But why is the rum gone?

Rum, glorious rum. Without question one of the greatest liquors there is (ties with bourbon). Aside from it's more obvious properties, rum is fantastic in desserts. You can use it to light shit on fire (also known in fancy terms as "flambé" which means flamed en Francais) and also to flavor things. Rum is ridiculously versatile in this way: it works well paired with fruit, chocolate or even aromatics. In this case, I'm talking about the already demonic combination of chocolate and mint. Girl Scouts came close with Thin Mints but this cake one-ups those cookies in a big way with the badass addition of, you guessed it, rum. This recipe is sort of time consuming in that you have to make one batter but tint it two different colors, one with cocoa powder and one with green food coloring. This isn't really such a big deal but it does mean you have to wash an extra bowl. Or you can get your house elf to do it. This recipe comes from that previously mentioned, ultra-bomb cookbook All Cakes Considered, and I changed it a tiny bit by adding more peppermint extract and cocoa powder for a higher intensity of flavor. Feel free to add more rum as well, but not so much that the flavor becomes overpowering. Also resist the urge to dump in tons of food coloring. No one wants to eat a cake that's Grinch-colored.

Ingredients:
12-cup Bundt pan or 10-inch tube pan
Extra mixing bowl

2 c. sugar
1/2 c. unsweetened cocoa powder
2 sticks (1 c.) butter at room temperature
4 large eggs
3 1/2 c. sifted cake flour
3 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
1 c. milk
2 1/2 tsp. peppermint flavoring or extract
1/2 tsp. green food coloring
2 tsp. rum

1. Center a rack and preheat the oven to 350 F. Prepare the pan.
2. In a small bowl, combine 1/2 cup of the sugar and all of the cocoa. Set aside.
3. Cream the butter and the sugar at medium speed, gradually adding the remaining 1 1/2 cups of sugar. Add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition.
4. In a separate bowl, dry whisk the flour, baking powder and salt together.
5. With the mixer on low, add 1 cup of the flour mixture, beat, then add 1/3 cup of the milk and beat again. Repeat until all of the flour mixture and milk are blended into batter. Beat on medium-high speed for 2 to 3 minutes.
6. Pour half of the batter into a clean medium bowl. Add the peppermint flavoring and the food coloring to one bowl of batter, mix well.
7. Pour two-thirds of the now green batter into the bottom of the cake pan. Set aside the remaining green batter.
8. Add the cocoa and sugar mixture to the yellow batter and add the rum. Beat until smooth.
9. Using your spatula, pour the chocolate flavored batter over the green batter in the cake pan.
10. Layer the remaining third of the green batter over the chocolate batter, then marble.
11. Bake for 1 hour. When the cake tests done, cool for 15-30 minutes in the pan before unmolding onto a cake rack.

On marbling:
Take a small spatula and cut through the middle of the batter ring to the bottom of the pan. Bring the spatula toward you and then up toward the side of the pan. Rotate the cake pan with your other hand and repeat. Do 2 rotations total, no more.

Pound it

In the greatest cake-baking cookbook I have ever had the fortune to own (All Cakes Considered) there is a cake that rivals all others. Simple, sweet, decadent, bright, irresistible. Melissa Gray, a member of NPR's brilliant show All Things Considered, aptly named this cake the Mancatcher. She says that the cake is so good it will undoubtedly catch you a man but there's no guarantee that he'll stick around. So what is this cake that I've built up to quasi-mythic proportions? It's a sour-cream citrus pound cake. Don't wrinkle your nose at the sour cream. It makes the cake incredibly dense and soft and yet light at the same time. The citrus flavor isn't overpowering but the addition of a light lemon glaze is certainly encouraged. I made this cake for a friend of mine our senior year of high school and he still mentions it occasionally. That good. On top of that, it's beyond easy. You could probably make this cake if you just had your wisdom teeth out. The only thing I'll say is be careful not to overbeat the batter when you're incorporating the ingredients. If you'll remember: beating batter like a rented mule = tough, revolting cake. Apart from that,  the Mancatcher offers no tricks or surprises, just simple ingredients that go together and a whole lot of sugar. Sign me up.

Ingredients:
2 sticks (1 cup) unsalted butter, room temperature
3 c. sugar
5 large eggs
3 c. all-purpose flour
1/4 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
1 c. sour cream
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1 tsp. lemon extract
1 tsp. orange extract

1. Center a rack in the oven and preheat to 325 degrees
2. Thoroughly grease a 10-inch tube pan or a bunt pan
3. Cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy, then add the eggs one at a time, beating slowly to incorporate after each addition
4. Sift together flour, baking soda and salt in a separate bowl
5. With the mixer on low, alternately add the sour cream and the flour mixture then beat in the extracts until flavorings are incorporated and mixture looks smooth and even.
6. Pour the batter into the prepared pan and bake blind 90 minutes (THIS MEANS NO PEEKING, USE YOUR OVEN LIGHT)


To unmold: Place a baking rack on a table or counter and cover with a sheet of parchment or waxed paper. Run a dinner knife around the edges of the pan to unstick any cake. Grab that baking rack and invert it onto the top of the pan then flip the whole mess over so the rack is holding the weight of the cake. You should hear a telltale thud and this is a good thing. Slowly lift the pan away from the cake. You might need to give it a little shake to fully unmold. Take the plate you intend to serve the cake on and repeat the steps with the baking rack--one hand squarely on the cake, one hand firmly on the plate--and flip again so that the cake is the right way up. Let cool before you put on the lemon glaze (below).

Lemon glaze:
Mix 3/4 c. confectioner's sugar with 1 1/2 tbs. milk and 1 tsp. of lemon extract (or 2 if you like it tart). Beat until smooth and then drizzle over the top of the cooled cake. 

To buy All Cakes Considered: http://www.amazon.com/All-Cakes-Considered-Melissa-Gray/dp/0811867811