Rum Raisin Carrot Cake (The Hammered Hare)

Preheat oven to 350 F. Grease two 9 – 9 1/2 inch cake pans that you’ve first lined with parchment paper (I use Pam spray for baking, but if you don’t have it butter and flour works just fine). Set pans aside.

In a small saucepan or microwave safe bowl, combine water and rum, and heat until it just begins to boil. Then remove it from the heat, add raisins and set aside to soak for at least 30 minutes, or until puffed up and tender.

In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle (or you can use a large mixing bowl and an electric hand mixer) combine flour, sugar, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg and salt until just incorporated. Add eggs and oil, and mix until just combined. Add carrots, pecans and the raisins mixture and use a rubber spatula to fold them into the batter until just incorporated. Spread the batter into the prepared pans.

Bake on the middle oven rack for approximately 30 minutes, or until cake pulls away from the sides of the pan and just springs back when touched.

While cakes are baking, prepare the brown sugar syrup.

In a small saucepan over low heat or in microwave safe bowl using the microwave, melt butter. Remove butter from heat and allow it to cool. Once cooled, whisk in brown sugar and milk until fully incorporated.

While cakes are still warm, poke several small holes (I used a chopstick, skewers also work well) in the top of the cakes and slowly pour brown sugar syrup over them a little at a time. Then, using the back of a spoon or small rubber spatula, push any lingering syrup into the holes. Note: Be mindful; you don’t want globs of syrup remaining on top of the cake. If this happens spoon off excess or poke holes where the extra syrup rests on the cake(s). Also, depending on the number/size of your holes, you may or may not use all of the syrup.

Allow cakes to cool to room temperature, or until warm, but not too hot to handle. Remove cakes from pans and place them, hole-poked sides up on plates/wax paper/cooling racks, etc. (I recommend plates.) Cover with plastic wrap and let cakes set in the refrigerator for at least 3 hours to overnight (overnight is best).

For the caramelized pecan coating:
Place butter, brown sugar, honey and cinnamon in a large skillet over medium-low heat. Heat until majority of the butter is melted. Add chopped pecans and stir to coat. Cook over medium-low heat until sticky, fragrant and lightly toasted. Set aside to cool completely. Note: I put mine directly in the freezer for approximately 5-10 minutes. They cooled quickly and were easier to work with, as they were less sticky to the touch. I was also pressed for time.

For the frosting:
Using a stand mixer fitted with a whisk (or a handheld mixer), beat cream cheese and butter until fluffy and well incorporated. Add sour cream, salt, vanilla extract, and the seeds that you scraped from the vanilla beans at medium-high speed until well combined, scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed. Add confectioners’ sugar and mix until frosting is very light and fluffy(approximately 1 minute).
Set aside.

Note: Frosting can be made ahead of time and stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator until ready to use. When ready, let it sit out for approximately 15-20 minutes and give it a quick whipping with the mixer to lighten it up again.

To assemble:
Place one of the cakes, poked-hole side up, on a serving plate lined with strips of parchment (to catch frosting/pecan spills). Spread the top of it with a layer of frosting 1/4-1/2 inch thick. Place second layer on top and apply a crumb coat. For the crumb coat, start on the sides of the cake, applying a layer of frosting 1/8-1/4 inch thick, moving your frosting knife or offset spatula in a full circle around the sides. Make sure it’s thin and do not aim for beauty. The point is to catch cake crumbs and lock them into the frosting. Do the same along the top of the cake, being sure to remove any excess frosting.
Be careful not to backtrack, as this may cause larger bits of the cake to crumble away, too large for the frosting to hold. Place cake in the refrigerator and let crumb coat set (approximately 15-20 minutes).

Once set, remove the cake and, beginning with the sides and ending with the top of the cake, apply a thicker layer of frosting, smoothing as you go. If you have frosting leftover, you may do some piping around the edges (I simply used a clean finger to create a swirl pattern on top).

To finish, take handfuls at a time of caramelized pecans and gently press them into the sides of the cake.

Pull parchment strips from beneath the finished cake and store cake in the refrigerator, loosely covered, until ready to serve.