Pumpkin Cakes with Caribbean Rum & Chantilly Cream
The Perfect Fall Recipe: Amazing pumpkin cakes with caribbean rum and chantilly cream. Pumpkin season is really here! I’m so excited to see all the colorful pumpkins in my local supermarket today. So, I decided to hop on the pumpkin bandwagon. The aroma of fall spices are definitely in the air especially in the kitchen.
These pumpkin cakes are delicately infused in caribbean rum, topped with pumpkin seeds, crunchy silver dragées, and chantilly cream! The fall flavors in these individualized pumpkin cakes are truly in harmony and I just simply find it, A-MAZING! These pumpkin cakes are soft and extra moist. Perfectly balanced with heavenly light and creamy chantilly. These pumpkin cakes are ready to be served at your much-awaited family fall gatherings!
Why infused pumpkin cakes in caribbean rum?
The idea of soaking these cakes in rum came from my French pâtisserie book. I was flipping pages when I saw the recipe called Babas au Rhum. I was immediately drawn to the simplicity and elegance of the babas. I kept coming back to this page and stared at the picture numerous times with hanging thoughts of ” I should do something about this- I should definitely do it” Then, voila! It’s pumpkin season and I thought infusing individual pumpkin cakes with rum will actually work.
Guess what?! My idea was not that original after all…
I was so excited that I’m not the only one who thought of doing this. There are several amazing recipes out there for pumpkin rum cake! So, this little revelation of mine confirmed that it can be delicious. To dampen the liquor taste, I shall whip some créme chantilly and shower the cakes with crunchy silver dragées and pumpkin seeds. Let me know what you think.
Fall season is definitely palpable in Switzerland. The lack of sunshine and cool breezy air are there to welcome you to the new season. Blogging recipes is quite challenging during this time of the year. I rely too much on natural sunlight that visits my kitchen in a nice sunny day.
Gloomy fall no more…
To cure my seasonal sadness, as you can already tell, lack of sunshine didn’t stop me from making my pumpkin cakes. The colors and aromas of fall spices are simply hard to resist. You as well will find it irresistable. That’s what is Fall all about. Well, at least that’s what I tell myself.
What is chantilly cream (créme chantilly)?
If you ask me, it is a fancy word for whipped cream. So, is there actual difference between the two? Not really. But, by definition, chantilly cream is traditionally sweetened cream with sugar and vanilla originated in Chantilly, France. It tends to be sweeter compared to standard whipped cream. Chantilly cream will always be sweeter and fancier of course! Très très bonne!
Pumpkin Cakes with Caribbean Rum and Chantilly Cream
Ingredients
Homemade Pumpkin Puree
- 325 g organic pumpkin
- water for steaming
Pumpkin Cakes
- 200 g pumpkin puree
- 1 1/4 cup all purpose flour
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 2/3 cup sugar
- 3 eggs room temperature
- 1/2 cup olive oil regular not extra virgin
- 1 tbsp honey
- 1 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1 tsp ground cardamon
- 2 dashes ground ginger
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- pinch of salt
Rum Mixture
- 10 cl caribbean rum 100 ml
- 1 stick cinnamon
- 2 star anise
- 1 cup water
- 125 g brown sugar I used Jacutinga
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
Chantilly Cream
- 1 cup whipping cream 35% fat content or more
- 2 tbsp granulated sugar
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
Decorations
- pumpkin seeds
- silver dragées
Instructions
Homemade Pumpkin Puree
- Fill steamer with some water. Let water come to boil.
- Add fresh pumpkin cut into medium cubes.
- Steam for 30-45 minutes.
- Insert a fork into the pumpkin cubes to check for doneness. It should be soft and mushy.
- In a small bowl, add steamed pumpkins and mash it with fork. Let it cool down. Set aside.
Pumpkin Cakes
- Preheat oven to 350 °F (175 °C).
- In a medium mixing bowl, sift flour and baking powder together.
- Add in sugar.
- Using a wire whisk, make a well, add eggs, olive oil, and honey. Mix well.
- Add cinnamon, cardamon, ginger. Mix well.
