(Not Quite) Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic

I hope the old adage about bad dress rehearsals making for good openings is right.  Eesh.  The problem with rehearsing a show, even a reading, in pieces is that it tends to fall apart a bit when you put it back together again.  Such was the case with Love, Loss and What I Wore last night.  It probably doesn't help that Tuesday's rehearsal was cancelled due to an incipient snowstorm, which finally arrived yesterday.

There is a phrase we all utter when things don't look the best right before opening:  "Magic of theatre."  It's kind of a talisman, an indication that it can all turn around when it really needs to do so.

Considering the talent of my fellow actors and our director, it will come together.  I actually believe it will be a lovely, very funny show. 

However, the craziness of this week has left me craving a bit of sugar rather than my usual salads.  Has that happened to anyone else in the last couple of weeks?  I think the solution is to have a slice of cake and then get back to the healthy routine.  If that's your solution, too, let me introduce you to the butter rum cake:

It's every bit as delicious as it looks, and maybe more so.  It has the virtue of being easy to make as well.  I say have a slice of cake, then remove the cake to your office/book group/whatever to share the wealth and calories.

I have no control over whether the "magic of theatre" will grace our show tonight, other than making sure I'm fully prepared.  But this cake?  Well, it is a little magical.

Ciambellone al Rum (Italian Butter Rum Cake)

Adapted from Lidia's Italy in America by Lidia Bastianich

For the cake:

2 sticks unsalted butter, softened

3/4 sliced almonds, ground in mini-prep processor

1/4 sliced almonds, toasted

4 cups all-purpose flour

1 tbsp. baking powder

1/2 tsp. kosher salt

1 2/3 cups granulated sugar

3 large eggs

6 large egg yolks

Zest of one large orange

1/3 cup 2% milk

For the glaze:

3/4 cup sugar

1/2 tsp. cinnamon

1/2 cup light rum

Juice from the orange zested for the cake

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.  Butter a bundt cake pan, or spray it with nonstick spray with flour.  Sprinkle the toasted almonds evenly around the pan.

In a medium bowl, combine the flour, ground almonds, baking powder and salt.

Using a stand mixer, cream the butter with the sugar on medium speed until the mixture is pale yellow and fluffy.  Alternate adding the yolks and the eggs, adding one egg and then two yolks until all the eggs are incorporated.  Beat the mixture on high speed for a minute after all the eggs have been added, just to make sure it is fully blended.

Turn the mixer to low speed and add half the flour mixture, and then the milk.  Mix to combine and then add the remaining flour mixture and the orange zest until it is just blended.

Pour the batter into the prepared bundt pan.  Tap the pan once lightly on the counter to reduce the number of air holes and then bake until a skewer or knife inserted into the cake comes out clean, about an hour.  Cool the cake completely on a baking rack and run a knife around the inside of the pan to loosen the cake before inverting it onto a plate or serving tray.

While the cake is cooling, make the glaze.  Put all the ingredients for the syrup, plus two cups of water, into a medium saucepan.  Bring the mixture to a boil and cook down until it becomes a thin syrup.

The cake should be glazed while still warm.  Using a pastry brush, brush the syrup all over the cake, repeating until all the glaze is absorbed. 

I'm warning you:  this takes a little while.  Tedious but totally worth it.

Serves twelve to sixteen, depending on how bad your sugar cravings are.