This is one of my favorite bakes in this chapter, because it comes together really quickly and the combination of banana, coconut and my beloved rum make it taste both a little tropical and festive. It’s perfect when you want to make something special, but with no fuss in the kitchen.–Ana Zelić
Banana Coconut Rum Bundt Cake FAQs
Use coconut milk that has at least 70 percent coconut, with water as the only additional ingredient. The best kind comes in a carton, but you can use some canned ones, too.
Yes, you can. For this recipe, you could bake the cake in an 11- by 7-inch or 13- by 9-inch cake pan. The cooking time will be less, so start checking for doneness after 30 minutes.
Banana Coconut Rum Bundt Cake
Ingredients
For the cake
- Cooking spray, for the pan
- 2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
- 2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- Scant 1/2 cup soft light brown sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt
- 1 cup unsweetened desiccated coconut
- 1 cup plus 2 teaspoons coconut milk, at room temperature
- 1/3 cup dark rum
- 3 large eggs, at room temperature
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2/3 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
- Scant 1/4 cup coconut oil, melted
- Scant cup (about 2 bananas) overripe mashed banana
For the coconut rum glaze
- 1 tablespoon dark rum
- 2 tablespoons coconut milk, plus more if needed
- 3/4 cup confectioners’ sugar, plus more if needed
- Pinch of fine sea salt
- Coconut flakes, for decorating
Instructions
Make the cake
- Preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C). Spray a 10-cup (2.4 l) Bundt pan with cooking spray.
- Sift the flour, baking powder, cinnamon, sugars and salt into the bowl of a stand mixer, or a medium-sized bowl if you’re using an electric hand mixer. Add the desiccated coconut and whisk together.
- In a liquid measuring cup, lightly whisk together the coconut milk, rum, eggs, and vanilla. Add the butter and coconut oil to the flour mixture, fit the stand mixer with the paddle attachment and mix on low speed until you get a sand like texture and there are no traces of flour, 2 to 3 minutes.
- Add the mashed banana and the coconut milk mixture to the flour mixture in 3 equal batches to avoid splashing and overmixing the batter. After each addition, mix the batter for about 15 seconds, or until everything is fully incorporated. Scrape the bowl a couple of times with a silicone spatula to make sure everything is mixed nicely.
- Scrape the batter into the prepared pan, level the top with an offset spatula and bake until a skewer inserted into the middle comes out mostly clean, 45 to 55 minutes. (It’s best to check the cake after 40 minutes and then adjust the baking time accordingly, because ovens can vary.)
- Remove the cake from the oven and allow it to cool in the pan for 15 minutes before carefully inverting it onto a wire rack to cool completely.
Make the coconut rum glaze
- Whisk the rum, coconut milk, confectioners’ sugar, and salt together in a small bowl. Add more sugar or liquid depending on the consistency you want. Pour the glaze over the cool cake, then sprinkle with coconut flakes.
- Store the cake in an airtight container at room temperature for 3 to 4 days or up to a week in the fridge.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Recipe Testers’ Reviews
This banana coconut rum cake packs the perfect punch of booziness with the warm hug of banana bread, a touch of spice, and subtle but rich coconut. This is a foolproof, almost one bowl cake that everyone I fed it to loved. We ate this with vanilla ice cream and extra icing – I made another batch to make sure we had some more to slather on to each slice.
Adding a pinch of salt to the icing, and perhaps a tiny bit extra salt in the cake as well, can help balance the sweetness a bit. I did have to bake the cake for a few minutes longer than suggested, so checking to see when the tester comes out clean for your cake is a must. All in all, this cake is perfectly moist and somehow tastes sophisticated, fun, and homey all at the same time. I can’t wait to make this again!
This banana coconut rum Bundt cake is more like an elevated banana bread than a decadent cake, and the hints of rum and coconut made for a fun tea time treat. Next time, I think rather than use the skewer method to test the cake, I will rely on pressing on the top of the cake gently to see how firm it is. I was nervous when cake batter was still on the skewer after 45 minutes so I left it in the oven for 3 more minutes which turned out to be a little too long.
This cake delivered its promise of tropical flavors on this, the longest, darkest day of the year! The banana, the coconut, and the rum were all present (especially the rum since I was deliberately heavy handed with it when making the glaze!) The coconut shreds were nicely nestled within the tender velvety crumb.
My cake was still slightly warm when I glazed it so I didn’t get the nice bright white glazed look of the photo. I also only had finely shredded desiccated coconut so I didn’t get the drama of fat coconut flakes for decoration.
Alcohol glazed cakes like this are often better if baked a day ahead – it gives the rum a chance to permeate more deeply. If it says rum in the title I want RUM in the finished product.
This cake has a nice blend of coconut, rum, and bananas. My family really enjoyed it!
I suggest changing the order of ingredients that go into the mixer. The butter and coconut oil floated around in the liquid and didn’t mix. Typically, the softened butter and coconut oil are mixed with the sugars first. Follow this with the eggs, one at a time, then the flour mixture. I think that would work a bit better.
