Two French Sweets that Landed in Belize: Rum Cakes and Coconut Sugar Cakes #EattheWorld

This month the Eat the World bloggers are headed to Belize by tabletop. Read more about the Eat the World project here.

The Line-Up

Belizean Panty Ripper by A Day in the Life on the Farm
Belizean Rice and Beans by Sneha's Recipe
Pan de Muerto by Amy's Cooking Adventures
Two French Sweets that Landed in Belize: Rum Cakes and Coconut Sugar Cakes by Culinary Cam (you're here)

I still don't have an answer as to how two traditional French sweets landed in Belize. If anyone know, please clue me in! But here we go for my Belizean offering for this month's Eat the World Challenge. After a few fun facts about the country.

Belizean Fun Facts

Belize is the only Central American country whose official language is it Spanish; it's English though many inhabitants are polyglots and speak English, Spanish, Belizean Creole as well as Yucatec Maya, Garifuna, German, Mandarin, and Arabic.
The country has the only jaguar reserve in the world
Prior to adopting its name - Belize - it was called British Honduras; it was the only British colony in Central America.
Belize, who gained its independence on September 21, 1981, celebrates every year with huge street parties throughout the country.
Belize is 60% Forested, the highest of any other country in Central America and the Caribbean.
And my favorite: Belize does not have McDonald’s, Burger King, KFC, or Starbucks!

Rum Cakes

When I first saw this recipe, I had R look up if Belize had ever been a French colony. It wasn't, but somehow these traditional sweets from the Bordeaux region of France made it into the Belizean culinary canon. Several Belizean rum cake recipes start with a boxed pudding cake recipe. But, then, I found a recipe that was almost identical to my Cannelés de Bordeaux. I adapted the process to make them gluten-free so Jake could indulge, too.

Ingredients

2 cups whole milk
4 Tablespoons unsalted butter
1 vanilla pod, split and scraped
2/3 cup gluten-free flour (I use Bob's Red Mill 1-to-1 Baking Flour Mix)
1 cup powdered sugar
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 teaspoon fine salt
3 egg yolks
3 whole eggs
1/4 cup rum
Also needed: silicone molds, baking sheet

Procedure

Batter

Place the milk, butter, vanilla seeds and pod in a small saucepan and bring to the boil. Remove the pan from the heat and let it cool for a few minutes. Take out, but save, the vanilla pod!

Place the flour, powdered sugar, and salt into a large mixing bowl. Add the egg yolks and eggs to the bowl and whisk slightly to break up the yolks. Pour in the milk mixture, whisking constantly.

Whisk until you have a smooth batter. You can strain the batter through a sieve to remove lumps, if you wish. I didn't do this. Stir in the rum and add the vanilla pod back to the bowl. Let rest while the oven comes to temperature.

To Bake

Give the batter a gentle whisk. Preheat oven to 475 degrees Fahrenheit. Place the molds on a baking tray and place - empty - in the oven for 5 minutes to heat them. Once heated, pour the batter into the molds, leaving a 1 cm gap to the top. Bake for 15 minutes, then reduce the heat to 375 degrees Fahrenheit and bake for another 40 minutes. Note that gluten-free goods seem to bake faster. For regular flour rum cake, they will probably take 50 minutes after the temperature drop.

Invert the molds and remove the cakes. Leave them to cool on a wire rack...or devour immediately as my guys usually do! We ate these for a Sunday brunch with fresh papaya and pineapple during an unseasonably hot morning. It definitely felt like the tropics.

Coconut Sugar Cakes

This was another recipe that had me wondering about the French connection to Belize. These coconut sugar cakes were solidly reminiscent of madeleines which are traditional in the Lorraine region of France.

Ingredients

3/4 cup (1-1/2 sticks) organic butter plus some for greasing pan
1 cup coconut sugar
2 large eggs, at room temperature
1 t pure coconut extract
1 t pure vanilla extract
3/4 cup flour
1/4 cup coconut flour
1/2 cup roasted, unsalted hazelnuts, chopped
Also needed: madeleine baking pan

Procedure

Before you start, chop your hazelnuts. While you might be tempted to use pre-chopped nuts - I have done it many times myself - the aroma of the freshly chopped nuts is extraordinary and well worth the effort. I promise!

Preheat oven to 325 degrees Fahrenheit. Grease, or butter, your madeleine pan and set aside.

Place your butter and coconut sugar in a saucepan and heat, over medium heat, until the butter is melted and the sugar is blended into the butter.

Let the butter-sugar mixture cool for a few minutes, then spoon it into a large mixing bowl. Whisk in the eggs, and extracts. Beat for a full three minutes to incorporate lots of air bubbles into your batter.

Fold in the flours and ground hazelnuts with a spatula, taking care not to deflate the batter too much. Using a truffle scoop, or teaspoon, fill the shell molds with batter until almost full.

Bake till the madeleines puff up and the edges are golden. Mine took between 17 and 19 minutes.

Remove the pans from the oven and let cool on a wire rack for 3 to 5 minutes. Unmold. You may be able to tap them out; I used a small spatula to ease them out of the molds onto the cooling racks.

Other Belizean Tastes

I also made traditional rice and beans; Escabeche, a vinegar-based chicken stew; and Pone, a sweet potato pudding. I will be sharing those recipes soon!