Do You Think Rum Buttercream Is Okay To Serve If Kids There?

Decorating By tsal Updated 16 Dec 2010 , 11:50pm by diamonds-and-rust

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tsal Posted 11 Dec 2010 , 9:11pm
post #1 of 39

I want to make an eggnog cake for my mom, but my kids will be there to eat the cake. I'd like to make rum imbc to frost and fill - do you think this is a bad idea? I'd add 2 - 4 tbsp of dark rum to my entire batch of imbc. Should I do it or find something else?

I was also considering making eggnog mousse to fill and rum imbc to frost thereby reducing the amount of rum in the cake even more.

What do you think?

38 replies
-K8memphis Cake Central Cake Decorator Profile
-K8memphis Posted 11 Dec 2010 , 9:13pm
post #2 of 39

Vanilla is 35% alcohol. A few tablespoons of hootch in cake to me is fine. Serving tea totalers like fundamental religious groups--not so much.

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cakeandpartygirl Posted 11 Dec 2010 , 9:31pm
post #3 of 39

What about using rum flavoring?

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NerdyGirl Posted 11 Dec 2010 , 11:03pm
post #4 of 39

If they're your kids, then you make that call. And, like K8 said, vanilla has alcohol in it.

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Narie Posted 11 Dec 2010 , 11:47pm
post #5 of 39

Since you are serving it to your own children, there shouldn't be a problem. 2 or 4 tablespoons in a full frosting recipe is very little. Figure out how much rum would be in one serving, possibly a 1/2 teaspoon or less. I don't think that amount could be a danger to your children.

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tokazodo Posted 12 Dec 2010 , 12:08am
post #6 of 39

I found a couple of tools which may help.

Tblsps to ounces: http://www.calculateme.com/Volume/Ounces/ToTablespoons.htm

blood Alcohol Conversion:
http://www.onlineconversion.com/bac.htm


According to the above information, 4 tablespoons equals 2 ounces.
The blood alcohol converter recognizes liquor with a 35-50 % alcohol content.
You can click in the child's weight, and see what the blood alcohol level would be.
I would really be careful with this. I would try to figure how much alcohol per serving.
If it was too much, I would substitute Artificial Rum Flavoring in this instance.

I hope this helps!

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tsal Posted 12 Dec 2010 , 12:13am
post #7 of 39

Where would I get rum flavouring? I'm in Canada.

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BlakesCakes Posted 12 Dec 2010 , 12:28am
post #8 of 39

Given that the icing will be exposed to the air, it would be my basic assumption that most of the alcohol would evaporate rather quickly, leaving behind just the rum flavor.

Obviously, in a filling or truffles, this isn't the case, but I really see no reason why it wouldn't be the case for the outer covering of icing.

Also, given the ratio of icing to cake in a slice, I see no way that any child would generate a "blood alcohol level" unless they ate the entire cake--and then a BAL would be the least of your worries................

JMHO
Rae

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cakeandpartygirl Posted 12 Dec 2010 , 12:28am
post #9 of 39

I know in the us mccormick sells rum flavoring. Lorann oils has rum flavoring also.

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neelycharmed Posted 12 Dec 2010 , 12:48am
post #10 of 39

You can buy rum flavoring at any grocery store icon_smile.gif
especially around this time of year. icon_smile.gif
Jodi

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abgisme Posted 12 Dec 2010 , 1:05am
post #11 of 39

BAC should not be of concern to you. It is mainly used to determine level of intoxication, especially in legal matters. The bigger concern would be the impact of even a little alcohol on brain chemistry. Also consider if there will be any adults with alcoholism or who are in recovery. Even a drop of alcohol, while it wouldn't cause intoxication, could trigger cravings and relapse. Go with the artificial flavoring if you can.

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theonlynameleft Posted 12 Dec 2010 , 1:11am
post #12 of 39

I wouldn't be too concerned personally but that is just me. Maybe other people would feel differently if it was their children. Could you possibly simmer the rum a bit to "burn off" the alcohol, let it cool before adding? Then the alcohol content would be gone (to the best of my knowledge)!

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-K8memphis Posted 12 Dec 2010 , 1:14am
post #13 of 39

So according to the charts upthread --if you use 2 ounces, which is 4 tablespoons in one batch of icing that serves 25 people and all the icing is used on the cake then it will be a negligible amount consumed at 40% alcohol content. Plus it is not hitting their systems as a liquid.

Vanilla is 35%. It's not that big a deal to me.

It's not a drop of alcohol--it's icing.

