Rum Sultana Pound Cake with Lemon Glaze

This week's theme at I Heart Cooking Clubs (IHCC) is "Finishing Touches!".  We are to "Make any Curtis Stone dish featuring or including some special finishing touches such as: a sprinkle of this, a dusting of that, sauces, dressings, croutons, condiments, or any other extras that finish your dish with flair!"

I've made Curtis Stone's Rum Sultana Pound Cake and the finishing touch is the Lemon Glaze. I love sultanas in bakes and I love using rum too, so I was looking forward to bake this!

The sultanas are heated over a low heat with some rum, just to a simmer, then left to cool. I love the aroma of the rum! As with the usual way of making a pound cake, the butter and sugar are creamed together, followed by the eggs, then the flour is mixed in, alternating with the buttermilk. The cooled sultanas with the rum is then added into the batter. Stir to combine and bake as directed in the recipe. I did reduce the sugar for the batter to only 3/4 cup and the sweetness works out great for me. I've increased the baking powder to 1/2 tsp. And since I've used salted butter, I have omitted the salt in the recipe.

Rum Sultana Pound Cake waiting for the Finishing Touch, the Lemon Glaze

Originally, the recipe uses lime for the glaze, but I already have some lemons, so I've used lemons instead.

Rum Sultana Pound Cake with Lemon Glaze

My lemon glaze is a little thin, as I have used only about 3/4 cup or icing sugar instead of the full amount of 1-3/4 cups. as I do not like to eat very sweet cakes. I did not measure the lemon juice and the rum. I just squeezed some lemon juice over the icing sugar and added a little rum. Mix and adjust accordingly to the consistency of the preferred glaze.

I usually like my cakes without any glaze or frosting, but there's always an exception! This cake is quite good. As with pound cakes, it has a dense texture, but soft and moist. The plump juicy sultanas are a pleasure to bite into, and the taste and aroma of the rum is wonderful. Two slices (one slice is not enough!) is lovely with a cup of warm tea. This cake tasted even better the next day!

Rum Sultana Pound Cake with Lemon Glaze
(recipe by Curtis Stone via taste.com.au)
Non-stick Cooking Spray
1 cup sultanas
1/2 cup plus 3 tsp Golden or Light Rum
1-1/3 cups plain flour
1/4 tsp baking powder (1/2 tsp)
170gm unsalted butter, at room temperature (salted butter)
1-1/4 cups caster sugar
3/4 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 tsp salt (omitted)
3 large free-range eggs
1/3 cup buttermilk
1-3/4 cups sifted pure icing sugar
5 tsp lime zest
7 tsp lime juice

1. Position the rack in the center of the oven and preheat the oven to 175C or 155C fan. Spray an 8 cup bundt pan with cooking spray.
2. Bring sultanas and 1/2 cup rum just to a simmer in a saucepan over medium heat. Set aside, stirring occasionally, until plump. Cool. Whisk flour and baking powder in a medium bowl to blend. In the bowl of an electric stand mixer with the paddle attachment on medium speed, beat butter, caster sugar, vanilla, and salt for 10 minutes, our until light and fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Reduce speed to low. Add flour mixture and buttermilk alternately in batches, beating just until blended. Stir in sultana mixture.
3. Transfer to prepared pan. Bake for 1 hour or until a toothpick inserted near the centre comes out with moist crumbs attached. Cool on a rack for 10 mins. Invert onto a plate or platter and remove the pan. Cool for about 30 minutes.
4. In a medium bowl, whisk icing sugar, lime zest and juice, and remaining 3 tsp rum to form a smooth glaze. Spoon over the warm cake. Serve warm or at room temperature.

I'm linking this post with I Heart Cooking Clubs (IHCC), theme for this week,

Finishing Touches