Rum Cake
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This boozy, buttery rum cake is guaranteed to be the life of the party.
My grandmother loved to bake, and her rum cake was legendary. It was the star of every family gathering, and no one could walk through her kitchen without sneaking just one more thin slice. Although she kept the recipe a closely guarded secret, upon discovering my interest in cooking, she finally revealed that it was actually a Duncan Hines cake mix doctored up with instant vanilla pudding, butter, and lots of rum. Who knew?! These days, keeping the recipe a secret would be impossible—it’s all over the internet (just google “Bacardi rum cake”).
I’ve always wanted to recreate her cake from scratch, so I came up with this rum cake recipe, which is hardly any more work than the semi-homemade one. My grandmother might beg to differ, but I believe my scratch-made version comes pretty close to her original.
Table of Contents
“This is one of the most exquisite cakes I’ve ever made.”
About Rum Cake
Rum cake is a traditional Caribbean dessert that dates back to the days of sugar plantations, as rum is a liquor made from sugarcane. The most well-known version of Caribbean rum cake, known as black cake because of its intensely dark color, is a fruitcake made from a variety of dried fruits soaked in rum for several weeks or even months before being baked. This lighter version is made by soaking a moist butter cake in a syrup of butter, sugar, and dark rum, giving it a rich, boozy flavor. There’s almost a cup of rum in the cake, so it’s definitely not for young kids or anyone avoiding alcohol. For a similar cake that’s booze-free, try my Kentucky butter cake.
What You’ll Need To Make Rum Cake
Step-by-Step Instructions
Begin by combining the eggs, egg yolks, rum, vanilla extract, and almond extract.
Whisk and set aside.
Combine the flour, sugars, baking powder and salt in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment.
Beat on low speed to combine.
Add the butter.
Beat for a few minutes until combined.
Add one-third of the liquid ingredients and mix on low to combine.
Increase the speed to medium and beat for two minutes more.
Add another third of the liquid.
Mix on low speed until just combined. Increase the speed to medium and beat for two minutes.
Add the remaining liquid.
Beat and scrape as before.
Transfer the batter to the prepared Bundt pan.
Bake the cake for 65 to 75 minutes, or until a tester comes out clean. Let cool on a rack for 10 minutes.
While the cake bakes, make the glaze. In a small saucepan, melt the butter.
Add the sugar and water and bring to a boil; then turn the heat down and simmer for 5 minutes until thickened.
Remove from the heat and stir in the rum.
It will thicken as it sits.
Using a toothpick or skewer, poke holes all over the bottom of the cake.
Brush or spoon half of the glaze over the cake and let it soak in.
Invert the cake onto a platter. Brush or spoon the remaining glaze over the top and sides of the cake.
Let the cake cool completely before serving.
The cake portion of this recipe is based on a recipe from Perfect Cakes by Nick Malgieri. I changed the process, replaced the all-purpose flour with cake flour, swapped the white rum for dark rum and omitted the almonds. The glaze recipe is from my grandmother.
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Rum Cake
This boozy, buttery rum cake is guaranteed to be the life of the party.
Ingredients
For the Cake
- 4 large eggs
- 3 large egg yolks
- ½ cup dark rum
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1 teaspoon almond extract
- 2½ cups cake flour, spooned into measuring cup and leveled-off (see note)
- 1 cup packed light brown sugar
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- ¾ teaspoon salt
- 2 sticks (1 cup) unsalted butter, softened
For the Glaze
- 1 stick (½ cup) unsalted butter
- ¼ cup water
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- ¼ cup plus 2 tablespoons dark rum
- Generous pinch of salt
Instructions
For the Cake
- Position an oven rack in the center of the oven and preheat to 325°F. Spray a 12-cup Bundt pan with nonstick cooking spray with flour, such as Baker's Joy or Pam with Flour. (Alternatively, grease the pan with butter and then dust with flour.)
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the eggs, egg yolks, rum, vanilla extract and almond extract. Set aside.
