Get the Recipe:
Rum Cake
Revisit a holiday classic with this updated Rum Cake recipe. This delicious cake promises to fill your home with festive warmth and delight taste buds, continuing a cherished family tradition.
Ingredients
For the cake:
- 1 cup (120 g) finely chopped pecans
- 2 cups (240 g) all-purpose flour
- 1 1/2 cups (300 g) granulated sugar
- 1 3.4-ounce box (96 g) instant vanilla pudding mix
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 cup (113 g) unsalted butter, softened
- 1/2 cup (120 ml) canola or vegetable oil
- 1/2 cup (120 ml) milk
- 4 large eggs
- 1/2 cup (120 ml) rum
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
For the glaze:
- 1/2 cup (113 g) unsalted butter
- 1/4 cup (60 ml) water
- 1 cup (200 g) granulated sugar
- 1/2 cup (120 ml) rum
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Instructions
To make the cake:
- Preheat oven to 325°F (160°C). Grease a 10- or 12- cup Bundt pan or tube pan.
- Sprinkle the nuts evenly in the bottom of the pan.
- Place the flour, sugar, pudding mix, baking powder, salt, butter, and oil in a large mixing bowl. Using an electric mixer on medium speed, beat the mixture until thoroughly combined. The mixture will seem sandy.
- Mix in the milk, followed by each of the eggs. Finally, mix in the rum.
- Carefully pour the batter over the nuts in the pan, and spread the batter evenly. Tap the pan gently on the countertop a few times to disperse any bubbles or gaps in the batter.
- Bake 50 to 60 minutes, or until a pick inserted into the center comes out clean.
- Set the pan on a wire rack to begin cooling while you make the glaze.
To make the glaze:
- Melt the butter in a saucepan over medium heat. Stir in the water and sugar, and then bring to a boil. Stirring constantly, cook for 5 minutes.
- Remove from the heat, and gradually add the rum while stirring.
- Use a long skewer to poke holes all over the warm cake in the pan. Try to get about 3/4 of the way down into the cake. Slowly pour about 1/4 cup of the glaze over the cake, and allow it to soak into the cake. Repeat until you’ve used about half of the glaze.
- After the glaze has soaked into the cake, invert the cake onto a serving plate. Use a toothpick to make several more shallow holes in the top of the cake. Slowly spoon or brush the remaining glaze over the cake, allowing it to soak into the cake. (Some of the glaze will invariably run down the sides of the cake, but go slowly to keep that to a minimum.)
- For the best flavor, loosely cover the cake and let it sit overnight. Afterwards, keep the cake tightly covered.
Notes
- 2023 Update: Due to the ever-changing (and shrinking!) world of cake mixes, I changed this recipe to work without the mix. If you want to make this cake using a cake mix, simply omit the flour, sugar, baking powder, salt, butter, and vanilla from the cake ingredients. The only other difference is that I use milk in the batter, where my grandmother simply used water. The original recipe lists an 18.5-ounce yellow cake mix, but today's mixes are significantly smaller. My best suggestion is to use part of a second cake mix to make up the difference. It may still work well enough with just a smaller mix, but it won't be quite the same.
- Store in an airtight container at room temperature up to 3 days.
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