Gluten-Free Rum Cake #Recipe by @LibbyKlein #Father'sDay

 Libby Klein My husband loves rum. He was in charge of liquoring the fruitcake last Christmas and the end result had to be eaten with a spoon well away from an open flame. So for Father's Day, I thought this would be the perfect dessert for him. I've seen versions of this that include the use of Coke-Cola, but I went traditional. There is so much you can do with this recipe. Add a little lemon or lime zest. Maybe some Maraschino cherry juice. Or Pineapple and coconut. It makes a good jumping-off point for just about any cocktail-infused cake you can think of. Just keep the liquid amounts the same. What would you add to make the perfect cake for yourself or your loved ones?

Gluten-Free Cuban Rum Cake

Ingredients

For the Cake:
2 cups granulated sugar
½ cup unsalted butter softened

½ cup vegetable oil
3 cups gluten-free flour 
4 large eggs room temperature
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 teaspoon salt
1½ teaspoons baking powder
½ cup heavy cream
¾ cup Rum – I used Bacardi gold

For the Buttered Rum Sauce:
¼ cup unsalted butter
¼ cup granulated sugar
¼ cup light brown sugar 
¼ cup rum 
¼ cup heavy whipping cream 
2-3 dashes Angostura bitters optional
1 pinch salt

Directions

For the Cake:

Preheat oven to 325F. Grease a (10- to 15-cup) Bundt pan with baking spray or butter and flour it.

Combine gluten-free flour, salt, and baking powder in a large bowl then whisk together.

In the bowl of a stand mixer, beat butter, oil, and sugar, on medium speed until light and fluffy, about 5 minutes. Add eggs, one at a time, beating until combined after each addition. Add vanilla, beating just until combined.

With the mixer on low, add flour mixture alternating with rum and heavy cream, beginning and ending with flour mixture just until combined.

Pour batter into pan and bake for 65 minutes or until a wooden pick inserted in the center comes out clean. Let cool in the pan for 15 minutes. Invert onto a cool rack and let cool completely. Glaze-cooled cake with half of Buttered Rum Sauce. Serve with remaining sauce.

For the Sauce:

Melt butter in a small saucepan over medium heat. Add remaining ingredients, stirring until fully combined. Bring to a boil. Boil, stirring occasionally for 4-5 minutes. Transfer mixture to a heat-proof bowl or measuring cup; let cool to room temperature, stirring occasionally. Use immediately or store chilled in an airtight container for up to 1 week. Warm slightly before using.

Gluten-free baker Poppy McAllister and her aunt Ginny are looking forward to a quiet, homey Christmas at their B&B in Cape May, but unfortunately, death isn’t taking a holiday this year . . .

Ever since Thanksgiving, Poppy and her pals have been left with an unsolved mystery of the romantic kind. But at least this mystery isn’t the kind that involves murder. That all changes when the body of a fish supplier is discovered in the kitchen of her ex’s restaurant—and he’s frozen, not fresh.

For once, it’s not Poppy who tripped over the corpse, yet she can’t escape being drawn in since the victim has a note taped to him reading Get Poppy. Figures—an engagement ring isn't labeled, but the dead guy is addressed to her. Now, while Aunt Ginny plans a tree-trimming party and pressures Poppy to decode a mysterious old diary, the amateur sleuth is asked to “unofficially” go undercover at the restaurant to help the police. Until then, the only crime Poppy had been dealing with was Figaro’s repeated thefts of bird ornaments from the tree; now it looks like it’s going to be a murder-y Christmas after all.

 

Libby Klein grew up in Cape May, NJ where she attended high school in the '80s. Her

classes revolved mostly around the Culinary sciences and Drama, with one brilliant semester in Poly-Sci that may have been an accident. She loves to drink coffee, bake gluten-free goodies, collect fluffy cats, and translate sarcasm for people who are too serious. She writes from her Northern Virginia office where she serves a very naughty black smoke Persian named Sir Figaro Newton. You can keep up with her shenanigans by signing up for her Mischief and Mayhem Newsletter on her website. www.LibbyKleinBooks.com/Newsletter/