Rum and raisin Bundt Cake

Vanja Ilic
Oct 10
2 min read

Mom's Kuglof

My baking journey began with my mom, who introduced me to the world of baking. It all started with bread—our household never had store-bought bread because she always made it fresh, filling our home with the warm, freshly baked aroma. Some of my favorite bread recipes can be found in my e-book '5 EASY BREAD RECIPES' that I shared earlier this year.

As for my mom's kuglof—it's one of her favorite recipes. She typically made it for holidays like Christmas or Easter, but sometimes she would make it just because we requested it. :)

This April, my Home Bakery caught the eye of Vogue Adria, which was such a cool and exciting milestone for me. And the star of the article was actually my mom's kuglof (bundt cake) which I'm sharing in this post.

This dessert totally warms your soul and gives off those holiday vibes. It's packed with rich flavors and aromas, topped with a mascarpone rum cream cheese. Just thinking about it makes your mouth water!

It's really easy to make, and you can mix things up by swapping the raisins for nuts. Also, it's just as tasty without the cream cheese topping, so enjoy it however you like best.

Notes and tips

Use ingredients that are at room temperature.
Use some good quality eggs because they play a big role in this dessert.
Make sure the lemon and orange peels are safe to eat before buying because you'll be using the zest.
Soak your raisins ahead of time in a spoonful of rum.

Ingredients

Kuglof

100 g raisins
2 tablespoons of rum
2 eggs
50 g butter (at room temperature)
50 g sugar
60 ml milk (at room temperature)
60 g sour cream (at room temperature)
Zest of one lemon
Zest of one orange
7 ml vanilla extract
150 g type 00 flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
½ teaspoon baking soda
¼ teaspoon salt

Mascarpone Frosting

100 g mascarpone cheese
4 tablespoons powdered sugar
4 ml vanilla
2 ml rum extract

Preparation

Soak the raisins in two tablespoons of rum or rum extract and let them sit.
Grease a bundt pan (16 cm diameter) with butter and dust with flour, and preheat the oven to 200°C (390°F).
Using a mixer, beat the butter and sugar until the mixture becomes creamy and smooth.
Add the eggs and beat on medium speed until fully combined.
Add the lemon zest, orange zest, vanilla extract, and sour cream, and mix well.
In a separate bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.
Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and mix briefly. Finally, add the milk and mix until well combined.
Fold in the previously soaked raisins using a spatula.
Transfer the batter into the prepared bundt pan.
Bake for 10 minutes at 200°C (390°F), then reduce the temperature to 180°C (355°F) and bake for another 20–25 minutes.
Check if the bundt cake is done with a toothpick.
While the cake is cooling, whisk the mascarpone cheese by hand with powdered sugar, vanilla, and rum. Pour over the still-warm bundt cake.