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This rum cake recipe is made from scratch and is drenched in rum flavor without being overpowering.
It also has the most tender and moist crumb. A fantastic dessert that’s equally suitable for weekly family dinners, fancy dinner parties, or holiday celebrations.
What Is Rum Cake?
Popular in the Caribbean, rum cake is a vanilla cake that has rum in the batter.
Traditionally, dried fruit is soaked in rum for months and then added to the cake batter, but we have a more accessible homemade version.
Can Rum Cake Get You Drunk?
You’re probably wondering if rum cake, or boozy desserts in general, can get you drunk. The majority of people believe that if you infuse alcohol into a baked recipe, it will cook off.
However, excessive consumption of alcohol-infused baked goods can lead to intoxication.
If it contains more than 5% alcohol by volume, such as the Tortuga rum cake, you may become tipsy or completely intoxicated, depending on your consumption and alcohol tolerance. Furthermore, you’ll get a real thrill out of the rum, especially if you add it after it’s completed baking.
How To Make Rum Cake With Cake Mix
The cake is so ridiculously easy to make. Dump all the ingredients in a bowl at once, mix, bake. After baking, poke holes with a fork over the top (bottom after you invert it) of the cake while it’s still in the pan, add rum sauce, invert, and repeat with hole poking and sauce adding.
If the rum cake glaze crystallizes before you can drizzle it over the inverted cake, don’t panic! Just give it a good stir and drizzle away.
What Type Of Cake Mix Should I Use?
You can use Duncan Hines yellow cake mix for this recipe.
What Is The Best Rum To Use?
A general rule of thumb for baking with alcohol is to use something that you wouldn’t mind drinking. You’ll definitely want to go with a dark rum rather than a light one.
A high-quality rum like Bacardi Spiced is a great choice, especially for the glaze where the flavor will be more pronounced.
Can I Make This Cake In Advance?
Yes! I find the cake tastes better as time passes and that it peaks about day 3, which makes it an awesome make-ahead-of-the-party kind of cake.
Best Baking Tips for Rum Cake
Make sure you take note of the useful tips and tricks below. They’ll help you make a killer rum cake!
- Grease & Flour the Pan Well: I like to both grease and flour my pan before I pour in the cake batter. This helps keep the finished cake from sticking.
- Stir the Simple Syrup Frequently: It’s important to stir the simple syrup constantly to prevent it from burning. If it does burn, you’ll have to start from scratch.
- Remember to Remove the Cake From the Pan Before Soaking it: If you don’t take your cake out of the pan before you soak it in the glaze, it’s more likely to get stuck. Make sure you don’t skip this step.
- Don’t Let the Cake Soak for Too Long: Soak the cake for no more or less than 30 minutes. This is the amount of time that will give you the best flavor without causing the cake to stick to the pan.
- When Making The Glaze, Use Caution: Focus and take small children out of the kitchen because the mixture is insanely hot and flammable and you’re going to be whisking the entire time.
- Allow Cake to Rest Before Serving: Allow to rest for about 1 to 2 hours to absorb sauce before slicing and serving. The flavors marry as time passes and I find this cake tastes better as time passes.
Storage Instructions
This cake should be kept in an airtight container – you can either store it in the fridge or keep it at room temperature. It’ll last for up to 5 days at room temperature and up to a week in the fridge.
I personally love to eat it cold, as it enhances the flavors while maintaining the moisture. So yummy!
Does Rum Cake Need To Be Refrigerated?
This rum cake fairs well at room temperature but you should keep it covered. If you would like to store it for longer then the cake can be refrigerated for a week or frozen for two months.
Butter cakes are ALWAYS enjoyed slightly warm so go ahead and pop your cake into the oven at 300F for a few minutes or microwave a piece for 10-15 seconds before enjoying.
Does Rum Cake Freeze Well?
Yes indeed. Either cut the cake in half or into individual slices, wrap each portion in plastic wrap and freeze them in an airtight container.
Frozen cake will last for up to 2 months. Unwrap it and thaw it out in the fridge or on the counter before enjoying it.
If you’ve tried this Rum Cake recipe then don’t forget to leave a rating and let me know how you got on in the comments below, I love hearing from you!
Rum Cake
Ingredients
- 2 cup all purpose flour
- ⅓ cup corn starch
- 1½ cup sugar
- 4 tsp baking powder
- ½ tsp salt
- 5 eggs
- ½ cup vegetable oil
- ½ cup milk
- ½ tsp lemon juice
- ½ cup dark rum
- 2 tsp vanilla
- ¼ tsp rum flavoring
- ¼ cup dry crumbs for dusting baking pan
Rum Butter Sauce
- ½ cup unsalted butter 125 g
- ¼ cup water
- ¼-½ cup sugar
- ¼-½ cup dark rum
- ½ tsp vanilla
Instructions
- Using pastry brush, oil the bundt cake pan and sprinkle it with fine dry bread crumbs so that the cake doesn’t stick. Set aside.
- In a large bowl, combine flour, cornstarch, sugar, baking powder and salt.
- In another bowl, mix eggs with oil, milk, lemon juice, rum, vanilla extract and rum flavoring.
- Mix the dry ingredients and the wet ingredients and beat on medium speed for 1-2 minutes, or until the batter is smooth.
- Pour the batter into prepared bundt cake pan and bake in 350°F (175°C) oven for about 20 minutes. Rotate the cake, set the temperature to 300°F (150°C) and bake for another 20 minutes. Check with wooden skewer for doneness.
Rum Butter Sauce
- In a small saucepan, cook butter, water, sugar, rum and vanilla for a few minutes or until sugar dissolves.
- After the cake has cooled a little, use a skewer to poke lots of holes (at least 20) all over the cake. SLOWLY pour the sauce over the cake. Let it rest until the sauce is absorbed, about 10 minutes.
- At this point either serve the cake, or cover it and until serving.
