After porridges, salads and hearty patties, we decided to round out our collection of Haitian recipes with a delicious rum cake. This squishy and flavorful loafcake is bursting with delicious Caribbean flavors, and the good news is, it is vegan and sugar free. Let us show you how we did it!
This cake is based on a classic vegan sponge cake recipe, but also includes basic ingredients commonly used in Haitian desserts. That’s coconut milk, lime, cinnamon, nutmeg, and rum. The result is a fluffy cake where the first bites are filled with notes of sweet, savory, and nutty, followed by a subtle aftertaste of rum.
Although you can use any baking rum you like, we recommend going for the Barbancourt brand. This rum is made and bottled in Haiti from Haitian sugar cane juice. It is one of the most famous Haitian rums in the world and is imported into many countries. If you can find it, it’s worth the price!
While classic Haitian cake recipes call for eggs, butter, condensed milk, and white sugar, we made ours dairy-free, egg-free, and refined sugar-free. Coconut milk is a great substitute for milk and butter because it’s rich and creamy. Plus, it gives the cake an irresistible tropical flavor that goes well with the recipe.
To replace the leaving effect of eggs, we combined baking soda and vinegar with self-raising flour. This will make the cake rise perfectly and become super spongy. Finally, we replaced refined white sugar with maple syrup. Although not a typical Haitian ingredient, the syrup allows us to reduce sugar, giving you a healthier recipe.
This Haitian cake is delicious as it is, but you can top it with a glaze and transform it into a glorious celebration cake. You can use our sugar free icing and drizzle over the cake before serving. You get extra sweetness and texture without adding sugar – give it a try!