Chocolate, Rum & Raisin cake....

The name says the good stuff in this goody bake. This is one of the best moist cake recipes' I have ever baked or eaten. Moist dose not mean juicy, Juicy cake is different... this is soft and moist. I Used a recipe of Ina Garten to get the cake it's moisture and added my twist to take it in a different direction. This recipe will yield a huge cake... Good as a party cake (not for kids). If you want to bake this cake for kids, just eliminate the rum part. Use finely chopped dry fruits and nuts. You may notice,I almost never frost my cakes, even if i do, it is with whipped cream and a very thin layer, reasons being... I do not want the extra fat and sugar from the icing/frosting and fondant, and secondly, the food colours are so bad. lot of chemicals. If you want to decorate your cake, one tip from me is, use less of icing if possible and always use fruit pulp to colour your icing [whenever you can].

Prep time: 15 Mins

Bake time: 30 - 40 Mins

Servings: Upto 12

Ingredients:

1. All-purpose flour - 1 3/4 cups plus more for pans for dusting 
2. Sugar - 2 cups
3. Good cocoa powder - 3/4 cups
4. Baking soda - 2 tsp
5. Baking powder - 1 tsp
6. Salt - 1 teaspoon
7. Buttermilk, shaken - 1 cup 
8. Vegetable oil - 1/2 cup + a little more for greasing 
9. Eggs - 2 at room temperature [you can use just the egg whites, I did the same. Not the egg substitute, it makes cake very hard. Just separate yolk from white]
10. Vanilla essences - 1 tsp
11. 1 cup freshly brewed hot coffee or boil 1 cup water and pour it over 1 1/2 tbsp of instant coffee.
12. Golden raisins - 1/4 cup
13. Spiced rum [or any rum] - 3/4 cup (optional)
14. Cinnamon powder - 1/2 tsp or 1/2 inch stick
15. Nutmeg powder - 1/2 tsp
16. Cloves - 3
17. All spice powder - 1/2 tsp  

Method:

• Typically you will need to soak the raisins in rum and all the spices for at least 20 - 40(max) days before you bake the cake. If by chance you can't, soak it atleast for 24 hrs. Mix all the spices, rum and raisins in an air tight jar and keep it some place cool to marinate well. Do not keep it in direct sunlight... 
• Stiff all the dry ingredients together. like, flour, sugar, coco powder, baking soda, baking powder and salt.
• In a big bowl, first beat the eggs till they get frothy next add vanilla essence and beat for a few more seconds.
• Add butter milk in small batches and beat till well incorporate.
• Add  Oil  and beat till well incorporated. 
• Now add dry ingredients in 4 batches till all of it is well incorporated.
• Pour coffee into the batter and fold it gently till it gets well mixed.
• Drain the raisins into a bowl (keep the rum) now sprinkle raisins with some all purpose flour and toss them till they get well coated. Add them to the batter and slowly fold them till they get evenly distributed. Do not over do this process.
• Preheat oven to 350F/175F, grease and dust  big baking pan or pans (2, 8 inch), pour the batter in it/them [if you are making two then divide the batter equally ]
• Bake for 30 - 40 minutes or till the toothpick or some thin stick you insert in the cake comes out dry.
• Cool completely and pour the rum all over the cake and let it soak for an hour before you enjoy it. If you want to frost, do it when the cake is warm. If you want to use whipped cream icing or icing, do it when cake is completely cooled.

Tips:

Exclude rum for kids and just bake a dry fruit and nut cake. Just finely cop all the dry fruits and nuts, do toss them in the flour and fold them into batter before you pour into the baking pan. Use all the spices and coffee mentioned.

You can eliminate coco powder and bake a plain cake.. you will have to eliminate coffee as well when not using coco. If you want to add coffee, just add 2 tsp of instant coffee powder with the eggs and beat well.

For egg substitute.. visit http://tipnut.com/egg-substitutes/ ... Substitutes may not work as good as eggs themselves. Please try any of them and let me know if they do work like eggs...

General Info:

Eggs in a recipe may provide for moisture, binding or to incorporate air in the dish. So when you use egg substitutes, think of the purpose of the eggs in that particular recipe, binding/airiness/moisture and then use the substitute accordingly. Fruit sauces are good binders and moisture providers. Baking soda substitutes provide airiness and so forth...