Tuesday, June 29, 2010

Rum-Drenched Vanilla Cakes



True confessions: I did not bake these cakes this week BUT I did make them in January. I write notes all over my cookbook, Baking from my Home to Yours, and I have a very clear memory of these delicious cakes.

This was the first time I ever worked with a vanilla bean and it was fun to scrape out the insides. This was also the first time I ever poked holes into a cake and poured rum over it. This was also fun. I fretted, though, because I thought the rum flavor might be overpowering. It wasn't overpowering, it was just right.

I served these at one of our soup nights and everybody loved them. In the picture, they are hiding off on the side, near the cookies.

5 comments:

  1. Yes, this was a good cake, but now I'm VERY interested in those cookies!

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  2. The cookies are the Perfect Chocolate Chip Cookies which were in the May 2009 issue of Cooks Illustrated. They really are wonderful and believe me, I have done a thorough study of chocolate chip cookie recipes! The baking technique is unique: you brown some butter, stir in some more, mix the sugars and butters, stir in the eggs, then you stir and wait for 3 minutes, stir and wait for 3 minutes, stir and wait for 3 minutes. The result are fantastic cookies: soft on the inside, crisp on the outside, and oh so tasty!. http://www.cooksillustrated.com/recipes/detail.asp?docid=19364

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  3. wow can't take my eyes off those cookies!

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  4. How funny! Love the cookies. Glad the cake was a hit. Thanks for baking with me.

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  5. Great looking cookies! :) I can see the cakes too. I really liked this recipe, though I made mine with hazelnut syrup instead of rum. :)

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