We’ve enjoyed a slice or two of rum cake in our past, but this was our first attempt at making one ourselves and it turned out, well, interesting…. We used a basic recipe from King Arthur Baking and made just a couple of basic changes. The cake was extremely moist and savory and definitely had a wonderful full rum taste. The problem was that it didn’t come out of the Bundt pan as well as we would have liked, which led to photos of an upside-down bundt cake, but the taste made up for the presentation! We oiled and powdered the pan with almond flour, but when we try it again, we’ll use a regular flour to see if that helps with the extraction. Happy Holidays!

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Holiday Rum Cake

Servings:

Ingredients

Cake Mix

2 c Unbleached All – Purpose Flour (plus a little extra for dusting the pan)
1 1/2 c Sugar
1 small box Instant Vanilla Pudding Mix (3.4 oz)
2 tsp Baking Powder
1 tsp Salt
8 tbsp Unsalted Butter (softened)
1/2 c Vegetable Oil
1/2 c Milk (room temperature)
4 large Eggs (room temperature)
1/2 c Aged Rum (we used Mount Gay Eclipse) (try Coconut Rum for a different taste)
2 tsp Pure Vanilla Extract (use the good stuff!)
Powdered Sugar (to dust the finished cake)

Syrup Mix

8 tbsp Unsalted Butter
1/4 c Water
1 c Sugar
1/4 tsp Salt
1/2 c Rum
1/2 tsp Pure Vanilla Extract

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 325°F.
Mix together the flour, sugar, pudding mix, baking powder, salt, butter, and vegetable oil in a mixing bowl.
Add the milk, and beat in the eggs one at a time.
Stir in the rum and vanilla.
Lightly oil a 10 – 12 cup Bundt pan. Using the extra flour, lightly dust the inside of the pan.
Put the pan in the preheated oven and bake for 50 to 60 minutes. When done, a long toothpick or butter knife will come out clean when inserted into the center. Remove the cake from the oven.
Leave the cake in the pan to cool slightly while you make the syrup.
In a medium-sized saucepan combine the syrup ingredients, except vanilla. Bring to a boil then reduce to a simmer and cook for about 5 to 8 minutes, until the syrup thickens slightly. Remove from the heat and stir in the vanilla.
Use a long skewer to poke holes all over the cake. Pour about 1/4 cup of the syrup over the cake while still in the pan. Allow the syrup to soak in, then repeat again and again until all the syrup is used.
Cover the pan loosely with plastic wrap and allow the cake to sit for at least 5 hours or overnight at room temperature to cool completely and soak in the syrup. When ready to serve, loosen the edges of the cake and invert onto your serving plate. If the cake won’t release warm it in the oven for about 10 minutes at a low temp. Remove the cake from the oven, tip it onto the serving plate and dust it with a little powdered sugar.
Slice and serve!

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