Recipes
Rum Punch Cake
Hibiscus lends its bright floral flavor and gorgeous magenta hue to this boozy dessert.
- Makes
one 10-inch cake
- Time
1 hour 45 minutes
Washington, D.C., pastry chef and Bodega Bakes cookbook author Paola Velez used to sell rum cakes by mail order during the holiday season. “People couldn’t live without it, so it became a year-round thing, just like that,” she says. “I can’t say I was surprised: rummy pound cake is pure nostalgia, no matter where you come from—even if you didn’t grow up eating anything like it.” This vibrant variation starts with the same rum cake base—aka “the only rum cake you’ll ever need,” according to Velez—made with brown butter and warming spices and soaked with a hibiscus rum punch. The dried flowers infuse the cake with a tart brightness and tint it a striking shade of magenta. For an optional final flourish, Velez adds even more color to the plate with fresh edible blooms.
Adapted from Bodega Bakes: Recipes for Sweets and Treats Inspired by My Corner Store by Paola Velez. Copyright © 2024. Available from Voracious.
Ingredients
For the rum cake:
- 32 Tbsp. (450 g) unsalted butter
- Nonstick spray, for greasing
- 2½ cups (350 g) all-purpose flour
- 2 Tbsp. plus 2 tsp. (20 g) cornstarch
- ½ tsp. baking soda
- ¼ tsp. kosher salt
- 2½ cups (450 g) sugar
- ¼ cup (50 g) lightly packed light brown sugar
- 4 large eggs
- 1 Tbsp. dark rum
- 1 tsp. vanilla bean paste
- 2½ cups (600 ml) heavy cream, divided
- Edible flowers, for serving, optional
For the rum punch soak:
- 1 cup (200 g) sugar
- ½ cup (120 ml) golden rum, divided
- ¼ cup (60 ml) pineapple juice
- 4 Tbsp. (55 g) unsalted butte
- 3 Tbsp. ground dried hibiscus flowers or hibiscus powder
- 2 Tbsp. finely chopped mango
- 1 tsp. vanilla extract
- ¾ tsp. kosher salt
- Four 3-in. cinnamon sticks
- ½ tsp. citric acid
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Instructions
Step 1
Make the rum cake: In a medium light-colored skillet over medium heat, melt the butter. The butter will foam, then change color quickly. Cook, whisking frequently and watching carefully so it doesn’t burn, until the butter is browned and smells toasty and the milk solids are browned and have settled to the bottom of the skillet, 10–15 minutes. Immediately remove from the heat and transfer to a medium bowl so it doesn’t keep browning from the residual heat of the skillet. Set aside to cool to room temperature. (You should have about 2 cups of brown butter. It can be stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 1 week, or in the freezer for up to 3 months.)
Step 2
Position a rack in the center of the oven and preheat to 350°F. Line a 10-inch round cake pan with parchment and grease with nonstick spray. In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, cornstarch, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.
Step 3
To a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, add both sugars and 1 cup of the brown butter (reserve the remaining for another use) and beat on medium-low, stopping and scraping down the sides of the bowl with a silicone spatula as needed, until aerated and paler in color, 4–5 minutes. Turn the mixer to low and add the eggs one at a time, scraping down the sides and bottom of the bowl after each addition, and mix until glossy and combined. Mix in the rum and vanilla. Add 1¼ cups (300 milliliters) of the cream and mix until incorporated. Turn off the mixer, add half of the reserved flour mixture, and pulse the mixer on and off to gradually incorporate. Turn the mixer to low and mix in the remaining cream until incorporated, then add the remaining flour mixture and mix until combined. Scrape down the bowl and mix on low for 1 minute more to make sure any remaining flour is incorporated.
Step 4
Scrape the batter into the prepared pan and bake until a cake tester inserted into the center comes out clean, 60–75 minutes. (Do not overbake.) Transfer the pan to a wire rack and set aside to cool completely.
Step 5
Make the rum punch soak: To a medium pot, add the sugar, 7 tablespoons (104 milliliters) of the rum, the pineapple juice, butter, hibiscus, mango, vanilla, salt, cinnamon, and ¼ cup (60 milliliters) of water and bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Cook, stirring frequently, until the butter melts completely and the sugar has dissolved, 1–2 minutes. Remove from the heat and stir in the citric acid and remaining rum.
Step 6
Invert the cake onto a serving plate and use a skewer or cake tester to poke it all over—top, bottom, and sides.
Step 7
If the rum soak has cooled, reheat it in the same pot over low until warm. Strain the warm soak through a fine-mesh strainer over the cake, a little at a time, until it has been fully absorbed. (You may not need the full amount of soak; it will depend on the temperature and humidity in your region.) Cut the cake into pieces and serve, garnished with edible flowers, if desired.
- Make the rum cake: In a medium light-colored skillet over medium heat, melt the butter. The butter will foam, then change color quickly. Cook, whisking frequently and watching carefully so it doesn’t burn, until the butter is browned and smells toasty and the milk solids are browned and have settled to the bottom of the skillet, 10–15 minutes. Immediately remove from the heat and transfer to a medium bowl so it doesn’t keep browning from the residual heat of the skillet. Set aside to cool to room temperature. (You should have about 2 cups of brown butter. It can be stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 1 week, or in the freezer for up to 3 months.)
- Position a rack in the center of the oven and preheat to 350°F. Line a 10-inch round cake pan with parchment and grease with nonstick spray. In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, cornstarch, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.
- To a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, add both sugars and 1 cup of the brown butter (reserve the remaining for another use) and beat on medium-low, stopping and scraping down the sides of the bowl with a silicone spatula as needed, until aerated and paler in color, 4–5 minutes. Turn the mixer to low and add the eggs one at a time, scraping down the sides and bottom of the bowl after each addition, and mix until glossy and combined. Mix in the rum and vanilla. Add 1¼ cups (300 milliliters) of the cream and mix until incorporated. Turn off the mixer, add half of the reserved flour mixture, and pulse the mixer on and off to gradually incorporate. Turn the mixer to low and mix in the remaining cream until incorporated, then add the remaining flour mixture and mix until combined. Scrape down the bowl and mix on low for 1 minute more to make sure any remaining flour is incorporated.
- Scrape the batter into the prepared pan and bake until a cake tester inserted into the center comes out clean, 60–75 minutes. (Do not overbake.) Transfer the pan to a wire rack and set aside to cool completely.
- Make the rum punch soak: To a medium pot, add the sugar, 7 tablespoons (104 milliliters) of the rum, the pineapple juice, butter, hibiscus, mango, vanilla, salt, cinnamon, and ¼ cup (60 milliliters) of water and bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Cook, stirring frequently, until the butter melts completely and the sugar has dissolved, 1–2 minutes. Remove from the heat and stir in the citric acid and remaining rum.
- Invert the cake onto a serving plate and use a skewer or cake tester to poke it all over—top, bottom, and sides.
- If the rum soak has cooled, reheat it in the same pot over low until warm. Strain the warm soak through a fine-mesh strainer over the cake, a little at a time, until it has been fully absorbed. (You may not need the full amount of soak; it will depend on the temperature and humidity in your region.) Cut the cake into pieces and serve, garnished with edible flowers, if desired.
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