by Anne Evans
If you’re looking to learn more about rum – and maybe do some tastings and tours while visiting Grand Cayman – check out my blog on our favorite rum producers on Grand Cayman.
You’ll learn at least as much as I do about Caymanian produced rum. However, If you are residing in the US and plan to use rum as an ingredient (such as in the recipes that follow) you are likely to have some trouble obtaining any of the rums I discussed. What should you do? Well, perhaps do as I did when living in the US and use Myers Dark Rum. It was always in my parents’ liquor cabinet, so it had to be good stuff – right?
And if I go to the Myers’s rum website, I see a common theme with what I now equate with quality rum – i.e., rum that is distilled from Jamaican sugarcane.
The Recipes – It’s ALL About Those Ingredients!
As I mentioned in my blog on rum producers on Grand Cayman, I am not a huge fan of rum as a beverage (or for that matter any distilled beverage), straight or in cocktails – however I do enjoy baking with it. Dark rums can lend a sharp sweet note and aroma to many cakes, cookies, breads or even cream- or egg-based cold desserts. The following are two of my favorites.
Evans Endorsed Egg Nog
Every Christmas Eve and Christmas Day, my family would enjoy Egg Nog. No, not that ghastly stuff sold in cartons in the grocery store. It was the good stuff that my Dad would make. The recipe lived then (and still resides) in my Mom’s vintage circa 1950s recipe box. Below I have reproduced the recipe ─ which appears to have been originally published by the maker of “Four Roses Whiskey” ─ incorporating a few edits attributable to generations of Evans’ experience preparing it.
6 large eggs, separated and at room temperature
¾ c granulated sugar, divided
1 pint heavy whipping cream (50% butterfat), thoroughly chilled
1 pint whole milk, thoroughly chilled
1 oz Jamaican Dark Rum (Myers’s Dark or Tortuga Gold)
1 pint Bourbon Whiskey (Four Roses Bourbon Whiskey)
Freshly Grated Nutmeg
Beat the yolks in a 5-pint capacity bowl by hand with a wire whisk or with the whisk attachment of an electric beater/mixer until pale in color; then beat in ½ cup of the granulated sugar. Set aside.
In a clean bowl with a clean whisk or whisk attachments beat the egg whites until frothy; then add the remaining ¼ cup sugar gradually while continuing to beat until the whites have become stiff. Gently fold the egg whites into the yolks in 4 parts to thoroughly combine.
Stir the cream and then the milk into the egg-sugar mixture. Then add the whiskey and finally the rum. Transfer the mixture to a decorative serving bowl and refrigerate until thoroughly chilled (at minimum, 8 hours). When ready to serve, top with freshly grated nutmeg.
Mixture will keep well refrigerated for at least 24 hours.
Yield: 5 pints
A Riff on Martha Stewart’s Rum Balls
Strangely, on an Island that is so Rum-Centric, I have yet to see a single Rum Ball. Martha Stewart offers a fine recipe for Rum Balls which can be found on page 271 of her Martha Stewart’s Cookies (Clarkson Potter/Publishers, New York, Copyright 2008). I reproduce a variation of her recipe below, with some modifications reflecting my preferences and experience.
Ingredients:
- ¾ cup (6oz) unsalted butter cut in pieces – plus more to grease the pan
- 6 ounces bittersweet chocolate, chopped (Valrhona 70% cacao)
- 3 large (2 oz in shell) eggs, at room temperature
- ½ cup packed light brown sugar, sifted to remove lumps (Domino or C&H)
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract (Nielsen Massey Madagascar Bourbon)
- ½ teaspoon coarse salt (Morton)
- ¾ cup all-purpose flour, sifted (Pillsbury or Gold Medal)
Note: 23 oz of pre-baked high quality unfrosted brownies may be substituted for the above brownie recipe.
- ¼ cup +/- 2 tablespoons Jamaican Dark Rum (Myers’s Dark or Tortuga Gold)
- White Sparkling Sugar for coating (India Tree)
Preheat the oven to 350˚F with rack placed in the middle of the oven. Lightly butter a 12” x 17” rimmed baking sheet, line with parchment paper so as to make a sling and butter the parchment paper.
Melt the butter and chocolate in a small heatproof bowl over a pan of simmering water, stirring occasionally. Whisk together the eggs, brown sugar, vanilla and salt by hand or with a mixer until completely blended and thickened. Stir in the butter-chocolate mixture and then fold in the flour by hand.
Pour the batter into the prepared baking sheet. Spread evenly with an offset spatula and bake until the top is shiny, and a cake tester inserted into center comes out with some moist crumbs attached, about 10 minutes. Let cool completely on a wire rack. Yield = one 23-ounce brownie flat.
Break up the brownie flat into small pieces and transfer to the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. With the machine on low, slowly pour in ¼ cup of the rum and mix until crumbs start to come together to form a ball. Add 1 -2 more tablespoons of rum if necessary to create a stiff mixture that can be shaped into balls.
Use a 1 ½” cookie scoop to measure 1-ounce quantities. Roll into balls and then roll balls in white sparkling sugar to coat. Transfer to a baking sheet and refrigerate, uncovered, until cold and firm – at least 2 hours. Allow Rum Balls to sit at room temperature for ~10-15 minutes prior to consuming. They can be stored refrigerated for several weeks.
Yield: 24 1-ounce Rum Balls
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