Raspberry & Rum Loaf Cake

Raspberry & Rum Loaf Cake is very delicious sweet dish. You can probably tell by now that I have a love affair with raspberries. In the summer months when berries are in season, I use them a lot in my cooking. I love strawberries but the flavor of raspberries are next to none. In this simple white vanilla cake, the raspberries get to shine. This cake is a simple batter that would be really great just on its own. I’ve tried blueberries, mangoes and strawberries in this batter. The best by far has been the raspberries. 

I haven’t always made this cake with rum but it was the best decision I have made. A small amount of rum gave the cake so much dimension and flavor and it reminded me of the rum cakes we have at home. Key to the flavor in this cake is the real vanilla beans. The house smelled divine and the cake itself tasted much better than if I was to use imitation vanilla or just vanilla extract. 

Here are some things to consider before you get started: 

Fresh raspberries: Use the freshest berries you can get. I would suggest buying the berries that day you will use them. Make sure the berries are not soft and are whole. Organic berries taste much better than the rest but any raspberries will do. If you cannot find raspberries, dice strawberries for this cake. It will be just as good. Wash the raspberries as soon as you get home, air dry them and place them into the fridge so that they are ready to use when you are. 

Vanilla Beans

Using vanilla beans in this recipe makes the cake so flavorful and delicious. You can order vanilla beans a lot cheaper from Amazon than you will find them in a regular grocery store. For this recipe I used Tahitian vanilla which tends to have a bolder flavor. Keep the bean pods after removing the beans. You can use them to flavor syrups, porridge and sugar. If you cannot find real vanilla beans, use good vanilla extract (not imitation vanilla).

Creaming Sugar

When making cakes, lots of recipes will say “cream butter and sugar for a few minutes”. I cream butter and sugar until it is creamy and pale, anywhere from 7-10 minutes. The more whipped the butter, the fluffier and lighter the cake will be. 

Flouring berries

If ever you are adding berries, nuts or chocolates to a batter, roll them around in a bit of flour first. The flour prevents the berries from sinking to the bottom of the cake during baking. It sucks to bake a fruit cake and all of the fruit ends up at the bottom of the pan. 

Loaf pan vs. cake pan (cook time)

If you use a 9-inch round pan for this cake, it will bake in half the recommended time. I prefer this cake in a loaf pan but this will increase the cook time. It took about 65 minutes to bake this cake at 350 degrees in a loaf pan. 

Serving

There is nothing better on berries than cream. Use about 1 cup of fresh whipping cream, 1 tbsp confectioners sugar and a good whisk to make fresh whipped cream to top the cake. You can also top it with fresh berries that go really nicely with the cream and cake. 

For Raspberry & Rum Loaf Cake you will need:

Tools:

• Stand Mixer or hand mixer
• Spatula
• 9×5 Loaf baking tin 

Print

Serves: 10 Prep Time: 30 mins Cooking Time: 65 mins 65 mins

Nutrition facts: 200 calories 20 grams fat

Rating: 5.0/5

( 1 voted )

Ingredients

• 2 cups all-purpose flour + 2 tbsp for flouring berries 
• 2 vanilla bean pods (remove beans)
• 1 tbsp white rum
• ½ cup milk 
• 1 ½  tsp baking powder
• ½ tsp salt
• ½ cup butter (softened) 
• ¾ cup granulated sugar 
• 2 eggs
• ¼ cup sour cream
• 1 cup fresh raspberries 

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 350°F. Grease and flour loaf tin and set aside. 
2. In the stand mixing bowl fitted with the paddle attachment, beat butter and sugar on speed 2 until creamy for about 7-10 minutes. The butter and sugar mix should be fluffy and pale. 
3. As the butter and sugar are creaming, in a medium bowl combine 2 cups flour, baking powder and salt. Stir with a spatula to combine. Set aside.
4. Break and add each egg to the butter and sugar mixture, one at a time. Incorporate one egg first before adding the other. Add rum after adding the second egg and mix well. 
5.  Add sour cream and vanilla and mix to combine. To remove the vanilla beans, split the bean down the center with a sharp knife and scrape the beans from the pod using the blade. The mix will start to look a bit curdled after adding the sour cream. That is okay. 
6. To the mix, add in ⅓ of the flour. Mix until incorporated. Scrape down the sides of the bowl with a spatula and add some of the milk, about ⅓. Continue to alternate milk and dry ingredients/flour until all of the flour is fully incorporated. (start with flour and end with flour)
7. Place raspberries and about 2 tbsp flour in a bowl. Toss the raspberries in the bowl until fully coated in the flour. Do not use a spoon to do this as you run the risk of breaking the berries open. Just keep tossing until the berries are covered in flour. 
8. Transfer raspberries to the batter with your hands. Lifting them from the flour will ensure that they are without the excess flour in the bowl. 
9. Gently fold in the berries with a spatula carefully. You don't need to turn over the batter more than 4-5 times to prevent breaking the berries. 
10. Pour the batter into the prepared baking tin and bake for about 60-65 minutes or until a toothpick in the center comes out clean. 
11. Let the cake cool to room temperature. You can cool it in the tin. 
12. Before serving, make a simple whipped cream from heavy whipping cream and confectioners sugar to top the cake. You can also add fresh raspberries on top of the cake.