A rum cake is an easy, festive addition to any holiday table. The rum-spiked sponge is baked in a Bundt pan, and drizzled and brushed with a rum syrup. The result is a cake thats so moist and rich that it doesnt need a glaze or frosting. It goes perfectly with a cup of coffee, or to top off a day of celebrations. However, if youre abstaining from alcohol, dont believe people when they tell you all the alcohol bakes off during the cooking process. Spoiler alert — it doesnt.
Typically, alcohol is merely a carrier for the flavor a particular recipe calls for, whether its a scrumptious rum cake or a red wine sauce for your steak. Alcohol also enhances the flavors of other ingredients, like in a penne alla vodka where the vodka makes the tomato stand out and tenderizes meat. Its a versatile ingredient, and there are plenty of reasons to use it, but you should remember that while a significant amount of the alcohol does cook off, its never 100% gone.
Alcohol cooks off at different rates depending on time and temperature
When cooking with booze, its impossible to cook or bake all the alcohol out of a dish or dessert, but how much remains in the final presentation depends on a few things, namely temperature and length of time spent cooking, as well as the surface area of your cooking dish. Alcohol evaporates faster at higher temperatures, and more alcohol cooks off the longer something bakes. No matter what, though, alcohol molecules will stick to molecules of other things in the dish and stay put. It has been shown that even cooking dishes for hours still leaves a small percentage of alcohol remaining in the dish.
Additionally, its important to consider the size of your cooking vessel when making rum cake. The larger the surface area, the more contact with oxygen the dish has, so the alcohol will evaporate more quickly in a larger pan or skillet. Its important to also keep in mind what ingredients you use and what youre making. A rum syrup drizzle to top your rum cake with, for example, will likely not have cooked nearly long enough (or at the appropriate temperature) to evaporate much alcohol. The cake itself, on the other hand, typically incorporates anywhere from a half to a full cup of rum, resulting in a baked cake with around 5% alcohol (the equivalent of a beer!).
HOW TO INFUSE A CAKE WITH ALCOHOL /AFTER BAKING
FAQ
How much alcohol is left in a cake after baking?
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Time Cooked at Boiling Point of Alcohol
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Approximate Amount of Alcohol Remaining
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30 minutes
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35%
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1 hour
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25%
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2 hours
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10%
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2 & 1/2 hours
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5%
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