pans for 20 minutes or more before turning onto wire rack to completely cool before filling and icing.

Directions for the frosting:

Cream peanut butter and butter in medium bowl on high speed. Next add the vanilla, heavy cream, and salt and combine well.

Reduce mixer to low speed and mix in confectioners’ sugar in small batches until combined. Beat mixture on high speed until fluffy and smooth.

Directions for the arranging the cake:

Arrange first layer of (cooled) cake on cake plate. Level out cake if you need to. Spread 1 cup of icing over first layer.

Cut the Reese’s minis into fourths and sprinkle on top. Gently push into the icing.

Place second layer of cake on top of first. Pour a small amount of frosting on top of the second layer and over the entire cake. This is called the crumb layer and will help with keeping your crumbs out of the product.

Finally, pour remaining frosting on top of the second layer and spread over the entire cake.

Decorate cake as desired, slice, and serve.

Enjoy!!

“It’s like peanut butter and chocolate. Each is great, but they’re better together.” – Richard Whitehead