Brian's Birthday Rum Torte {Booze Cakes}

When a friend was hosting a get-together this weekend, I let her know that one of our other friends was celebrating his birthday. She asked if I knew what his favorite cake was. 

I do know that he is more of a pie person than a cake person; however, I always bring in cookbooks that I need to review and he dutifully marks a few recipes he'd like to try. Easy peasy. I just lent her the book - Booze Cakes - with Brian's post-its intact. He had chosen a rum torte, a margarita cheesecake, and a carrot cake. She opted for the rum torte.

Undine's Rum Torte

Here's what she had to say...

What I really like is that the main components can also stand alone.  The cake is moist and would work well on its own as a nutty breakfast bread; the kids kept running off with the meringues, as they make great little cookies; and I found myself eating the left-over nut filling right out of the pan with a spoon.  I used a Pyrex pan and was worried the delicate cake would fall apart, so I decided to assemble the servings individually.  This also allowed me to skip the rum sauce for the youngsters' servings (although, again, they were mostly interested in eating the meringues!).  Because of time constraints, I used only walnuts instead of mixing in the salted nuts, so I sprinkled a little kosher salt on the top of each serving to provide the saltiness.

While I didn't get to go to the party, she did send over a container with the cakes, nut topping, and rum sauce. Yum! Now I'll have to get baking on my own, whip up a few cakes, and write the book review. But, from this taste, I can tell I am going to like the recipes.

Thanks for baking, photographing, and 

making notes for me, Undine. Nice job!