Sweet potato rum cake
Instructions:
- Cake:
- 3⁄4 cup golden raisins or currants;
- 1⁄3 cup dark rum;
- 4 large eggs, at room temperature;
- 2 cups granulated sugar;
- 1 cup vegetable oil;
- 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract;
- 2 cups roasted sweet potato purée;
- 3 cups all-purpose flour;
- 1 teaspoon baking powder;
- 1 teaspoon baking soda;
- 1⁄2 teaspoon fine sea salt;
- 11⁄2 teaspoons ground cinnamon;
- 1⁄2 teaspoon ground nutmeg;
- 3⁄4 cup well-shaken buttermilk.
- Glaze:
- 1⁄2 cup tightly packed dark brown sugar;
- 4 tablespoons (1⁄2 stick) unsalted butter;
- 3 tablespoons whipping cream;
- Leftover rum from soaking the raisins for the cake (about 1⁄4 cup).
- For the cake:
- Preheat the oven to 350 F. Grease and flour a 10-inch Bundt pan or tube pan.
- Stir together the raisins and rum in a small bowl and let sit for at least 30 minutes for the raisins to plump up.
- Beat the eggs and granulated sugar in a large bowl with an electric mixer set to high speed until the mixture is thick and pale, about 4 minutes. Beat in the oil and vanilla. Stir in the sweet potato puree and mix well. Scrape down the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula.
- Sift the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, and nutmeg together into a large bowl. Add the flour mixture to the egg mixture in three additions, alternating with the buttermilk, beating each time only until the batter is smooth.
- Drain the raisins, reserving the rum for the glaze. Fold the raisins into the batter.
- Scrape the batter into the prepared pan. Bake in the center of the oven until a tester inserted into the cake comes out clean, 1 hour to 1 hour 20 minutes. Remove from the oven and let cool in the pan on a rack for 10 minutes. Meanwhile, make the glaze.
- For the glaze: Bring the brown sugar, butter, and cream to a boil in a heavy saucepan over high heat, stirring until the sugar dissolves. Continue cooking until the mixture begins to thicken, about 3 minutes, stirring often. Remove from the heat and stir in the rum.
- Turn out the cake and set it upright on a wire rack set over a baking sheet or large plate to catch the excess glaze. Poke holes all over the top of the cake with a wooden skewer or chopstick. Spoon half of the warm glaze over the cake. Let the rest of the glaze rest at room temperature for 15 minutes so that it will thicken. Pour this glaze over the cake, letting it dribble down the sides. Cool the cake completely before serving.