Rum Cake

This rum cake is moist and has a nice strong rum flavor. Top that off with being easy to make and it’s almost perfect. I suggest beating the eggs before adding the other ingredients. It makes a more evenly blended mixture. Next time I’ll allow more time for the glaze to soak in while the cake is still in the pan. I will also use a little more than half the glaze while it’s still in the pan. I would like more of the glaze to soak into the cake. This cake just slid right out of the pan. I served this with some rum-laced whipped cream (made with brown sugar) and some rum candied pecan pieces.

This rum cake was a huge success at a weekend event and received many kudos for its taste and texture. Rum was the star of this show. I’d definitely experiment with the amount based on one’s palate. One person raved that the cake hit just the right note in rum flavor without being too boozy, while another person gave a hoot after taking her first bite and declared it off-limits for children. It’s a moist, dense, not overly sweet cake. The crumb is very fine. One person compared the texture to that of a cake donut. I found the texture a bit too spongy for my taste, but I was the lone voice of dissent. Everyone else loved it.

I felt that the glaze was essential to balance the bite of the rum. Patience is a virtue when buttering and flouring the Bundt pan. For me, this is one of the longest steps in the process. In order to ensure an easy release after baking/cooling, I make sure to get butter in every nook and cranny. The more detailed the design of the pan, the more time this takes. I used a 10-cup Bundt pan.

The perfume of rum, butter, and brown sugar lures you to cut a slice from this warm Caribbean rum cake. The piquant taste of alcohol is balanced by the cake’s rich, buttery crumb. I baked this for my family, none of whom are not drinkers, and all were seduced by the sharp yet decadent flavor. (I only told them after it was rum-laced…no objections made).

I made this in a 7-cup Bundt mold and had a bit of batter left for a mini version. The rich quality of this rum cake lends itself to small slices. Choosing a good quality butter is essential since it needs to stand up to and complement the dark rum. For the glaze, I used unsalted Kerrygold butter, but added a dash of salt which always helps balance the sweet in my experience. By accident my glaze boiled over in about 5 minutes, which did thicken it quicker than the recipe directs, but don’t do like me and have sticky sauce to scrub from the burner.

Now for the daunting part of removing the cake from the Bundt pan. If you follow the admonition of generously buttering and lightly flouring the pan, your cake, like mine, will effortlessly release from the pan. The entire process took me about 2 hours. One for preparation, one for baking, but it was all a pleasure, especially since it turned out so beautifully and deliciously.

This rum cake reminds me of a rum baba but uses baking powder instead of yeast to achieve the lift in the cake. I used light brown sugar. I used fine table salt and unsalted butter. I didn’t have a Bundt pan and instead used a normal loose-bottomed cake tin with a diameter of 22.5 cm. I buttered and floured the pan as normal.

I thought the final cake was pleasant but longed for some cream to add sweetness to the rum flavour. This would have been similar to the normal presentation of a rum baba. I’d make the cake again, but would try combining the egg and sugar first before adding the other ingredients to ensure they combine better.

If you’re a fan of extra boozy cakes, this is the rum cake for you! The crumb is so moist and tender and it contains tiny whimsical light brown swirls of glaze that made their way into the cake from the holes poked throughout. I used a 12-cup original NordicWare Bundt pan. My friends and family were split with regard to this cake. Many, myself included, found it to be far too “rummy.” However, others found the cake’s rum content to be just right. It boils down to a matter of taste. If I were to bake this cake again, I’d cut the rum content down to 1/2 cup for the cake batter and cut the amount of rum in the glaze to 2 1/2 tablespoons in addition to boiling the added rum for a minute or two after adding it to the glaze.