Ree Drummond’s ‘objectionable’ cake decorates the halls every Christmas

Ree Drummond may not look like the stereotypical Mrs. Claus, but she sure makes a big deal out of Christmas on her TV show. In fact, in 2021, she even starred in a Food Network holiday movie called “Candy-Coated Christmas.” So it’s a bit of a shock to hear him call his favorite holiday rum cake “blatantly wrong and morally repugnant.” Yes, those are the exact words she used to describe some of the cake ingredients on her Pioneer Woman blog, although we’re not sure if that’s a response to actual complaints she received. It’s possible she simply canceled the cake so as not to be caught off guard by another controversy, like the one that erupted when she cooked what she called “Asian wings” and then apparently implied that they were not as good as “American style”. ” those.

Drummond doesn’t say what ingredients in the cake might get people in trouble, but it’s possible that rum is one of them. Alcohol is traditionally prohibited by many fundamentalist Christian denominations. The Drummond family is Presbyterian (the recipe comes from his mother-in-law) but Presbyterians are allowed to drink, so again, maybe not. As for other ingredients, vegans may not like butter and eggs, but little of what Drummond cooks is strictly plant-based, so why would they watch his show or read his blog ? She may suspect that people might be upset by her use of boxed cake mix and pudding, but surely no one gets warped from sugar and canola oil.

Read more: The story of cornflakes is even worse than you knew

Can you make this cake less objectionable?

Okay, for the sake of argument, let’s assume that you find one or more ingredients in Ree Drummond’s rum cake morally repugnant, for reasons of your own. If you adhere to some sort of belief that pecans are sacred, you can always use walnuts instead. Drummond says it’s fine to skip nuts altogether, anyway. If your ethics don’t allow you to consume animal products, there are many plant-based substitutes for butter and eggs on the market. If you’re picky enough to object to boxed mixes… Psshh, you don’t need this recipe, you probably already have a handwritten bible of homemade cakes and you might even be distilling your own own rum.

And here we come to the crux of the problem: can the rum in Drummond’s rum cake be replaced? Well, of course it’s possible. In fact, fooling people with substitute alcohol has presidential precedent, as Rutherford B. Hayes’ drink of choice was a non-alcoholic “rum punch” that he used to fool his less sober guests. Although its chef probably used rum extract, today we also have the option of using non-alcoholic alcohol substitutes like those made by Ritual. Lyre’s is another company with a solid range of zero proof spirits, including one perfect for making rum-free cakes.

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