Aunt Helens Rum Cake Recipes

GRANDMA'S OLD-FASHIONED RUM CAKE

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 325 degrees F. Grease and flour a Bundt pan.
• Sprinkle nuts in the bottom of the prepared pan. Set aside.
• In a large bowl, combine the cake mix, pudding mix, rum, water, vegetable oil and eggs. Beat on medium speed for 2 minutes.
• Pour the batter over the nuts in the pan.
• Bake for 1 hour, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
• About 10 minutes before the cake is done, prepare the glaze. In a saucepan, combine the butter, sugar, rum and water. Boil for 3 minutes, stirring constantly.
• Leave the hot cake in the pan and use a toothpick or wooden skewer to poke holes in the bottom of the cake. Slowly drizzle about half of the glaze over the bottom of the cake, allowing time for the glaze to soak into the holes and be absorbed by the hot cake.
• Place a wire rack over a foil-lined baking sheet to catch drips. After about 10 minutes in the pan, turn the cake out onto the wire rack (right-side up). Poke holes on the top of the cake. Gradually drizzle remaining glaze over the top of the cake. A lot of the glaze will soak into the cake, and some will also drip down the sides.
• Cool completely, then slice and serve!

AUNT HELEN'S RUM BALLS

Steps:

• Mix dry ingredients.
• Add syrup and rum.
• Shape into 3/4 inch balls and roll in additional powdered sugar.

JULIA CHILD'S AUNT HELEN'S FLUFFY PUMPKIN PIE

Steps:

• Heat oven to 450 degrees and place rack in center of oven. Separate eggs and set aside.
• Using a mixer, blender or large bowl, blend pumpkin, the 2 cups of the sugars, 1 teaspoon salt, molasses, bourbon or rum (if using), cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, cloves, egg yolks, cream and milk until smooth. Add more milk, a tablespoon at a time, if the mixture is stiff: it should be a soft purée.
• In a clean bowl, whip egg whites until foaming. Whip in a pinch of salt, then gradually whip in remaining 2 tablespoons sugar until shiny white peaks form. Beat 1/4 of the whites thoroughly into pumpkin mixture; gently fold in the rest.
• Immediately ladle filling into the shells, filling to just below the rim of the pan. Place in oven and bake just until rim of crust begins to turn gold, 10 to 15 minutes. Reduce heat to 375 and bake another 25 to 30 minutes, until a tester inserted into the filling 2 inches from the rim comes out clean. (The center should still be a bit wet; it will cook more as it cools.) If the rim of the crust starts to get too brown, cover it with aluminum foil.
• Immediately turn oven off, leave door ajar (stick in a wooden spoon to hold it open if necessary) and let sit 20 to 30 minutes more as the oven cools; this will prevent the filling from turning watery. Serve warm, or let cool, wrap tightly and refrigerate for up to 2 days. Let pie come to room temperature before serving.