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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Your recipes are the best and I’ve turned all my friends onto “Once Upon A Chef”. If a recipe is good everyone always says, “Must be Once Upon A Chef!” Question: How would you make this into a coconut-rum cake?
Thanks Laurie – so glad you like the recipes! 🙂
I think you could add coconut to this- maybe up to 1 cup in the batter. You could also top it with some toasted coconut. I’d love to hear how it turns out!
Per your suggestion I ADDED 1 cup coconut and took the initiative to SUBSTITUTE the Myer’s Original Dark Rum with Malibu Caribbean Rum with Coconut Liqueur and ADDED 1 tsp coconut extract. Coconut paradise for the tastebuds! Thank you! (BTW your cookbook rocks).😁
Hi Jenn!
I am looking to make this recipe for Christmas, but I wanted to give it a nice lemony taste, so I thought adding a bit of lemon juice and lemon zest to the glaze would be perfect. But wondering how much I should add. Any suggestions?
Hi Jennifer, You could add a teaspoon of zest and a tablespoon of juice to the glaze but I might recommend my buttermilk lemon pound cake instead – it’s wonderful and very lemony.
Okay I made this cake today, 3 of them in fact! It is delicious! I was worried it would be too much rum for my taste, nope! Its perfect!
About three years ago, I asked if your rum cake could be baked in two 7-inch angel cake pans. Well I tried it and baked it for 40 minutes as you suggested. It came out perfect, very fine and buttery tasting. I certainly will make it again, but will put it in a Bundt pan like the one you made. I think it’s prettier in a Bundt pan.
Thanks so much for the recipe, it’s a keeper. Carolyn
This cake was lovely and feather light and scented with rum—but it just wasn’t as satisfying as the one out of the box, for me!! I’m embarrassed to admit it, but there we are 🙂 Perhaps it’s simply nostalgia.
😂I get it.
I googled rum cake recipes (from scratch) and was expecting to find a lot. Most of the recipes are from cake mix and vanilla pudding mix. I was so happy to find this recipe with great reviews. I decided to make a trial run for our family of 4. I only made half the batch in a 9×5 loaf pan, used Bacardi Gold Rum (that’s all I have), and I baked for 50 min. Every step of the way turned out exactly as it should be. I used silicone basting brush to glaze the cake 6-7 times and still have a bit of glaze leftover. I told the family that it might be better the next day to let the glaze soak in but they couldn’t wait. We did wait about 1.5 hrs. The first slice which was the edge from loaf pan has a very faint rum taste. I thought I didn’t apply enough glaze but after the first slice, the rum flavor was definitely better and stronger. The cake was perfect (not dry and dense). It came out easily from the pan. Overall, this is a strong rum cake and we love it. If you don’t want it that strong, just do less glazing. Now I’m ready to make more as gifts or for big gathering. Thank you so much for a truly awesome rum cake recipe. I’ll check out your other recipes as well.
Hi Jenn! Thinking of adding some mini chocolate chips, chopped dried cherries and shredded coconut to this recipe. What do you think????
Sure, Marie, I think that would work – I would suggest sticking to small portions – maybe 1/4 cup of each. I’d love to hear how it turns out!
Delicious!!! I added a quarter cup of each: mini chocolate chips, chopped dried cherries, crushed pineapple (drained) and
Shredded coconut. Next time I would add regular chocolate chips since the minis got lost 🙂 I also made a coconut version adding 1 c shredded coconut and coconut pudding mix. Topped this cake with toasted shredded coconut. Thx again for always providing us with great recipes!!!!
Hi Jenn
I made the cake previously and it was a great hit. I want to make an amaretto cake this time but found other recipes use only 2 tablespoons of liqueur as opposed to 1/2 cup in your recipe. Do you think I can substitute rum with amaretto using your recipe? Would it be too overpowering? Thanks for your advice.
Katherine
I think it’d work, Katherine. Please lmk how it turns out!
Silly question – do you ever trim off the bottom of a bundt cake to make the cake even? Thanks!
HI Emma, I’ve never bothered with that, but I guess others have because I found this video on how to do it. (I’m sure you could use a regular knife as opposed to an electric one if you prefer.) Hope that helps!
This rum cake is a must try. It is really good, i make this when i am invited somewhere. All i can say i am so happy i found once upon a chef years ago. i make so many recipes of hers. thank you. i can’t wait for my book.
Hi, thank you for your very detailed recipes. They certainly help the inexperienced baker in me! So if I am to make the rum cake dense like a pound cake, would simply changing the cake flour to all purpose flour do the trick?
Hi Ann, glad you like the recipes! You could use all-purpose flour here, but I wouldn’t really recommend it. It is likely to make the cake dry. For best results, I’d stick with the cake flour.