- Place the cake flour, brown sugar, granulated sugar, baking powder, and salt in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment; mix on low speed for about 30 seconds to combine. Add the butter and beat on low speed for about 2 minutes, or until the ingredients are well combined. (The mixture will look a bit like cookie dough.)
- Add a third of the liquid ingredients and mix on low speed until just incorporated. Increase the speed to medium and beat for 2 minutes, then stop the mixer and scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl with a rubber spatula. Add another third of the liquid and mix on low speed until just combined. Increase the speed to medium and beat for two minutes, then stop the mixer and scrape again. Add the remaining liquid and beat and scrape as before.
- Transfer the batter to the prepared pan and smooth the top. Bake for 65 to 75 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted halfway between the central tube and side of the pan comes out clean.
- Cool the cake on a rack for ten minutes.
- While the cake bakes, make the glaze. Melt the butter in a small saucepan. Add the water and sugar and bring to a boil. Turn the heat down to medium-low and simmer, stirring frequently, for about 5 minutes, or until the mixture is slightly thickened. Remove from the heat and stir in the rum and salt.
- Using a toothpick or thin skewer, poke holes all over the bottom of the cake about ½-inch apart, going about ¾ of the way down (you will feel like you are butchering the cake; don't worry, it will be fine). Brush half of the glaze over the cake and let it soak in. If the glaze pools on the surface, poke more holes to help it sink in. Invert the cake onto a cake platter. Gradually brush the remaining glaze evenly over the top and sides of the cake, letting it soak in as you go. (Go slowly so that the glaze gets absorbed, rather than drips off the sides.) Let cool completely before serving.
- Make-Ahead/Freezer-Friendly Instructions: The cake can be made up to 1 day ahead of time and stored in a cake dome or covered container at room temperature. It can also be frozen for up to 3 months. After it is completely cooled, double-wrap it securely with aluminum foil or plastic freezer wrap, or place it in a heavy-duty freezer bag. Thaw overnight on the countertop before serving.
- Note: It's important to use cake flour in this recipe. All-purpose flour will make the cake dry and dense.
Nutrition Information
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- Per serving (16 servings)
- Calories: 438
- Fat: 19 g
- Saturated fat: 12 g
- Carbohydrates: 56 g
- Sugar: 39 g
- Protein: 4 g
- Sodium: 145 mg
- Cholesterol: 127 mg
This website is written and produced for informational purposes only. I am not a certified nutritionist and the nutritional data on this site has not been evaluated or approved by a nutritionist or the Food and Drug Administration. Nutritional information is offered as a courtesy and should not be construed as a guarantee. The data is calculated through an online nutritional calculator, Edamam.com. Although I do my best to provide accurate nutritional information, these figures should be considered estimates only. Varying factors such as product types or brands purchased, natural fluctuations in fresh produce, and the way ingredients are processed change the effective nutritional information in any given recipe. Furthermore, different online calculators provide different results depending on their own nutrition fact sources and algorithms. To obtain the most accurate nutritional information in a given recipe, you should calculate the nutritional information with the actual ingredients used in your recipe, using your preferred nutrition calculator.
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I’d love to make mini bundts to give away as gifts. If I had a 6 mini Bundt pan, anybody have any tips on how long to bake or volume to add?
Hi Charlotte, I’ve never made these as minis, but another reader said she used a mini bundt pan with 6 wells and they took about 20 to 22 minutes, filled 1/2 to top. You should have enough batter to make more than 6, so you’ll have to bake in two batches. Please LMK how they come out if you try it!
I’ve been making this cake for about 40 years (the old cake mix way) and am glad to have a version with no cake mix necessary. This is how I do the glaze, which makes it so much easier: Take the cake out of the oven and let it sit for about five to ten minutes. Carefully invert it onto a plate and stab it all over with a fork. Put it back in the Bundt pan. Then take the glaze (helps if you have a saucepan with a pouring spout) and pour it around the edges and the center. Stop about half way through and shake the cake. Then pour the rest of the glaze around the edges and center again until it’s all used up. Shake it gently again. After about 15 minutes, invert the cake onto your serving dish (the pan will be hot still). I have passed this tip on to countless people and they all say it works so much better. Trying to get the cake to absorb the glaze by brushing it on is not nearly as effective and time consuming. Thanks for the recipe!
