June, I wish you would post the recipe for your vanilla rum cake with dulce de leche filling with rum buttercream (like you made for your birthday). Myself, I would probably top it with something other than fondant (and not make it all fancy & nice as you did) - but I'd love to know how you do the cake itself with all the rest of the stuff!
The dulce de leche you already know!
As for the cake, it's a yellow cake recipe that I made changes to. It wasn't as moist as I would have liked but I suspect it was my fault because I cooked it too long. Sorry about mixing measuring systems! Here's the cake recipe:
3/4 cup butter, softened
3 eggs
2 1/2 cups all purpose (plain) flour
2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 3/4 cups sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons of vanilla extract
pulp of one vanilla bean
5 fl oz milk
5 fl oz light rum (Bacardi or the like)
1. Let butter and eggs stand at room temperature for about half an hour. Grease and lightly flour two 9x1 1/2 inch or 8x1 1/2 inch round cake pans or one 13x9x2 baking pan. In a medium bowl stir together the flour, baking powder and salt. Set aside.
2. In a large mixing bowl beat the butter with an electric mixeron medium to high speed for 30 seconds. Gradually add the sugar, about 1/4 cup at a time beating on medium speed until well combined, scrapping the sides of the bowl every so often. Beat on meidum speed for 2 minutes more. Add the eggs one at a time beating after each addition making sure they are well incorporated. Beat in the vanilla extract and vanilla bean pulp. Combine the milk and rum. Alternately add the flour mixture and the milk and rum mixture into the butter mix, beating on low speed after each addition just until combined. Spread the batter into the prepared pans.
3. Bake in a 375 F oven for 20 to 25 minutes for the 9 inch pans, 30 to 35 for the 8 inch pans, 25 to 30 for the 13x9x2 pan, or until a wooden toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean. Cool the cakes in the pans on wire racks for 10 minutes and then remove from pans and cool thoroughly on the racks. If using 13x9x2 pan, cool the cake completely in the pan.
Here is the buttercream recipe which I used to ice the cake underneath the fondant. While you can probably make the cake with a hand whisk, an electric mixer, even a handheld one, is a life saver with the buttercream......or prepare to have your hands feel like they are going to fall off!
Rum Buttercream:1 lbs. sifted powdered sugar
1/4 cup (2 oz) butter, softened.
3/4 cups solid vegetable shortening ( I use Trex)
1 tbsp. vanilla extract
7 tbsp water (maybe a bit more if it's too stiff)
1/4 tsp. rum flavoring
Cream butter, shortening, and extracts until creamy and smooth. Gradually add powdered sugar and water. Mix thoroughly on medium speed for hand mixers, low speed for stand mixers, until smooth and creamy. Do not overmix or mix on high speed.
I bake my cakes the day before I am going to decorate them that way they are plenty cool and texture has already set. Level them if they need it.
Take the dulce de leche and spread it on the top of one of the cakes. I used almost half a can for my cake but you can use more or less, up to you. The dulce de leche is easier to spread if it is a bit warm so definitely dont keep it in the fridge. Take the other cake and turn it upside down so the side that was at the bottom of the pan faces up and put it on top of the dulce de leche covered cake. Cover in buttercream and voila.
Enjoy!
