Rum Cake – traditional rum cake from scratch – no mixes. Light & fluffy topped with chopped pecans and soaked in a reduced sugared rum glaze. So good you will want to eat the whole thing.
Boozy rum cake – Oh YES!!!
Let me tell you about this cake and how delightful it is. It is adapted from Carole Walter’s, absolutely BEST yellow cake. I guess when you label a cake the absolute best cake you are bound to get a lot of people poking at the recipe. What I have to say is that it is sooo good – definitely a keeper.
Though it is quite good I made a few adjustments for you to make; it tastes even better.
Your girl can’t help herself. Guaranteed to please! I reduced the sugar to 1 ¾ cups and upped the flavor with rum and nutmeg. Yes, I love nutmeg, you may leave it out, if desired.
Okay let’s keep going, what makes this cake worthy? The texture – buttery, and fluffy – one that would have made my home economics teacher leap with joy.
Now, if only I had this recipe when I was taking my finals in school, just maybe, I would have gotten an A in her class. Sadly though, I had a B.
Can rum cake make you drunk?
Rum reminds a lot of people of the holidays and the holidays is just around the corner! Woohoo!!! And that means baking season is in full swing including the boozy baked goods.
And now you ask, can rum cake or boozy treats in general, make you drunk? Well, most people (including me), believe that when you infuse alcohol into your recipe, it’ll be cooked off since it is baked. But it is possible to get drunk from excessive consumption of alcohol-infused baked goods.
You can get tipsy or completely intoxicated if it contains more than 5 percent of alcohol by volume, like the Tortuga rum cake, and also depending on your consumption and alcohol tolerance. Moreover, you’ll totally feel the rum kick, especially if you add the booze AFTER it has finished baking.
Rum Cake Glaze
If for some reason you really do not want to be bothered with rum, you can ice it or use simple syrup (you can find the recipe HERE) to make it moist. Without rum, it is not a moist cake- just tender. To tell you the truth, I love it with or without the sauce.
But if you’re willing to play around with it, you can try it with vanilla or chocolate glaze OR both (why not? 😉 ) using the glaze recipe from my Chocolate Rum Marble Cake.
There you have it! I hope you’re already looking forward for the holiday season with this decadent and insanely delicious rum cake with rum glaze. If you want more “rummy” flavor, go ahead! I won’t tell anyone. 😉
Enjoy!
Tips and Notes
- Adding rum to your batter adds a more deep brown color and flavor.
- If you don’t want to infuse it with a rum glaze, you can use my simple syrup recipe HERE. Or top it with vanilla or chocolate glaze OR both using the glaze recipe from my Chocolate Rum Marble Cake.
- Be sure to let the cake cool for about 5-10 minutes before removing from the pan. And proceeding with the next steps.
- You can use a large bundt pan or use two 8-inch pan. If using two baking pans, reduce the baking time by 10-15 minutes.
Watch How to Make It
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Rum Cake
Ingredients
- 10 ounce unsalted butter
- 1 3/4 cups sugar
- 4 Large eggs
- 1/3 cup powdered milk
- 2 1/2 cups flour
- 1 tablespoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 cup milk
- 1 -3 Tablespoons dark rum
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ¾ teaspoon nutmeg
- 1 1/2 cup pecans
- RUM GLAZE
- 4 ounce butter
- ½ cup sugar
- ¼ cup water
- 3-4 Tablespoons dark rum
Instructions
- Pre-heat the oven to 160°C/325°F.
- Cream together the butter and sugar at high speed in a stand mixture until it’s fluffy and starting to look white, about 5- 7 minutes.
- Stir in the eggs, a one at a time, beating the mixture well between each one and adding a tablespoon of the flour with the last egg to prevent the batter from curdling.
- Add in the flour , powder milk and baking powder into the batter, alternating with the milk –until fully absorbed by the mixture.
- Then add , nutmeg, rum and vanilla extract
- Stir well until everything is fully combined. Scrape down the sides of the mixing bowl.
- Greased a 10 inch bottomed tube pan, then add chopped pecans
- Pour batter into a bundt plan , on top of the pecans.
- Bake at 325 until a tester inserted into the center comes out clean, 55-60 minutes. Remove from the oven.
Rum Glaze
- In a small saucepan combine butter, sugar, rum and water over medium heat. Bring to a boil and simmer for 3-4 minutes stirring constantly to prevent any burns. Remove from heat and cool slightly.
- Poke little holes into the cake with a toothpick or skewer . Spoon the syrup over the cake and let it soak in. Let the cake cool to room temperature before serving
Tips & Notes:
- You can use a large bundt pan or use two 8 inch pans as I did. If you use one baking pan you should extend the baking time.
- Please keep in mind that nutritional information is a rough estimate and can vary greatly based on products used.
Nutrition Information:
How to Make Rum Cake
Pre-heat the oven to 160°C/325°F. Cream together the butter and sugar at high speed in a stand mixture until it’s fluffy and starting to look white, about 5- 7 minutes. Stir in the eggs, one at a time, beating the mixture well between each one and adding a tablespoon of the flour with the last egg to prevent the batter from curdling.
