Recipes

Ingredients

Cake:

* 1/2 cup dried currants, raisins or cranberries
* 2 Tbsp dark rum or water
* 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
* 2 cups sugar
* 3 large eggs, room temperature
* 3 cups all-purpose flour
* 2 tsp baking powder
* 1/4 tsp salt
* 1/8 tsp freshly grated nutmeg
* 1 cup eggnog mixed with 1 tsp vanilla extract
* 1 Tbsp grated orange zest

Glaze:

* 3 Tbsp orange juice
* 1 Tbsp dark rum
* 3/4 cup granulated sugar

Method

1 Soak currants in rum in a small bowl for 15 minutes.

2 Adjust rack to lower third of oven. Preheat the oven to 325°F (350°F if the pan doesn't have a dark finish). Butter a 9 to 10 inch bundt pan (original recipe calls for a Festive Cake Pan).

3 Using an electric mixer on medium speed, beat butter until creamy, 30-45 seconds. Add sugar and beat until light and fluffy, about 5 minutes. Scrape bowl with a rubber spatula occasionally as needed. Add eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition.

4 In a separate bowl, sift together flour, baking powder, salt and nutmeg.

5 At very low speed, add dry ingredients in 4 additions, alternating with eggnog (begin and end with dry ingredients). Scrape bowl occasionally. Gently fold in orange zest, currants and any remaining rum.

6 Spoon batter into pan; spread evenly. Bake 55-65 minutes, or until cake springs back when touched lightly in the center and pulls away from the sides of the pan. You can also use a long toothpick or thin bamboo skewer and insert into the thickest part of the cake. If it comes out clean, it's done.

7 Remove from oven and cool upright in the pan on a rack for 10 minutes.

8 Prepare glaze by blending together sugar, orange juice, and rum.

9 Invert cake onto a rack, over a sheet of waxed paper. Use a pastry brush to brush the surface of the cake with the glaze. Cool completely before serving.