Support local and “Let them eat cake.”

I was at the Holiday Mart this fall and had a sample of Jude’s Rum cake. It was love at first bite! I gave the guy behind the booth my card and told him I wrote about locally owned food business and restaurants in KC, and that this cake was amazing! He gave me his card and it turned out to be the owner, Craig Adcock who also owns Belly Up BBQ, a company that includes full service catering, BBQ products and more.

As I have mentioned before I really love meeting the business owners. I love seeing their eyes light up when you tell them how yummy their product is.

Craig sent me some information, and I was delighted to write about it for the Kansas City Food Examiner page I write for. As a thank you, Craig called me up and said he wanted to give me one of his cakes. What a generous gesture, I was not going to turn down that offer. I promptly made my way to Lenexa where they are locally made to pick it up.

When I went to pick up my cake, I was able to visit a bit more with Craig and see the commercial kitchen where he bakes them. These cakes truly are a labor of love and only finest quality ingredients are used. Jude’s Rum cakes are hand-made in small batches using whole eggs, real butter, Barbancourt Rum from Haiti and locally grown pecans from Missouri Northern Pecan Growers.

As it so happens, the cake was given in perfect timing to double as my birthday cake! I was delighted to share it with my family. Everyone raved!

My sister-in-law said that the cake was “killer” and wants to order one to have for Christmas. My father-in-law said, “Man that cake is really good.”

The cakes are soaked in rum, which makes them delightfully moist, and the combination of the pecans and sugar adds a wonderful sweet crunch.

Jude’s Rum Cakes are recognized nationally by Foodie Extraordinaire David Rosengarten, who is also author of the Rosengarten Report, a James Beard winning food and wine newsletter. On the local scale the cakes have been featured in KC Magazine, Present Magazine, and Glace owner Christopher Elbow has even made ice cream using it.

These cakes make excellent holiday gifts and are shipped nationwide, what a great way to share a bit of Kansas City to those on your list. If you are local to the Kansas City metro area order one to share at your next event or take as a hostess gift. These cakes are available all year around so don’t just wait for the holidays to enjoy.

Jude’s Rum Cakes come in three sizes. The large 4-pound version ($50) yields 16 large slices and the smaller size 2-pound ($30) will yield 8 slices. They also bake and sell mini muffin-size and two-bite teaser rum cakes. ($12 – $15)
Order online or arrangements can be made for pick up and by calling 913.526.6708.

If you have a great food find in KC you think I am missing,email me.

In Good Taste,
Sharm