Saturday, December 24, 2005

SuperFantastic Double-Chocolate Raspberry Rum Cake (YUM!)

In case anyone hasn't eaten enough sugar yet this year (heh), I'm going to share the recipe for my SuperFantastic Double-Chocolate Raspberry Rum Cake. I'm taking one to my sister's house for our family get-together later today. Uh oh! Change of plans! Sandy is feverish and throwing up. (Feel better soon, Sandy!) Family is coming to my house today while we reschedule with Sandy for another day. Um...did I mention I didn't decorate for Christmas this year? And the house is kind of a wreck? Heh. Please note that I strongly recommend against trying to tint some of the extra white glaze and use it to decorate unless you know a lot more about what you're doing than I do, otherwise you could end up with something that looks like it came from a badly illustrated cookbook circa 1965. See below: Oh well, it'll still taste good! All you Martha-types, don't be put off by the fact that this starts with a cake mix. By the time you tart it up with all the extra stuff, it totally tastes home-made, but is still super-easy and sooooo yummy. SuperFantastic Double-Chocolate Raspberry Rum Cake 1 pkg chocolate cake mix with pudding in the mix* 1 cup Dark Rum, divided (I prefer Bacardi Black Label when I can find it, but any good quality dark rum will do) 3/4 cup water 1/3 cup vegetable oil (I use Canola oil) 3 eggs 1 pkg (12 oz) semi-sweet chocolate chips, divided 1 jar (10 - 12 oz) seedless raspberry preserves 2 Tbs. vegetable shortening 1 square (1 oz) white chocolate or vanilla baking bar 1 tsp. water Preheat oven to 350F. Combine cake mix, eggs, oil, 1/2 cup rum, and 3/4 cup water in a large mixing bowl. Using an electric mixer, blend on low speed until moistened, then beat on medium speed 2 minutes. Stir in 1 cup of the chocolate chips, then pour batter into a greased and floured 12-cup Bundt pan or a 10" tube pan. Bake 50 - 60 minutes or until cake tests done. Cool in pan 15 minutes, then remove from pan and cool to room temp. on a rack. In a small saucepan, heat raspberry preserves and the remaining 1/2 cup rum, stirring until warm and smooth. Place cake on a serving plate and prick all over with a long-tined fork. Brush the raspberry/rum mixture slowly and evenly over the cake, allowing the cake time to absorb the glaze. Repeat until all the raspberry glaze is absorbed. Combine the remaining chocolate chips and the shortening in a medium-sized microwave-safe bowl. Nuke 'em on High 1 minute, or until melted. Stir until smooth, then spoon over cake. Let stand 10 minutes. In a small microwave-safe bowl, combine the white chocolate or vanilla baking bar and 1 tsp. water. Nuke 30 seconds, stir until smooth, and drizzle on top of chocolate icing. Eat and enjoy! *If you end up having to buy a cake mix that doesn't contain pudding, then change the oil from 1/3 cup to 1/2 cup, and the eggs from 3 to 4, and add in one pkg. (3 3/4 oz) instant chocolate pudding mix.