Holiday Rum Cake

WIth less than one week to go to Christmas, what better way to wrap up this year’s posts than with a holiday dessert. Everyone has their favorite cookie recipes, but I guarantee you this recipe takes the cake…literally.

This rum cake recipe was passed along by my good friend Barb Mercer, courtesy of her mom, Mrs. Barbara Drosey. Barb had brought this cake into work a few years back and it was a BIG hit. She was gracious enough to share the recipe, and it’s been part of our holiday tradition ever since.

As the story goes, the original recipe was given to Mrs. Drosey by an acquaintance from the beauty salon where she worked. The recipe was actually orginally for a whiskey cake. Mrs. Drosey said it was so strong it was nearly inedible, and powerful enough to get you drunk! She tweaked the recipe, swapping out the whiskey for rum. It has since become a holiday classic.

Thank you, Mrs. Drosey, for allowing me to share your famous recipe.

And thanks to all of you for visiting my blog. I’ll be back in the new year with plenty more recipes and stories to share.

Buon Natale e nuovo anno felice!

RUM CAKE

1 yellow box cake mix
4 eggs
1 3-oz French vanilla instant pudding mix
1 cup milk
1 cup chopped walnuts
2 tblspn flour
1/2 cup oil
2 ounces white rum

Glaze
1/4 lb butter
3/4 cup sugar
1/2 cup white rum

Combine cake mix, pudding mix and eggs, blend. Beat in milk, oil and rum. Beat two minutes. Mix flour and nuts together and fold in mixture. Pour into greased and floured tube pan. Bake at 350º for one hour.

Leave cake in pan. Heat butter, sugar and rum in sauce pan, bring to a boil.

Perforate the top of the cake with holes. Pour the hot glaze over it. Leave in pan for two hours. Wrap in foil and refrigerate.

Eat and be merry!

Thanksgiving Desserts…and Drinks!!!

Last week I gave you some suggestions on Thanksgiving side dishes (sausage stuffing plus a few sides from last year’s post). This week we’re dipping into the fun stuff…the dessert! As I said in my previous post, Thanksgiving is all about tradition, and there is nothing more traditional than pumpkin pie for Thanksgiving dessert (don’t forget the whipped cream!). Since there are countless recipes out there for pumpkin pie, what I thought I would do is post a couple of alternative pumpkin desserts.

As you probably know by now, my wife is the baker of our house. Just last week, she made a Pumpkin Ribbon cake for my dad’s birthday. To say anything less than this cake was off the charts would be a dishonor. It was AMAZING. She found the recipe in a Pampered Chef book, and topped it off with a dollop of cool whip and drizzled it with melted caramel. Sounds decadent, but the cake was actually much lighter than we expected. This one is definitely a winner!

Next up is Pumpkin Tiramisu. I love pumpkin pie, and will probably make one for home. But what kind of Italian would I be to turn down a tiramisu, especially if it’s combined with my other favorite dessert! I’ll be making this for the first time this week, but I have no doubts that it’s a knock-out.
PUMPKIN RIBBON CAKE
Courtesy of Pampered Chef
Cake
2-1/2 cups all purpose flour
2 tsp baking powder
1-1/2 tsp cinnamon blend (mixture of cinnamon, ginger and allspice)
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1-1/2 c granulated sugar
3/4 cups butter or margarine softened
3 eggs
3/4 cups solid pack pumpkin
1/2 cup milk
1 tsp vanilla

Filling
1 pkg (8 oz) cream cheese softened
1/2 cup granulated sugar

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray a deep baking dish with nonstick cooking spray.
2. Combine flour, baking powder, spices, baking soda and salt in small bowl. In large bowl beat sugar and butter till light and fluffy. Add eggs, pumpkin,milk and vanilla. Beat well! Slowly add flour mixture to pumpkin mixture. Set aside.
3. Filling- Whisk cream cheese and sugar till well blended. Smooth 2-1/2 cups cake batter on bottom of pan. Spoon cream cheese mixture over cake batter using a large spreader. Pour remaining batter over top and spread evenly.
4. Bake 45-50 minutes . Cake tester will come out clean.

Before serving- sprinkle with powdered sugar-serve with whipped cream sprinkled with a bit of the cinnamon spice mix if desired.

PUMPKIN TIRAMISU
Courtesy of Better Homes and Gardens
1/4 cup pure maple syrup or maple-flavor syrup
1 tablespoon bourbon
1/2 of a 15-ounce can (3/4 cup) pumpkin
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup whipping cream
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1/2 of an 8-ounce container mascarpone cheese, softened
1 tablespoon powdered sugar
1/2 cup whipping cream
1 3-ounce package ladyfingers, split
Ground nutmeg or freshly grated nutmeg

1. Line a 9x5x3-inch loaf pan with plastic wrap; set aside. For syrup, in a small bowl, combine maple syrup and bourbon. Set aside.
2. For filling, in a small bowl, combine pumpkin, cinnamon, ginger, and salt. In a small mixing bowl, combine 1/2 cup whipping cream and granulated sugar. Beat with an electric mixer on medium speed until soft peaks form (tips curl). Gently fold whipped cream into pumpkin mixture.
3. For topping, in another small mixing bowl, combine mascarpone cheese and powdered sugar. Beat on low speed until combined. Gradually beat in 1/2 cup whipping cream just until thickened (do not overbeat).
4. To assemble, arrange half of the ladyfingers in a single layer in the bottom of the prepared pan. Drizzle evenly with half of the syrup. Top with half of the filling, spreading evenly. Arrange remaining ladyfingers in a single layer over filling. Drizzle with remaining syrup and top with remaining filling. Dollop topping over filling. Using the back of a spoon, carefully spread topping evenly over filling. Cover and chill for 8 to 24 hours.
5. Use the plastic wrap to lift tiramisu out of pan. Place tiramisu on a serving platter. Sprinkle with nutmeg. Carefully cut the dessert crosswise into slices. Makes 6 servings.

