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 wanted a ‘from scratch’ recipe as the ones from the mixes seem denser and I had a ‘secret recipe’ one from a friend that was light and airy and delicious. I found yours. I followed the directions exactly. It turned out beautifully. I could tell after doing all the series of beating that it was going to be light cake as it looked beautiful in the mixing bowl – really puffed up and a nice batter! It is a Christmas gift so I could only taste a small slice off the bottom but it is wonderful and just what I wanted.
Hello Jennifer, I don’t have experience baking with alcohol so this might be a silly question: is this ok served to children? I know the alcohol in the cake cooks out, but what about the rum in the glaze? Thank you!
Hi Deniza, not a silly question! The alcohol will cook out of the glaze as well, so this is perfectly fine to serve to kids. Hope you enjoy!
so looking forward to making it this weekend. I’ve been on the hunt for a completely “from scratch” version and yours looks great. Question….many of the semi-homemade versions have the nutty mixture on the bottom, which seems pretty awesome. Have you tried something like that? do you think it would work?
Thanks,
Glen
Hi Glen, I’ve never tried it, but I think you could definitely do it. (My grandmother used to put nuts in the bottom of the bundt pan before pouring the batter in and that worked nicely too.)
Hi Jenn,
Do you think this recipe will work with gluten free flour. I have tried your boyfriend bait and cranberry bread with gluten free flour with amazing results.
Thanks for the wonderful recipes.
Hi Debby, I haven’t tried this with gluten-free flour but I suspect it should work. Please LMK know how it turns out if you make it!
Jen, I’m going to make this cake tomorrow and freeze it for Xmas. Should I wait until the cake is defrosted before poking the holes and putting in the rum? I will glaze it the day I’m going to serve. Just wasn’t sure if I should poke the holes and put in the rum when it comes out of the oven and then freeze or wait until the day I’m serving it.
Hi Donna, I think you could go either way but I’d probably hold off until after the cake is defrosted. I think it will look better that way.
This cake is a favorite of mine and will be making it again this weekend. Have only made with regular rum (Bacardi) so don’t know how different the taste would be with the darker rum. Guess I should try it soon.
Would it be okay to use other types of rum like light rum or gold rum?
Sure, Shannon, the taste may be just a bit different or more subtle, but it should work. Hope you enjoy!
I have made this cake many times and it always turns out wonderful. It’s the best recipe for this cake that I have found.
Made this yesterday as written, except I did not mix for the entire 6 minute total. Generally a baker has to be careful not to over-mix, which can make for a denser, tougher crumb. Is there a reason for so much mixing? I understand the sugar has to be properly dissolved but couldn’t that be taken care of by mixing the butter and sugar first? Anyway, the cake was delicious with a perfect tender, moist texture and come-hither flavor. Definitely a performance worth repeating.
Hi Tundra, This cake is a “high ratio” cake — meaning the weight of the sugar is equal to or greater than the weight of the flour — so it uses a different method for making the batter. When using the high ratio method, you blend all the dry ingredients first (including the sugar), then beat in softened butter followed by eggs and liquid ingredients. Mixing this way guarantees a smooth batter and delicate baked cake.
Interesting! Everyone who tasted this cake agreed it was fabulous.
This was a great cake – i added half a cup of sour cream for 1 less egg yolk and as I am in the UK used 2 cups of SR flour and a half cup of corn flour.