Rum Raisin Lemon Loaf with Lucuma Glaze

Rum Raisin Lemon Loaf with Lucuma Glaze

This is such an amazing loaf. Loaves should be more popular. They are not just for geriatrics and bridge clubs. They’re for smart people who know that a cake is better when soaked in sugar and alcohol, and that a sugar and alcohol-soaked cake is better when glazed. P.S. Frosting is for chumps.

2/3 cup (160 mL)  raisins
1/2 cup (120 mL) dark rum
140 grams (~1 cup) brown rice flour (you can measure 1 cup metric if you don’t have a scale, but it’s not quite the same depending on the flour)
140 grams (~1 cup) chestnut flour (or 70 grams amaranth flour and 70 grams tapioca flour)
1/2 tsp guar gum (or xanthan gum)
3/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
250 mL (1 cup) sugar
Zest of 1 lemon (preferably organic)
6 tbsp unsalted butter (or earth balance or other vegan margarine)
1/2 cup almond milk (or rice milk or coconut milk)
1 whole egg
2 egg whites

Liquor Soak and Lucuma Glaze
2 tbsp dark rum
2 tbsp sugar
1/4 cup lucuma powder

1. Bring everything to room temperature by getting it out of the fridge (and freezer if that’s where you keep your whole grain flours, as I do). Place the raisins in a small, deep bowl and cover with 1/2 cup rum. Cover with a plate or plastic wrap to keep submerged for 15 minutes. Stir the raisins once in this time if you remember.

2. Sieve the flours, guar, salt, baking powder and baking soda in a medium bowl. Zest the lemon and combine the zest with the butter in a large bowl. Beat until creamy (about 1 minute). Beat in the sugar on high (2 minutes). In a small bowl whisk the egg and egg whites then add to the butter mixture very, very slowly and beat 2 minutes more.

3. Add half the flour on low. Then add half the almond milk on medium-high. Then half of the remaining flour on low. Then all the remaining milk on medium-high. Then the remaining flour on low. Drain the raisins, reserving the rum. Add raisins to batter and stir to combine. Pour into a greased loaf pan (or line it with aluminum foil and grease the foil, or with parchment paper and leave it naked. the advantage of foil is that it becomes its own wrapper and retains the loaf’s moisture well). Bake at 325 F for 45-60 minutes. Yes, that’s a large window. Mine took about 50. Check with a toothpick, and when the toothpick inserted deep into the middle of the loaf comes out clean, it’s done.

4. Meanwhile, make the liquor soak. Bring the rum and sugar to boil with the reserved rum from the raisins. Simmer 2 minutes and remove from heat to cool. When loaf is done, remove from loaf pan and peel away foil or parchment. Place on a rack of a baking sheet or plate and brush with liquor soak all over, reserving about 2 tbsp of soak to make the glaze.

5. Paint the loaf drunk.

6. Brush up any liquor soak that accumulates on the baking sheet and brush over loaf again. Then combine remaining soak with 1/4 cup lucuma powder and stir to combine. If it’s too thick add a tbsp water at a time until thin enough to spread. Brush all over loaf. The loaf is best on day two once all the liquor and glaze has soaked in. The edges of the loaf are the really amazing bites – so juicy and moist and sweet and rum-my, and the cake is lemon-y and bright, and the raisins are sweet and chewy and still have a little sour bite. The lucuma glaze makes it kind of ugly if it’s too thick, but, gosh, this will be amazing anyway. Beauty is only skin-deep. This loaf has a depth of flavour unbeknownst to Cosmopolitan…