THANKSGIVING COCKTAILS
Now, if you enjoy a tasty holiday cocktail, be sure to check out these fun Thanksgiving drinks. My friend John made his own pumpkin pie shot concoction last year that went over really well at his dinner. The Pumpkin Pie-tini is the closest to his drink recipe, but I’m sure that both of these suggestions will help crank up the fun during dessert.

Wishing you and yours a Happy and Safe Thanksgiving!

THANKSGIVING TOAST
1 oz. good quality Gin
1/2 oz. canned cranberry sauce
1/2 oz. Ginger ale
Garnish: 3 roasted walnut halves, speared cranberries or a sprig of rosemary
Shake vigorously with ice and strain into martini glass. Add a float of ginger ale after straining. Garnish with 3 roasted walnut halves, speared cranberries, or a sprig of rosemary

PUMPKIN PIE-TINI
1 oz milk
2 tbsp Pumpkin puree
1.5 oz Three-O vanilla vodka
1.5 oz creme de cacao
Using a small amount of honey, rim martini glass with graham cracker crumbs. Shake milk and pumpkin puree over ice to combine. Pour in remaining ingredients and shake well. Strain into the martini glass.

Thanksgiving Sausage Stuffing

Can you believe that Thanksgiving is less than two weeks away? I couldn’t be happier. It’s my favorite holiday and my favorite time of the year. It’s all about family and tradition, and of course good food. In our house, it always starts off with an argument of which parade to watch on tv, the Philly parade or New York’s Macy’s parade (I’ll admit, I’m a fan of the Macy’s parade. Willard Scott IS the voice of Thanksgiving!). Then it’s off to Mom’s for the best dinner of the year. Follow that up on Black Friday with a trip to G-Boys in Marlton, NJ to check out their amazing Christmas displays and take pics with Santa, then off to spend some good time with my wife’s family. Wrap it up on Sunday with the neighborhood tree lighting…a perfect start to the holiday season!

A few of my friends are hosting Thanksgiving for the first time this year, and have asked me for some serving suggestions. Since my mom hosts the ‘big dinner,’ I don’t have many suggestions of my own to offer. That’s my mom’s gig and I dare not get in her way. Now, we do bring a few sides, and I posted them last year (click here to check them out). However, my mom was gracious enough to share with me her sausage stuffing recipe. This may be my favorite part of the meal. Lots of flavor, and a great mix of crispy and moist texture. I love it even more when reheated on leftover day. My mom prefers to bake it in a pan rather than stuffing it in the turkey. It cooks faster and more evenly. Also, she does not prefer to use the gizzards (the heart and liver of the bird). But if you prefer to use the gizzards in the stuffing, have at it! Just chop them up and saute with some butter, onions and seasoning, then add to the mixture. It does make for more texture and flavor, but it’s not necessary to complete the dish.

We’re also going to experiment this week with a few alternatives to the traditional desserts. I’ll be sure to post them next week!

THANKSGIVING SAUSAGE STUFFING

2 celery stalks, chopped fine
1 medium yellow onion, chopped fine
1/2 stick butter
1lb. Sweet Italian Sausage, removed from casing
Salt
Pepper
Oregano
Celery Salt
(add all seasonings to taste)
1 bag Pepperidge Farm Herbal Stuffing Mix

In a large pan, melt butter. Add onion and celery and cook until soft. Add sausage, season with salt, pepper, celery salt and oregano. Cook until sausage is brown. In a separate pan, cook 1/2 bag of herbal stuffing (entire bag for larger crowd). Follow instructions on bag for butter and water measurements (for extra flavor, substitute chicken broth for water). When finished cooking, combine herbal stuffing with sausage mixture; stir together. Spoon into a greased 13×9 baking dish (I prefer an aluminum dish for this), cover with aluminum foil and heat in oven at 350º for approximately 30 minutes.

For extra crunch, you can add chopped walnuts, pecans or chestnuts to the mixture before baking.

Old-Fashioned Banana Crisp

Let’s talk some dessert this week. This recipe originally appeared on The Essence of Emeril many years ago, before the Food Network even had a web page (I actually had to send in a $5 check and a SASE and have the recipe mailed to me!). The original recipe called for a cranberry filling.* I replaced the cranberries for bananas and cut way back on the sugar. I also added a splash of dark rum for a little extra kick…and a good kick it is! This is a great dessert to serve this time of year, using whichever filling you prefer. And don’t forget the scoop of vanilla ice cream. And the caramel sauce. Maybe a nice cup of coffee….

Old-Fashioned Banana Crisp

6 large or 8 medium bananas, sliced
1 tablespoon
2 teaspoons cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
2 cups pecans or walnuts, chopped
1 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup flour
1 tablespoon dark rum (optional)
1 stick cold butter, cut into small pieces

Preheat oven to 400F.

In a bowl combine bananas, sugar, rum, cinnamon and nutmeg. In another bowl combine nuts, brown sugar and flour. Add butter and mix lightly with your fingers until crumbly.

Fill a 2- to 2 1/2-quart glass baking dish with fruit mixture and top with flour mixture. Bake until bubbly and golden-brown, about 30 minutes. Serve hot or warm.

*NOTE – for the cranberry filling, use 6 cups cranberries and 1 1/2 cups sugar. Apples and peaches would also work well, just be sure to adjust sugar to taste.

This recipe yields 6 to 8 servings.