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Narie Posted 12 Dec 2010 , 2:53am
post #14 of 39
Quote:
Quote:

It's not that big a deal to me.
It's not a drop of alcohol--it's icing.




I agree with the above totally. I really think people are making much ado about nothing. If you are really freaked out that drop of liquor might be consumed by your children. Take along a small bag of plain icing and replace the "evil" frosting when your children get their pieces of cake.

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Kiddiekakes Posted 12 Dec 2010 , 3:18am
post #15 of 39

Tsal...Rum extract is sold in all the major grocery store chains in the baking aisle along with all the other flavors.

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cupadeecakes Posted 12 Dec 2010 , 3:51am
post #16 of 39

I would not worry about these trace amounts of alcohol. Would you worry if you were making lemon cake using lemon extract, which is 160+ proof? That's way more potent that your rum. Teetotaler or not, trace amount of alcohol are everywhere - cold medicine, mouthwash, even vinegar... and now your delicious cake!

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SecretAgentCakeBaker Posted 12 Dec 2010 , 5:21am
post #17 of 39

I think maybe the kids won't like the flavor of the rum anyway. Maybe bring along a few cupcakes with some kid flavored frosting.

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tsal Posted 12 Dec 2010 , 11:10am
post #18 of 39

Thanks for the input, everyone! SecretAgentCakeBaker: you make a good point: they possibly will dislike the rum flavor! I would like to try a new flavor (although my last attempts, even though they were delicious, were rejected by my kids!)

I'm going to look for the flavoring (it would be cheaper anyway since I don't drink rum!)

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LaurenLuLu Posted 12 Dec 2010 , 9:12pm
post #19 of 39

Not a problem! For holidays when I was growing up the kids table would get its own bottle of wine!

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BlakesCakes Posted 13 Dec 2010 , 2:46am
post #20 of 39
Quote:
Originally Posted by LaurenLuLu

Not a problem! For holidays when I was growing up the kids table would get its own bottle of wine!




OMG! Let's hope times have changed! icon_eek.gif

That was necessary when water supplies were suspect or known to be tainted.......thank heavens we figured out how to kill bacteria WITHOUT alcohol.

Rae

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LaurenLuLu Posted 13 Dec 2010 , 11:58am
post #21 of 39

LOL! I'm only 34! That was just the way it was in cajun country. But you know the upside, alcohol never had the allure to me as a teenager and college aged kid like others. Been there, done that and felt no need to overindulge.

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diamonds-and-rust Posted 15 Dec 2010 , 3:22am
post #22 of 39

Yes Lauren LuLu when I was a child we were all allowed small (very) glasses of wine with dinner, just like the adults. It is a cultural thing....this is tradition in my Italian American family. No big deal. I think when alcohol is made out to be evil, ugly, and forbidden, that sets the scene for the "forbidden fruit"....it is more attractive by the very fact it is off limits....if children are exposed to small amounts of alcohol (or caffeine or whatever), it looses its appeal, and therefore it is no big deal. JMHO.

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BlakesCakes Posted 15 Dec 2010 , 3:56am
post #23 of 39

My concern is not the "allure factor"--it's the possibility of "setting off" the genetic predisposition toward addiction/alcoholism at a very early age.

There is alcoholism on both sides of my boys' family--one relative started at age 10 sneeking booze--so we were extremely wary of open, underage consumption.

I handled the allure issue by telling my sons--at a very, very young age-- that fermented alcohol, particularly beer, is fungus pee. After the giggling subsided, they wanted a full explanation, so I told them about how yeast eats sugar and then pees out beer. It won't make it into chemistry books, but it has some merit--and it worked.

My 26 y.o. will have a beer now and then to be social, but says he really doesn't like it. My 22 y.o. says that he can't get a beer past his nose because all he can invision is little fungi urinating in his glass icon_lol.gif

Rae

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CakeDiva101 Posted 15 Dec 2010 , 4:33am
post #24 of 39
Quote:
Originally Posted by diamonds-and-rust

Yes Lauren LuLu when I was a child we were all allowed small (very) glasses of wine with dinner, just like the adults. It is a cultural thing....this is tradition in my Italian American family. No big deal. I think when alcohol is made out to be evil, ugly, and forbidden, that sets the scene for the "forbidden fruit"....it is more attractive by the very fact it is off limits....if children are exposed to small amounts of alcohol (or caffeine or whatever), it looses its appeal, and therefore it is no big deal. JMHO.




