Chocolate Rum Bundt Cake

I'm not much of a drinker these days.

There are few things in the average person's life that feel worse than a bad hangover. 

But now that I'm older and wiser, and (for the most part) have learned to drink in moderation - I would say that the number one reason I drink infrequently is because most alcoholic beverages just don't taste good.

Now Mr. Vittles and probably most of the men (not to mention about half of the women) I know would argue that beer is amazing, but I beg to differ.  Just my own personal taste.  So I just stick to the occasional glass of wine or fruity cocktail (like pina coladas or margaritas -yumm!).

You see, I need every single calorie I consume to be devoted to delicious foods and drinks.  I can't be wasting them on things that taste bad (unless its something healthy - then at least I'm getting something out of the deal).

Now somehow, Fourth of July turned into the Weekend of Rum.  And thankfully, I can say the booze calories were definitely not wasted.

This was the weekend of the barbecue where I made this rum cake (and the sugar saucers).  The cake was pretty awesome - dense and rich with a hint of rum.

Also, family friend Bob Vittles decided that the 4th was going to be Rum Day at the beach I go to, along with my dad & stepmom and their friends.

The drinks all tasted awesome (meaning - the other stuff covered up most of the liquor taste!)  I made Rum Punch to share, and other rum drinks on the 'menu' were Dark & Stormies, Hurricanes, Key West Splashes, and some Mango Rum Mixers.

Not to mention, another beach-goer offered us margaritas... made with 151.

!!

Needless to say... after a few of drinks out in the hot sun, I was feeling pretty Dark & Sleepy.  I had to actually pass on one round because I wanted to make sure I could drive myself home.

Good thing I learned from Pappy Vittles to 'go easy"!

Chocolate Rum Bundt Cake

• 1 C. unsweetened cocoa powder (not Dutch-process) plus 3 tablespoons for dusting pan
• 1 1/2 C. brewed coffee
• 1/2 C. dark rum
• 2 sticks (1 C.) butter, cut into 1-inch pieces
• 2 C. sugar
• 2 C. all-purpose flour
• 1 1/4 t. baking soda
• 1/4 t. salt
• 2 large eggs
• 1 t. vanilla

Put oven rack in middle position and preheat oven to 325°F.  Butter 10" bundt pan well, then dust with 3 tablespoons cocoa powder, knocking out excess. (Note: If your pan is not 10" its ok - I used a 9" bundt pan and made a tiny cake in a small glass pyrex dish with the leftover batter.)

Heat coffee, rum, butter, and remaining cup cocoa powder in a 3-quart heavy saucepan over moderate heat, whisking, until butter is melted.  Remove from heat, then add sugar and whisk until dissolved, about 1 minute.  Transfer mixture to a large bowl and cool 5 minutes. 

While chocolate mixture cools, whisk together flour, baking soda, and salt in a bowl.  Whisk together eggs and vanilla in a small bowl, then whisk into cooled chocolate mixture until combined well.  Add flour mixture and whisk until just combined (batter will be thin and bubbly). 

Pour batter into bundt pan and bake until a wooden pick or skewer inserted in center comes out clean, 40 to 50 minutes.  Cool cake completely in pan on a rack, about 2 hours.  Loosen cake from pan using tip of a dinner knife, then invert rack over pan and turn cake out onto rack. 

You can dust the cake with powdered sugar, glaze it, and/or serve with fresh whipped cream.  (As you can tell in the picture, I attempted to glaze it  - but the glaze turned out really thick.  It tasted good, it didn't look so pretty!)

Recipe Adapted From Epicurious.com