I don`t have the dark rum on hand but I do have some good quality rum that is the color of bourbon,just wondering if that can be subbed or will the results be compromised.Never made rum cake and would like to give it a go.THX
That will work!
Hi Jen!
I love your recipes & use them all of the time! You’ve been making me look good for years now!
This recipe looks amazing! Odd question for you. I was gifted a beautiful 10 cup bundt pan that I’d like to use for this recipe. Any idea how to adjust recipe for a slightly smaller pan? Thanks for any advice & all of your wonderful recipes!!
So glad you like the recipes, Julie! With a 10-cup bundt pan, you’ll likely have a little too much batter. I’d fill the pan up halfway and bake any remaining batter in a muffin tin for cupcakes. Hope you enjoy!
You wrote about your grandmother’s delicious rum cake using a cake mix then gave a completely different recipe with all kinds of ingredients including CAKE FLOUR which I never have. I love your column but this bait and switch recipe wasn’t appreciated.
That’s ridiculous. She’s not pulling a “bait and switch.” She’s telling the backstory of what inspired her to develop the recipe. Jenn’s recipes rarely call for hard-to-find ingredients and in this case she states that cake flour is essential to achieve the correct texture.
In response to a reader, Lora, on Mar 4, 2022, asking about cake four substitutes, Jenn stated -for every cup of AP flour, replace 2 Tbl with cornstarch (per The Spruce Eats.com). I don’t consider Jenn providing a probably superior recipe, which almost all of us APPRECIATES, a bait and switch. She also wrote that her grandmothers recipe was all over the internet as Bacardi Rum cake, again, NO bait and switch!
Hi, I was wondering if this recipe will work with a rectangle cake pan instead? Thanks!
Hi Sophie, I haven’t tried it, but I think it could work in a 9 x 13-inch pan. The bake time will likely be different, but I’m not sure by how much. I’d start checking it at about 35 minutes. Please LMK how it turns out if you try it!
Hi Jenn,
Love all your recipes, and making my way through them haha
Unfortunately, my local store doesn’t sell dark rum. Was wondering if I am able to replace the rum with Cognac or Bourbon instead? Will there be a big difference in taste? Thank you!
So glad you like the recipes! The cake will have a slightly different flavor, but either bourbon or brandy will work. Please LMK how it turns out!
I’ve made this at least 10 times with a variety of rums. It’s definitely a favorite. The cake comes out so incredibly light and fluffy
Hello Jenn,
I am making a rum cake for a class presentation and I am not allowed to add alcoholic rum to the cake. do you have any ingredient supplement advice?
Hi Luke, rum is important for flavoring the cake so if you can’t use rum, I wouldn’t recommend this cake. This Kentucky butter cake is very similar but doesn’t call for alcohol. When you do the presentation, you can let people know that they can tweak the recipe to make it a rum cake if they’d like. Hope that helps!
Jen,
thank you for the idea, and it looks very good. Another question about the rum cake. if I make it, and I just don’t add rum to the glaze or supplement the rum, will the cake still turn out ok?
Luke, I wouldn’t recommend it as so much of the flavor (and some of the moisture) comes from the rum. I think the Kentucky butter cake (which is similar) would be a better option for you.
Jenn
Does this come out as a extremely moist rum soaked cake, dense and a bit sticky? That’s what Im looking for, and was just wondering before I make it.
Hi Laurie, It’s moist but it’s not sticky or super dense, so not sure this would fit what you’re looking for. Sorry!
with the rave reviews I am going to make it anyways! Im sure it’s great
Am I able to use all purpose flour instead of cake flour?
Hi Lora, You can make your own cake flour — for every 1 cup of AP flour, replace 2 tablespoons with cornstarch. For more info, you can check out this piece. Hope that helps!