Add in the flour, powder milk and baking powder into the batter, alternating with the milk –until fully absorbed by the mixture.
Then add , nutmeg, and vanilla extract. Stir well until everything is fully combined. Scrape down the sides of the mixing bowl.
Greased a 10 -inch bottomed tube pan, then add chopped pecans.
Pour batter into a bundt plan, on top of the pecans. Bake at 325 F until a tester inserted into the center comes out clean, 55-60 minutes. Remove from the oven.
In a small saucepan combine butter, sugar, rum and water over medium heat. Bring to a boil and simmer for 3-4 minutes stirring constantly to prevent any burns. Remove from heat and cool slightly.
Poke little holes into the cake with a toothpick or skewer . Spoon the syrup over the cake and let it soak in. Let the cake cool to room temperature before serving.
Terri Tarno says
Can you use rum extract?
ImmaculateBites says
It depends. Do you want to completely eliminate the rum butter syrup?
Pat Ducharme says
Your recipe sounds great and will try but when do you add rum to cake??????? Not mentioned in directions at all!!!!!!!!
imma africanbites says
Hi. Thanks for pointing it out. Updated the recipe. The video shows you add rum to the batter before the vanilla extract. It’s also optional (if you don’t wnt your cake to be too “rummy”) since the glaze already has rum in it, too.
Lida says
Recipe and pics of cake look absouletly devine. Can I substitute the powdered milk with eagle brand milk or evaporated milk? If so, which would be the best?
imma africanbites says
Thank you. Yes, eagle brand milk works fine.
Frances says
Hello couple of question on your run cake. 1. Do u used cake flour?
2. Can u used pet or eagle brand milk?
ImmaculateBites says
Hi Frances ,
In this recipe I used all purpose flour. Yes, you can use pet or eagle brand milk. Happy baking !!!
Dierdre says
Hello. Can this recipe be converted for cup cakes?
Rebekah says
Just a question here: can this be made in a half sheet, if I adjust the recipe to about 3 times?
imma africanbites says
Hi Rebekah. I can’t exactly give an answer to that since I haven’t tried it. But as per my experience, you can use two baking pans with this recipe and just reduce the baking time by 10-15 minutes. I don’t know if this helps, but I hope it does somehow. Let me know how it works for you.
Fran says
I am planning on making this recipe for easter. What kind od powdered milk did you use?
Thank you in advance.
ImmaculateBites says
Hi Fran, Any powdered milk would work. I used whole milk, nonfat works as well.
Happy Easter!!
Kathy says
Can I bake the cake a day before the party then put the rum sauce the next day??
imma africanbites says
Hi Kathy. Yes, you sure can. Just place the cake in an airtight container and store in a room temperature or in the fridge.
Shirley says
Irma is the flour for the rum cake paladin or self rising flour for the rum cake.!
Thanks
Shirley
ImmaculateBites says
Hello shirley, It’s plain flour
Cheryle Clarke says
I love your recipes. The Rum Cake is a winner.
Renee says
Can I use different types of rum (spiced or cinnamon)?
ImmaculateBites says
You sure can.
Dierdre says
Can you use fireball?
imma africanbites says
Hi, Dierdre. I haven’t tried fireball but I don’t see why it won’t work. Please do let me know how it turned out for you.
Dierdre says
Can this recipe be converted for cup cakes?
ImmaculateBites says
Yes it can. Adjust cooking times to about 15-22 minutes.
Sandi says
Greeting from My kitchen to yours
For the butter sauce do you use whit or brown sugar??? I did use white but it does not look quite right.
Kind Regards and Merry Christmas
Sandi
ImmaculateBites says
Hi Sandi,
I used white sugar. The sauce should not be too thick.
Merry Christmas !!!
MaryLynn says
Do I need to use powdered milk? If not, how do I adjust the recipe?
ImmaculateBites says
Not using powdered milk will alter the taste slightly . Just leave it out completely.
Elizabeth Jackson says
The butter you use in your Rum cake is it Salted or Unsalted?
ImmaculateBites says
It’s unsalted
Lynda Beckman says
Amazing! So easy and so impressive. I want you to know how much I enjoy your Web site. I’ve tried many of your recipes, always perfect. Just made the crab stuffed mushrooms A+++. The Lomo saltado I’ve made over and over always a pleaser. Your recipes are so perfect, I now just jump to your recipes when I’m entertaining guest always confident that they will get great reviews. Thanks for making my life so easy
Tara Washington says
Love the cake, love the run sauce. Recipe is simple with detailed instruction. I’ve tried several of your dishes all turned out spectacular and this dessert did not disappoint.
imma africanbites says
Thank you so much, Tara, for the kind words. I’m glad you love this cake as much as I do. =)
Reni says
Sound and looks delicious. Are you mixing all by hand after creaming the butter and sugar? Looking forward to making it.