My friends and I started up a book club to get us reading, and among other titles, we are reading books from Alice Hoffman’s Practical Magic series. Hoffman’s books are full of mentions of curative foods and drinks, yet very few full recipes are included. Fan’s of the series have already jumped in to fill this omission and have created recipes in an attempt to approximate those mentioned in fiction. One of the best versions of Aunt Isabelle’s Chocolate Tipsy Cake, as is mentioned in the Rules of Magic is the one on Potpourri with Rosemarie. True to form, I changed the recipe a little when I made it, and I flubbed the icing, but it is one delicious cake!

Preheat oven to 325 while you grease and dust with cocoa powder a large bunt pan. Add to a saucepan on medium-low heat: coffee, rum, butter, cocoa powder, chopped chocolate bar, and sugar until all is melted and combined, then cool. Once the coffee and chocolate mixture is cool add buttermilk, eggs and vanilla. Sift in flour mixed with soda, cinnamon, and clove a little at a time until well combined. Pour into pan and bake 40 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean.

The rum icing, in the recipe on Potpourri with Rosemarie was made with chocolate chips, butter, half and half and dark rum. I had only the darkest chocolate on hand so I wanted to sweeten it. While I should have just added white sugar, I was lazy and dropped in simple syrup, which is why my glaze in the picture looks all lumpy and weird. It tasted lovely though.