Buttered Rum Pound Cake
This pound cake is very simple to make — just bowls, a whisk and a spatula are necessary. The cake itself is flavored with orange, vanilla and dark rum. Just as the cake comes out of the oven, we drench it with rum syrup. Divine. The rum used really needs to be dark and strong — otherwise it gets lost. We use an 8 1/2-by-4 1/2-inch loaf pan for this. If you are using a 9-by-5-inch pan, check for doneness 5 minutes before the baking time stated below.
This pound cake is very simple to make — just bowls, a whisk and a spatula are necessary. The cake itself is flavored with orange, vanilla and dark rum. Just as the cake comes out of the oven, we drench it with rum syrup. Divine. The rum used really needs to be dark and strong — otherwise it gets lost. We use an 8 1/2-by-4 1/2-inch loaf pan for this. If you are using a 9-by-5-inch pan, check for doneness 5 minutes before the baking time stated below.
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 1/4 teaspoons baking powder
- 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
- 3 tablespoons water
- 2 tablespoons dark rum
- 3 large eggs at room temperature
- 1 tablespoon dark rum
- 2 teaspoons orange zest
- pinch ground cloves
- 1/3 cup (80 ml) heavy cream
- 1 1/3 cups (175 grams) all-purpose flour, we used gold medal
- 1 cup plus 3 tablespoons (240 grams) granulated sugar
- 8 tablespoons (115 grams or 1 stick) unsalted butter melted and cooled
- Carbohydrate 10.9310616562211 g
- Cholesterol 1284.29583331557 mg
- Fat 35.0017745779144 g
- Fiber 1.11429999542236 g
- Protein 41.6822120761006 g
- Saturated Fat 12.3438985384342 g
- Serving Size 1 1 loaf, approximately 8 slice (524g)
- Sodium 849.950399767951 mg
- Sugar 9.81676166079873 g
- Trans Fat 5.56068637448482 g
- Calories 639 calories
Step-by-step
- Center a rack in the oven and heat to 350º F. Butter and flour an 8 1/2-by-4 1/2-inch loaf pan. Place the pan on an insulated baking sheet or on two regular baking sheets stacked on top of the other.
- Whisk the flour, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, and cloves together, set aside.
- In a large bowl, rub the sugar and orange zest together until the sugar is moist and fragrant with the orange. Whisk in the eggs and vanilla until blended then whisk in the cream and rum.
- Switch to a large rubber spatula. Scrape the sides and bottom of the bowl then add the dry ingredients in 3 parts, stirring gently until they disappear and the batter is smooth. Fold in the melted butter in 2 parts. The batter should be smooth and thick.
- Pour batter into the pan and smooth the top. Bake 50 to 60 minutes, or until a knife inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean. Make the rum syrup as soon as the cake goes into the oven.
- After 30 minutes in the oven, check the cake for color. If it looks like it is browning too quickly, loosely cover with aluminum foil.
- As soon as the cake goes into the oven, stir the water and sugar in a small saucepan over medium heat until the sugar melts, then bring to a boil. Remove the pan from the heat and stir in the rum. Transfer syrup to a heatproof bowl or cup and let cool.
- When the cake is done, transfer it, in the pan, to a wire rack to cool for 5 minutes. Unmold the cake and place right side up on the rack. Position the rack over a baking sheet lined with parchment paper or foil.
- Using a toothpick or thin skewer, poke holes all over the cake. Brush the cake with the syrup. Do this slowly so the cake has a chance to absorb the syrup. Cool the cake to room temperature, slice and serve. (We love adding a dollop of whipped cream. Fresh fruit is also nice).
Traditional pound cakes rely on an equal weight of flour, butter, eggs, and sugar, resulting in a dense, tight crumb that differs significantly from the airy, fine-celled structure of a standard American butter cake. Mastering this loaf requires careful attention to pan sizing, specifically noting that substituting a 9-by-5-inch pan necessitates checking for doneness five minutes prior to the standard range due to the shallower batter depth. Direct thermal indicators like digital thermometers are rarely necessary here because visual and tactile cues provide absolute accuracy. Inserting a thin knife blade directly into the geometric center of the cake serves as the primary diagnostic tool, requiring the steel to emerge entirely free of wet batter while occasionally permitting a few moist crumbs. Baking requires a preheated 350-degree Fahrenheit environment, utilizing stacked baking sheets beneath the loaf pan to insulate the dense bottom crust from excessive heat transfer during the fifty to sixty-minute bake time. Crucially, piercing the warm crumb repeatedly with a wooden skewer immediately after a brief five-minute rest in the pan allows the hot rum syrup to penetrate deeply into the interior matrix rather than pooling uselessly on the exterior surface.