Amen sister! Growing up in Brazil were there is no drinking age requirements, we always had wine at dinner ( small amounts for me as a child of course). I am a firm believer that many of our kids today drink because it is "forbidden", or, "that will make me look tough ", etc. Things that are forbidden tend to have a lot more allure than things that are in the open. The trill is no longer there if nobody will care you had a beer. Of course, there are other factors that will contribute to excessive drinking.

For the person that said something about predisposition, I can't say I agree or disagree. I can only speak by personal experience: my father was an alcoholic and I grew up in a country where at 13 years old I could walk in any bar, alone, and be served hard liquor,as much as they wanted. (I could but I didn't). If some kind of predisposition existed, I would be a drunk by now.
BTW, I drink about 1/2 glass of wine on the weekends if that. I prefer Diet Sunkist icon_biggrin.gif

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BlakesCakes Posted 15 Dec 2010 , 4:51am
post #25 of 39
Quote:
Originally Posted by CakeDiva101

If some kind of predisposition existed, I would be a drunk by now.




No, not really.

You may have dodged a genetic bullet....

or you may have been bright enough to have put 2+2 together, even as a small child, and realized that drinking heavily=trouble. You may have made a subconscious, or even conscious, decision to avoid that trouble.

Problem is, if you're predisposed, it may only take a few episodes to go over the edge to a point of no return/developing a taste for it--and then a lifetime of trying to get right again.

I choke down some dark red wine every night for my health--and I hate every drop--yet, I have first cousin's who can't eat dinner without several glasses of wine or a few beers. They think it tastes great, I think it tastes awful.................similar genetics, different tolerances. Several of their kids have problems with booze, mine don't...............

Rae

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CakeDiva101 Posted 15 Dec 2010 , 5:13am
post #26 of 39

I'm sure you are right bout this. Like I said, I can only speak from my personal experience. Like you, I don't really care for alcohol. So that would explain why I did not became a drunk or abused it. I do know about some people have more of a addicting type of personality than others. I do have lots of back pain due to years of bad posture, sitting down doing nails and Im highly allergic to just about all types of narcotic pain killers, so I can understand if I could take such drugs and they made me pain free, there would be a good chance I would relly on them more than I should.

Sorry I got off the subject. I just love to hear all the different opinions out there icon_smile.gif

And Tsal, I'm happy to see you are still baking girl! thumbs_up.gif

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mom2twogrlz Posted 15 Dec 2010 , 5:36am
post #27 of 39

Now that you all mention the vanilla alcohol thing, it makes me feel bad about feedign my babies. They hated their cereal, so I always added a little vanilla and cinnamon. I never thoguht about the alcohol content, even though it says it right on the bottle. OOPS!!!!!!!

SO far they are ok, but of course they are only 6 and 3! icon_smile.gif

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carmijok Posted 15 Dec 2010 , 7:06am
post #28 of 39

Good Lord, most extracts contain alcohol--even the rum flavored ones. I sure hope I haven't been unknowingly been turning small children into drunks all these years! Maybe I should have been playing their records backwards to listen for subliminal messages! Or make them wear helmets and full body armor to school!
Sorry, but the whole concern about how much a few tablespoons of rum in a batch of icing would affect kids is really getting out there.

We used to have rum balls at Christmas and brandy soaked fruit cake when I was a kid. Didn't care for it much then and your kids probably won't like it either. Although I WAS crazy about Butterum Lifesavers. Used to eat a whole roll. So far I'm not an alcoholic. I also graduated college and live a fairly normal life. I do think society is going a bit overboard. My opinion.

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BlakesCakes Posted 15 Dec 2010 , 7:26am
post #29 of 39

All of my commentary was related to the posts discussing children being given alcoholic beverages as a matter of course while growing up.

I posted early in this thread that I didn't think that a bit of rum in icing was an issue--AT ALL. I also don't think that adding a bit of any extract to cereal, icing, cake, or soda is going to generate an alcoholic or cause a recovering alcoholic a problem.

I don't alter my baking or decorating recipes for children or adults. If an extract is called for, then it gets used.

I don't serve alcoholic beverages of any sort to anyone under 21 or anyone with a known substance abuse problem.

Rae

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indydebi Posted 15 Dec 2010 , 1:29pm
post #30 of 39

Ever check the alcohol content on children's medicines? Why do you think they drop off to sleep right away? icon_rolleyes.gif

But I agree with an earlier post that kids won't like the rum flavor anyway, so is it possible to do some cupcakes just for them with "normal" icing?

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