I made the LCD pound cake from Cakelove (mentioned in the last post), and I followed the recipe except for substituting rum for the other alcohols (not including the vanilla extract, which I don't consider alcohol). I'll have to wait until the program tonight to find out whether it's good or bad. But it's hard as a rock, which tells me something. I did also add a rum glaze, and this was from the old Duncan Hines rum cake recipe that's been circulating for decades, the one that calls for an 18 1/2 ounce package of yellow cake mix that they don't make anymore.
I also made the no-mixer cake with the spice cake variation from the same book. It looks a little better, so we'll see, and while I'm not crazy about spice cakes, it does have spices native to Jamaica which is the country we're showcasing. My trusty old-fashioned aluminum cake pans may have helped, as did using a parchment paper lining instead of spray. Hey, maybe it's the bundt pan that's the culprit. I sprayed with baking spray like the author says to do, but then I seem to remember reading somewhere in the book that spraying a non-stick pan or using too much spray can cause the batter to run down the sides of the pan - exactly what happened with the pound cake.
Post-program critique: Both cakes were delicious and all the comments were very positive. Over the course of a day of being enclosed in a sealed cake dome, the pound cake moistened up and even the crust was not too hard. I'm so glad this was a success!
To try next: One of Mother's recipes without any alterations and good old shortening and flour for the pan. I think I'll make my grandmother's pound cake.
