Pots and Pans
Thursday, September 6, 2012
WE ARE now on the “ber” months. The weather should start to cool down (well, that does not include the rainy season!), Christmas decors are now being sold with yuletide carols being played on the radio. It is also the time to prepare our seasonal goodies for the Holiday season!
And what does one have in mind for this event in our lives? Food, food and more food! And to be exact, desserts, sweets and treats to make, sell and give to friends and family.
One very popular item is the quite expensive fruit cake. Because it is rich with assorted imported nuts, dried fruits and liqueur, it is one that can keep for months and years without spoiling when properly stored. The longer the time it is “seasoned,” the better the outcome. I can almost taste it in my mind!
But again, with the limited budget, it is not hard to make other type of cakes that is equally good and correspondingly almost similar. I am talking about cakes that are “spiked” with rum or liqueur that can also last for an indefinite period of time when chilled well.
We can have a heavy type of cake made of fresh fruits and nuts, chocolate, pound or butter cakes. It can even be brownies and cupcakes. Possibilities are endless if one knew what and where to start.
I have always been fascinated by delicious rum cakes ever since I was introduced to this many, many years ago by some “chef” friends from Manila. These cakes can be very rich, almost like the real fruit cakes and very simple like the plain butter cake!
Speaking of butter cakes, I am sure all you bakers out there have your own “special” butter cake. Why not turn it into something unique and special? Just like plain chocolate brownies and cupcakes, these can also be “smeared” with your favorite alcoholic beverage for that special touch! Have you ever heard of “Pink Champagne” cake?
Make sure you do this at least several weeks or months before so the cake can absorb the flavor and be mellowed into something really distinctive and extraordinary that’s truly your own! Who knows? This might be something you can make money out of it! Not a bad, idea, right?
These cakes are basically not so big. Usually, they are made into loaf shapes. Maybe a round 7”-9” cake would also sound great as a gift idea. Besides, this is eaten in small slices and goes a long way. You don’t want somewhat to get “drunk” with your cake, do you?
Another favorite cake that is turned into rum cakes is the butter-rich pound cakes. Be it plain butter pound, chocolate pound, raisin, chocolate chip and any of the other variants. Baked in beautiful decorative Bundt pan, these cakes can be presented as it is with the shape of the cake coming from the pans itself!
What about those smaller varieties of Bundt shape cake pans that is in fad today that is sold as “mini” cakes? They are personal in size, cost a little bit less and very easy to give to love ones.
With a little sprinkling maybe of confectioner sugar or cocoa powder, drizzle with a little chocolate or frosting and top it with some nuts, chocolate chips or some cherries, voila! You have a pretty dressed up cake that is sure to please all the sense! And I bet you, it will be a hit!
Try to present also your cake nicely. Packaging counts almost 50 percent. With a pretty bow and packed in a pretty box, what more can one ask for? Although ultimately, it will be the taste and flavor of your cake, that will linger in the memories of those who had a bite of it.
Here is a mixture you might want to try in your rum cake (try to choose the rum or liqueur you like best):
2 cups Peotraco Caster sugar
2 cups water
1 cup butter
1 cup rum/liqueur
2 cups water
1 cup butter
1 cup rum/liqueur
Boil water with sugar and butter. Once the butter have melted, let cool. Add the rum. Brush on your cakes or bars. Do this two to three times a week and keep refrigerated until ready to “give,” “sell” or “eat.”
P.S. I like Mango Rum Liqueur of Distilleria Limtuaco in my mango rum cakes. You might want to try it.
(Website: www.potsnpans1976.weebly.com; email: potsnpans1976@yahoo.com)
Published in the Sun.Star Cagayan de Oro newspaper on September 06, 2012.
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