Ragged Rock Rum Truffle Cake

I made two of these cakes yesterday, one for a charity auction at my kid's former school and one to bring to a friend's house last evening and by all reports, this new dessert was well received at both it's debut locations. This is quite a simple cake but quite elegant and impressive at the same time. I started with a light, airy sponge cake that gets soaked with a little rum before being filled and covered with an easy to make chocolate rum truffle whipped ganache frosting. So luscious!

BTW the name Ragged Rock refers to a brand of rum sold here in Newfoundland; you can use any good quality rum in this recipe.

Ragged Rock Rum Truffle Cake

Sponge Cake

Sift together and set aside:

1 cup flour
1 tsp baking powder

For the meringue base of the batter you will need:

6 eggs separated, room temperature

1/4 tsp cream of tarter

1 cup sugar, separated in 2 half cups

2 tsp vanilla extract

1/2 tsp lemon flavoring (optional)

Beat egg whites and cream of tarter until foamy. Add ½ cup sugar gradually until egg whites are stiff.

Beat egg yolks and ½ cup sugar until foamy and thickened.

Fold beaten egg yolks into the beaten egg whites along with the vanilla (and lemon) for only a few turns before slowly and gradually folding in the flour and baking powder mixture very gently BY HAND using a rubber spatula until just incorporated into the meringue mixture. I mix in the dry ingredients in 3 equal portions. Do not over mix, you just want the flour to be incorporated; over mixing will deflate the egg whites and result in a tough textured final product.

Pour into greased and parchment paper lined 8 inch round cake pans and bake at 325 degrees F for 25-30 minutes or until center springs back when touched. Turn onto a wire rack to cool completely.

When the cake is completely cooled, split the two layers into four and sprinkle each layer with

1 ounce rum

To prepare the frosting, melt together in a double boiler

3 cups dark chocolate chips

1/2 cup whipping cream

Stir constantly over a gentle simmer in the double boiler, just until melted and smooth throughout. You do not want this mixture to get hot, it should be just at the melting point and only lukewarm to the touch.

Transfer to a large mixing bowl and stir in

2 ounces good quality rum

In a separate bowl, whip to firm peaks:

2 cups whipping cream.

Add the whipped cream to the chocolate mixture in four portions, folding gently after each addition until the whipped cream is completely incorporated into the chocolate. 

At this point you will probably have to chill this frosting for a half hour or so in the fridge if it is too soft to work with. Just give it a quick fold with a rubber spatula every 10 minutes so that it cools evenly in the fridge.

Fill and frost the rum soaked cake layers with the frosting and garnish with fresh berries if desired. Chill the cake for a couple of hours before serving.