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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This is a great recipe resulting in a tremendously flavorful cake. Mine didn’t turn out as moist as the last recipe I used (the pudding mix really elevated the moisture level – I’ve never had a cake so moist in my life.) But I think that can easily be remedied by possibly shielding the top with foil and baking it for only 50-60 minutes, then proceeding with the syrup. I baked mine for 65 minutes but the cake was already brown 35 minutes in so the top ended up being crunchy and the cake was drier than it could have been had I removed it earlier – lessons learned!
A winner!! Absolutely perfect texture and taste😊
Hi, I don’t have a stand mixer, but I’ve mixed cake ingredients before by hand, is it possible to make this recipe like that as well?
Hi Victoria, It will definitely take a lot of elbow grease, but I think you can mix it by hand. Enjoy!
I love to bake, but I rarely make cakes, so I appreciated the detailed instructions. My rum cake came out picture perfect and delicious! I used regular flour because I didn’t see the note about cake flour in time, but it didn’t seem to matter. Also, I didn’t have almond extract, so I used a bit of Amaretto instead. This was my “practice” cake for an event next week—next time I’ll have all the proper ingredients. Can’t wait to wow my friends!
I’ve been looking for the right recipe for rum cake that didn’t involve packaged cake mix, and this is IT. The rum sauce is to die for. Thank you, thank you, thank you! Six stars!
Hi Jen
I absolutely love the texture of this cake! Do you think I could substitute the rum with lemon juice and add rind in place of the extracts? I made the lemon poppy seed Bundt cake and it was quite good but I think there is something really special about the rum cake. Not sure if it’s that I like cakes made with cake flour over ap flour. Thoughts?
Unfortunately, I don’t think that will work. The cake would be way too lemony with that amount of lemon juice (and if you cut the lemon juice back, the cake would be too dry). Sorry!
Another huge success! Made it ahead and froze as we were travelling for Christmas…everyone loved it. Thank you for another fabulous recipe.
Can I omit almond flavor
Sure – you can just use an additional teaspoon of vanilla. Enjoy!
Hi Jenn, I’ve made this cake a few times and it’s always a hit! Absolutely love it. I plan on making it again at Christmas but a bit concerned about that the rum in the glaze isn’t safe for kids. There’ll be lots of kids at Christmas. Is it safe for them?
So glad you like it! Regarding the rum, with the amount that’s included relative to the size of the cake and the number of servings, it’s perfectly safe for kids to enjoy. If you feel anxious about it, you could always make this cake instead which is very similar.
Hello Jenn, I have Presto cake flour which already has the baking powder and the salt added should I add it in anyway ,what kind of cake flour do you use? Thank you,
Mary
Hi Mary, I wouldn’t add baking powder and salt to your Presto flour. I’m not sure how much of the two your flour contains compared to what the recipe uses so I’m hoping you get a good result when you bake it. Please LMK how it turns out!
I only have white rum on hand. Should I purchase dark for this recipe? You are my guru, by-the-way. Thank you for all of your recipes. I have both of your most recent cookbooks in my kitchen. Cheers! Sarah
Hi Sarah, No need to go out and buy dark rum – white will work. So glad you enjoy the recipes!
Was just saying that I needed to make the family recipe! Now, I will have to. Made many of your Thanksgiving recipes and everything turned out delicious.