Rum subsitute

[annachan]

I'm thinking of doing a coconut cake for Thanksgiving. I found a recipe that I like, but I would prefer not to use rum in the simple syrup mixture to soak the cake. I would like to stay away for any alcohol flavor. Would coconut extract work in place or the rum? Any suggestions?

[repoman]

I think a good substitute would be that concentrated Bacardi Pina Colada mix that you can find in the frozen orange juice section. You can also get many other kinds of coconut flavored drink mixes in liquor stores.

Also, there is this Sobe or some other kind of beverage product that you find in gas stations. It is a non-alcoholic juice that tastes like a pina colada.

With the exception of the frozen concentrate I would probably reduce these juices by 1/3 to 1/2 to concentrate the flavor more and not water down your cake.

If you are looking to emulate the flavor of rum and not coconut, try McCormick's immitation Rum Extract.

Edited November 17, 2005 by repoman (log)

[ludja]

Coconut water (the liquid inside the coconut) or coconut milk would a good substitute. The latter is made by soaking fresh or dried (unsweetend) coconut with hot water and then pressing the liquid through cheesecloth. Lots of coconut cake recipes moisten the baked layers in this way.

Coconut water does not have much flavor, maybe this could be doctored with a few drops of coconut extract and some suga syrup.. (I've not used coconut extract so I don't really know if the flavor would be good in this context).

Other ideas would be a sugar syrup or one of the coconut liquids above scented with some rose or orange water. There are some old Southern recipes similar to this.

Lastly you could use a citrus syrup (orange, lemon, lime, tangerine). These flavors go well with coconut.

I'm almost set on making a fresh coconut cake for T-day. The recipe I'm eyeing has coconut milk in the batter. The layers are not soaked afterwards.

[miladyinsanity]

If you're going to use coconut milk, you might like to sweeten it some with the coconut water.

Coconut milk--fresh squeezed--tends to be thick.

[Wendy DeBord]

You could use a moist really good coconut cake from the beginning and not need any soaking syrup.

[EllenC]

Why not soak it in pineapple juice? The two flavors go well together and it's easy and non-alcoholic in taste.