Some time ago, I discovered – through the magic of Internet-based television – a British food/history program called Royal Recipes. In the show, journalist Michael Bourke explores recipes that have been prepared for British royals, ranging from the Tudor period to present day.
In one of my favorite episodes, he discusses with chef Anna Haugh the difference between a dessert called a Baba and one called a Savarin cake. They prepare what is essentially an orange rum cake – a favorite of Edward VII, who was King from 1901 – 1910. (He put the “Edward” in “Edwardian!”)
The finished cake looked amazing and I wanted to try to make it, but the show doesn’t provide recipes or even amounts for any of the ingredients – it’s more of a history program than a cooking show. So I went to Pinterest where I found several recipes for babas, savarin cakes, and orange rum cakes… and ended up combining and adapting a few different ones for the cake, the sauce/filling, and the glaze. I’m sharing the plan I eventually put together, and the many challenges I had making it!
Now bear in mind, this is historically a ring cake, today made even more elegant by using a bundt pan. But I didn’t have a bundt pan, so I used a springform pan. Thus my cake looks nothing like the bundt versions. Also, because I wasn’t using the called-for pan, my baking time was way off from what was stated in the cake recipe. The only downside to this, other than my patience wearing thin, was the deeply-browned appearance of my cake vs. the golden color of the bundt cakes. Happily, none of this mattered in the end because my cake was nonetheless delicious!
For this recipe you’re going to bake the cake, poke and drizzle it while warm with an orange rum sauce/filling, and then glaze it when cool with butter rum glaze. Here are the recipes for all three elements – using a bundt pan!
Semi-Edwardian Orange Rum Cake
For the cake:
3 cups flour
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
2 sticks unsalted butter, softened
2-3/4 cups sugar
4 eggs
1 Tablespoon vanilla extract
2 Tablespoons orange zest
3/4 cup buttermilk
1/2 cup dark rum
Pre-heat the oven to 325 F. Spritz your bundt pan with a light coating of oil. (Tip: if your bundt pan is multi-faceted, like the one I eventually acquired, be sure your oil gets in ALL the crevices to avoid sticking.)
Mix together the flour, baking soda, and salt, then set aside.
In a large bowl, beat together the unsalted butter and the sugar. Beat in eggs one at a time; beat in vanilla and orange zest.
Gradually beat in the flour mixture, alternating with the buttermilk and rum, until all are thoroughly combined. Spoon into prepared bundt pan, and smooth the top. Bake 55-60 minutes until a knife inserted through the cake comes out clean.
Late in the baking stage, prepare the rum sauce as follows.
For the rum sauce/filling:
2 cups sugar
1/2 cup butter
1/4 cup dark rum
1/4 cup orange juice
1 tsp orange zest
In a medium saucepan, heat and combine the sugar and butter. Stir in and combine the rum, orange juice, and zest. Heat thoroughly.
When the cake is done, remove from oven and let stand 5 minutes. Using a toothpick or knife edge, pierce the top of the cake all around then drizzle the warm sauce all over, allowing it to soak into the cake. Let the cake cool.
When cake is cool, use a serated knife to cut off/level any portion that has risen above the top of the pan. Once cut, invert the cake onto a serving piece that has a lip to catch any drips. Prepare the glaze as shown below.
For the final glaze:
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup butter
1/4 cup water
1/4 cup dark rum
Warm all ingredients in a sauce pan and boil low for about 2 minutes. Pour the warm glaze over the cake so that some covers the top and some cascades down the edges. Do a final dusting with powdered sugar if you like.
I do now own a couple of bundt pans so I will likely try this cake again in the near future. But for now, my cake – being only 3 inches tall and deeply browned all around (though not burnt) made the most wonderful “wet sponge” sound when sliced, and had the most delicious orange-and-rum flavor.
So, even though it looks homely and inelegant, I have no regrets over the way this came out!
Pretty sure that party-boy Edward VII would have loved this cake even from a springform pan!
