Our tea-size version of a rum cake is brushed with a rum syrup and topped with decadent Chocolate-Mascarpone Whipped Topping.
Mini Rum Cakes with Chocolate-Mascarpone Whipped Topping
Serves: 9
Ingredients
- ½ cup unsalted butter, softened
- ¾ cup granulated sugar
- 1 large egg, room temperature
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- ¼ teaspoon fine sea salt
- ¼ teaspoon baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon ground allspice
- ⅓ cup whole milk
- ¼ teaspoon vanilla extract
- Dark Rum Simple Syrup (recipe follows)
- Chocolate-Mascarpone Whipped Topping (recipe follows)
- Garnish: toasted almond slices and confectioners’ sugar
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°.
- In a large bowl, beat together butter and sugar with a mixer at medium speed until fluffy, approximately 3 minutes, stopping to scrape sides and bottom of bowl. Add egg, beating until well combined.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, salt, baking powder, and allspice.
- In a small bowl, stir together milk and vanilla extract. With mixer at low speed, gradually add flour mixture to butter mixture alternately with milk mixture, beginning and ending with flour mixture, beating just until combined after each addition.
- Spray 9 wells of a 12-well mini fluted tube pan with baking spray with flour.
- Spoon ¼ cup batter into each prepared well. Using a small spatula, smooth tops of batter. Tap pan on towel-lined surface 4 to 5 times to release air bubbles and settle batter.
- Bake until cakes are lightly golden brown and a wooden pick inserted near centers comes out clean, 13 to 15 minutes. Let cool in pan for 10 minutes. Invert cakes onto a wire rack. While cakes are warm, brush with Dark Rum Simple Syrup. Let cool completely.
- Using a serrated knife, trim bottoms of cakes to create an even surface, if desired.
- Just before serving cakes, place Chocolate-Mascarpone Whipped Topping in a piping bag fitted with large open-star tip (Ateco #823). Pipe desired amount of Chocolate-Mascarpone Whipped Topping into centers of cakes. Garnish with toasted almond slices and a dusting of confectioners’ sugar, if desired. Serve immediately.
Notes
Make-Ahead Tip: Cakes can be prepared and brushed with syrup up to 3 days in advance and stored in a single layer in an airtight container at room temperature. Pipe with topping and garnish just before serving.
Dark Rum Simple Syrup
Serves: About ¼ cup
Dark rum is the key to this syrup, but because it is cooked, the alcohol evaporates, leaving only the iconic taste.
Ingredients
- ¼ cup granulated sugar
- ¼ cup dark rum
- ⅛ teaspoon fine sea salt
- ¼ teaspoon vanilla extract
Instructions
- In a small saucepan, stir together sugar, rum, and salt until well combined. Cook over medium-low heat, stirring frequently, until sugar dissolves. Remove from heat. Stir in vanilla extract. Let cool slightly.
Chocolate-Mascarpone Whipped Topping
Serves: About 1 cup
Ingredients
- ½ cup heavy whipping cream
- ¼ teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 tablespoons confectioners’ sugar, sifted
- 1 tablespoon cocoa powder, sifted
- ½ cup mascarpone cheese, softened
Instructions
- In a medium bowl, beat together cream and vanilla extract with a mixer at medium-high speed until stiff peaks form, 2 to 3 minutes.
- In a small bowl, sift together confectioners’ sugar and cocoa powder.
- In a large bowl, beat together mascarpone cheese and sugar mixture with a mixer at medium-low speed until thick and creamy, 1 to 2 minutes. Gently fold cheese mixture into whipped cream mixture, just until combined. Use immediately.
