Joy of Desserts: Delicious, moist, flavorful Island Treasures Gourmet rum cake

I have a deliciously moist and flavorful cake to share with you. How delicious is it? So delicious, that when a group of us taste-tested it, everyone not only asked for seconds -- and thirds -- but slices even had to be reserved for when spouses returned from work.

This was a vanilla rum cake. It contains generous amounts of award-winning Whaler's Rum, but none of us were in the least bit tipsy. And there's also lots of vanilla. It is very flavorful, and we could smell its aroma even before opening the box. Yes, don't be shocked, I did say box.

The Island Treasures Gourmet vanilla rum cake is a cake made from Cassandra Craig's home recipe. She's a Realtor and it's a family-run business. The cakes are shipped nationwide. You can also pick it up at some retailers and Navy exchanges. I was hoping for a good cake, but this cake just took all of us by surprise, it was that good.

You could pass this off for homemade. It does not taste like it came from some factory, or a grocery store bakery. It's not sickeningly sweet, it's not dry, and it has loads and loads of flavor. It is so good that these were some of the comments heard around the table:

"It's very flavorful without being overpowering."
"You can really smell and taste the vanilla. You just want to eat the whole cake."
"It's so good, I need another slice."

There are seven flavors in all. We only tasted their original vanilla rum cake, but from the Internet buzz, they seem to all be the best. The resealable packaging protects the flavors and keeps the cake from crumbling during shipping, so it makes for an easy gift which can be sent anywhere.

You don't have to worry about children eating some of this rum cake either. According to the company, lab tests indicate less than 1 percent of the alcohol is left in a 2 pound cake after baking. So you can imagine how minute an amount it is for a slice or two. The human body probably creates more when children are running around at the park.

So, I highly recommend that you visit the Island Treasures Gourmet Rum Cake website and order yourself several of these cakes. I'm not saying this lightly. I don't like to see bloggers gush over some piece of garbage, just because they got a review product. I know you don't like that either. This is not the case here. As a journalist, I'm quite used to newspapers and magazines receiving thousands of review products, most of which don't even get reviewed for lack of space and time.

I'm telling you to order several of these cakes, because when your first one is finished in the blink of an eye, your taste buds are going to crave more. Think of Father's Day coming up, and most men just love rum cake (but so do the women), and there are graduations and 4th of July picnics to think about too. Plus it's always good to have a shelf-stable cake in the pantry for those stormy summer days when the power goes out and you can't bake for your family, or for those pesky guests who arrive unannounced because they know you love them, and would never think of turning them away on an empty stomach. These cakes will make great Christmas or corporate gifts which you can ship anywhere.

I have another reason for telling you to visit Cassandra's website and order several cakes. This is a family-run business which deserves to grow because their product is so good. It is so tough for any business to grow in this dreadful economy, but family-run businesses are what this country grew up on. Besides, you'll be doing yourself a favor when you order.

Do I still have your attention? There's a giveaway coming soon! You won't want to miss one as delicious as this.