- Add vanilla and salt. Mix well.
- Grease the mold with some vegetable oil.
- Transfer cake batter into a measuring cup.
- Carefully pour batter in each mold. Fill up to 3/4 way of the mold.
- Bake for 23-25 minutes.
- Check cakes with toothpick for doneness. Toothpick should come out clean.
- To remove cakes from this type of mold, press the edges down then gently twist the cake clockwise until it's no longer sticking from the mold.
- Transfer to a cooling rack. Set aside.
Rum Mixture
- In a small saucepan, add water, rum, sugar, cinnamon, star anise, and vanilla.
- Stir well.
- Bring to boil. Set aside.
- When rum mixture has cooled down, pour it on serving dish.
- Soak cakes with the wide bottom down for 5-10 minutes while making chantilly cream.
- Lightly brush top with rum as well.
Chantilly Cream
- Put mixing bowl and whisk in the fridge for 20-30 minutes.
- Add cold whipping cream into the cold mixing bowl with cold whisk attachment.
- Using an electric mixer, start mixing in low speed and gradually increasing in speed.
- After a few minutes, slowly add sugar.
- Add vanilla. Continue to mix in medium speed.
- Look for medium stiff peaks.
- Transfer cream into a piping bag with your preferred piping tip.
- Start filling the holes of the cake generously and slowly move upwards to create a beautiful cream swirl.
- Sprinkle with some pumpkin seeds and silver dragées.
Notes
- Start this recipe by placing your mixing bowl and whisk in the fridge (20-30 minutes) for the chantilly cream. Using COLD mixing bowl, COLD whisk, and COLD cream will help the cream stabilize and whip better.
- Use a fatty whipped cream. Recommended fat content is 35% or higher.
- I used homemade pumpkin puree. It's healthier but for convenience, you can also use canned pumpkin puree. I'd do it as well. I just couldn't find one here in Switzerland.
- Eggs should be room temperature for easy mixing and cake usually comes out more fluffy this way. For quick room temp eggs, place it in a cup with warm water for at least 5 minutes.
- I used regular olive oil not the extra virgin or virgin one. I'm a big fan of olive oil when it comes to baking my banana or pumpkin cake. It gives more satisfying texture and moist and it doesn't leave a strong olive taste in the end.
- When it comes to honey, use your favorite honey. Not all honey are created the same, different bees, different flowers etc...the taste and flavor of the honey actually affects the whole flavor of the cake. I tried using a different honey that I'm not accustomed to and it was quite disappointing. So, don't let honey that you're not a fan of ruin your cakes. But, don't omit it. It keeps the cake moist.
- Feel free to combine your own fall spice mix. Everyone has unique taste and preference so you can definitely adjust the spices here and use other spices such as nutmeg, all spice, pumpkin spice, etc. Be creative! It's your pumpkin cakes anyways!
- I don't have much tip to give for rum other than use the caribbean rum. When I researched cakes with rum, caribbean is the popular rum of choice.
- For prettier pumpkin cakes, use individual bundt like mold with hole in the center. Not entirely sure what they call it.
- Use a generous amount of vegetable oil or baking spray when greasing the cake mold especially if using the bundt like mold like mine.
- To remove cakes from this type of mold, press the edges down then gently twist the cake clockwise until it's no longer sticking from the mold.
- Don't forget to preheat your oven.
- I recommend using bourbon vanilla extract. The bourbon and rum flavors combined turned out exceptionally satisfying for this recipe. But, if you have enough liquor taste from the pumpkin cakes, use the regular vanilla extract instead.
- Be generous with the chantilly cream! It's worth it!
- This is an amazing pair for your afternoon tea. I also find it equally delightful with my morning cup of tea. Try it, you'll see.
- Finally, if you're a visual person like me, watch the step-by-step tutorial on youtube.
WATCH The Pumpkin Cakes Step-By-Step Video Tutorial:
My name is Dhin. I'm delighted that you are here to join me in cooking delicious food and baking adorable pastries. Working in the kitchen became my therapy when the pandemic struck all of us. Join me on my journey, one bite at a time.
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