Pirate Pudding ! Landlubber's Date and Rum Cake

Arrgghh it be me cookin' with me best grog - Captain Morgan's Spiced Rum. Back long ago in a landlubber's galley I'd bagged me a sticky toffee date ration spiced to the main sail by vanilla and cassia rum  an' set it sailin' on a rum'd toffee sauce.

So the story goes anyway but I can't keep this pirate talk up for the whole blog, sorry! Pirates avast 'ere 'Pirate/English Translator'. Meanwhile, back in a bar on dry land, I tried this lovely spiced rum which I thought would work well in a cake. For me Captain Morgan's Spiced Rum  has a sweet creamy vanilla aroma and an undertone of light cinnamon but it doesn't taste sweet at all.  The official site states that Captain Morgan 'rocked' the Caribbean defending British Interests which is possibly how he felt after a special rum mix!

I had a hankering to add this delicious rum to something sweet other than cola or a cocktail mix. My family loves a traditional sticky toffee pudding cake which I find almost too sweet but would make a good foil for the rum.      So the principal steal is....

Take one sticky toffee date cake recipe and replace the cold tea which is used to soak the dates in with the rum.     
              
Then  add a good measure of rum into the toffee sauce. Use your favourite recipe and adapt or use the one on my printable recipe page here.

Sounds easy but what if you really like rum ?And what if you wanted to really taste it in your pudding  ? Then we must use the PMI principal ie Pour More In than the recipe calls for ; add  an extra bottle cap full per pudding or person so you can actually taste it. So before it is served add you dessert spoon full of rum over the pudding. 

You can serve this cake cut into slices as a traditional pudding and pour the toffee over or.......

You can get the Jolly Roger onto a pick and cut out an island shape - I used a large ice-cream scoop - add waves of cream and a sea of sauce.

I'm not sure that Pirates would approve so here's the famous Captain Jack Sparrow in a mix from http://www.andrewvanvlear.com/rum/rum.html. Why is the rum always gone? Enjoy!