Almost every sunday afternoon, we would get together as a family: cousins, uncles, aunts and us at my grandparents. But there were times that family gatherings would be for something more special like birthdays or celebrate achievements from any of us. That’s when Grandma Lucy would pull out the big guns. This is one of her recipes. Even today, it’s a family favorite, and my mom (hi mom!) has made it as great as my Grandma Lucy did back in the day. This is my brothers’ favorite cake. If we make it for his birthday he asks for two cakes to be made: One for the family and friends that come over and visit, and one just for him! A nice tip from the Florido family is to keep it (uncovered) in the fridge. A chilled rum cake is a much better cake. I really hope you enjoy it!

Jake’s birthday was Tuesday (one of our Guest foodies) and I wanted to make it for him as my grandmother would on any of our birthdays. I wanted to try my KitchenAid also, so what better recipe than a Florido family Classic! It is sunday night as I write this, and I baked it on Wednesday. As of yesterday… The cake is gone!

Borracho (Rum Cake)
A Foodies’ Kitchen Original
24 Servings

Ingredients:
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
8 medium eggs, yolk and whites separated
Sugared Water:
3 cups water
2 cups sugar
1 ounce rum
1 tablespoon vanilla extract

Directions:

Preheat the oven at 325º
Sift all dry ingredients (just one cup of sugar, leave the rest for the sugared water) and set aside.
Beat egg whites until they can hold soft peaks, then adding the egg yolks one by one.
Add the dry ingredients one tablespoon at the time, mixing well between each one.
When everything is perfectly mixed, you can pour it on a greased and floured 9″ x 13″ Baking Dish.
Bake for 30 minutes.
While the cake is in the oven, you can prepare the sugared water.
Boil all remaining ingredients together (except for the rum), stirring every once in a while. Let it cool down, and add the rum.
When both the cake and the sugared water are completely cooled down, you pour a couple of spoonfuls on the cake, letting it soak. Wait from 15-20 minutes in between each spoonful so it can soak better and with consistency. It took me all afternoon to do it properly, do not rush this part of the process. I promise it is worth it.
Make sure that after the cake is completely soaked, you can put it in the fridge (lower half) and uncovered. It has plenty of water to keep moist. After a good 5-6 days, I would recommend you to cover it or it would dry out.