pecan, rum and brown sugar keeping cake.

I think I've waxed lyrical about desserts with rum like, only a million times. I have a weakness for them. Rum pound cake, rum buns, rum and milk chocolate waffles with creamy brown sugar and rum sauce oh. em. gee. That sauce! It should be your daily 8 cups of water a day.

Needless to say, this cake is already a winner in my books, based on the ingredients. I liked it, but it could have been better because I didn't have dark rum and dark brown sugar, only light ones. And to really gild the lily, throw in rum-soaked raisins. Now that's the stuff of heaven.

The best part is, the longer you keep it, the better it tastes. Of course, within a reasonable time frame. We're not trying to age cheese here!

Pecan, Rum and Brown Sugar Keeping Cake
adapted from Baking by Flavour
makes a 10 inch cake

For the cake:
3 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
1 tsp freshly grated nutmeg
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp ground allspice
1/4 tsp ground cloves
1 cup butter
2 cups firmly packed dark brown sugar
1/4 sugar
5 large eggs
2 tsp vanilla extract
1 cup sour cream
3 tbsp dark rum
1 cup finely chopped pecans

For the rum syrup:
1/4 sugar
1/4 cup + 2 tbsp water
1/2 cup dark rum
3/4 tsp vanilla extract

For the cake: Preheat oven to 325F. Prepare a 10 inch tube pan.

Sift the flour, baking powder, soda, salt and ground spices into a bowl.

Cream the butter and sugars until light and fluffy. Beat in the eggs one at a time until incorporated. Blend in the vanilla extract.

Stir in the flour mixture in 3 additions, alternating with the sour cream in 2 additions, until just blended. Stir in the rum, then the pecans. Scrape the batter into the prepared pan.

Bake for 75 to 80 minutes or until a skewer inserted into the cake comes out mostly clean. Cool the cake in the pan for 10 minutes before unmolding onto a rack.

For the syrup: Combine the sugar, water and rum in a small saucepan, cover and set over low heat until the sugar has dissolved. Remove the lid and increase the heat, heating until the syrup has reduced to about a 1/2 cup. Stir in the vanilla extract. Set aside to cool. The syrup can be made a few minutes before the cake is done.

Apply the syrup to the still-warm cake with a pastry brush. Cool completely before slicing.