Let's talk Rum Cake!
I make a delicious Rum Cake (that is the number one requested of all my cakes). It has real rum in it, as a final touch it is infused with a rum syrup that I make. I am pretty confident that all of the alcohol has not evaporated from the syrup.
You can certainly taste the rum and alcohol in the cake, but that's what my clients love about it.
So here is the question:
Are there any legalities to selling a cake that has rum in it? Certainly a rum extract could be used . .but I will not compromise my recipe.
Very curious to see what others are doing. I know that when I worked in a bakery, we used a rum syrup made with real rum for our tiramisu and we did not seem to have any problems or special requirements . . .
Anybody with experience in this?
as long as the customer is aware that there is alcohol in the cake, then that is up to them who they will feed the cake to. This is not your problem nor for you to compromise UNLESS they request that you add "fake" Rum to it. I would not change anything.
One time I made Colette Peter's chocolate cake with brandy, my friend gave her 10 yr. old son at least 3 slices. They were at my house and she was aware that it had Brandy. I did not say a word.
Ate Evie 
Thanks Fondantgirl!!
I would not even think twice, if I was doing it for a friend, relative . . etc.
But I am more thinking of "as a business" am I responsible for selling an alcoholic cake . . . to a minor?
More specifically . . We are applying for our NYS Home Food Processor Exemption Permit, which allows us to sell wholesale only. The Rum cake I make is amazing (aren't they all ??? lol), but I worry that my most prized cake will have no appeal to restaurants, diners, hotels, etc . . . if there are legal issues with it having alcohol.
If you are seriously concerned, just have a policy of not selling to anyone who isn't of legal drinking age = 21.
Most states have thresholds of alcohol levels below which a product is not considered alcohol and can be sold to minors.
In any case, since you will be wholesale only, many restaurants and hotels should already have their liquor license so this should be a non-issue at least for some customers.
contact the same department that you are applying to and ask them about the legalities if any, for selling cakes that have a small percent of alcohol. Someone mentioned that they could taste the alcohol in the cake. Even if you use the alcohol in a syrup that you glaze over the warm cake most of the alcohol is going to evaporate before anyone eats it. It is kind of like why we use alcohol to do certain decorating with because the alcohol is going to evaporate. I imagine that you are tasting the flavor. I made a Kentucky Derby pie years ago with a brand of Whiskey that did not leave a good flavor and even though the alcohol was cooked out of the pie you could still taste the flavor. I did not like it. and right of the top of my head, No, I do not remember the brand, but I wrote it down and I am not saying that all of it has evaporated before the cake is cut into, but I imagine that a huge percentage is. I agree with the others in saying that I do not believe that there is going to be any legal issues. It would be different if you were putting in large amounts of alcohol into the glaze that was put onto the cake after baking.
FYI: a study conducted by the US Dept. of Agr. calculated the percentage of alcohol remaining in a dish based on various cooking methods.
Here's a chart that shows the results:
http://www.ochef.com/165.htm
HTH
It depends on your area. Many of my cakes contain alcohol... some in larger quantities. I even have an Absinthe cupcake. My HD said to have the recipe available for any alcohol stored in the bakery. That's it.
I'm not going to do the math again (I have mathematically reduced it down in other threads to the fraction of an ounce), but even in my Bailey's cake that contains 1/2 c of Baileys (not baked), the amount of alcohol (not liqueur) per slice is incredibly insignificant. I would serve it to any age.
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