Rum Cake

I was beginning to forget when I had last baked something that didn’t have shredded zucchini in it. I think that must have been what drove me to finally make this cake, but I don’t remember that for sure either. And I hadn’t even been drinking any of the rum.

This all started with a bottle of spiced rum purchased from Door County Distillery while on vacation in Wisconsin. Harry bought it and described its sharp, clean, lightly spiced flavor. “I will make it into a cake,” I said.

Now, my mother in law is the undisputed Queen of Rum Cake. Her recipe has crossed family lines and become a favorite in my family, too. It makes a comforting cake with just the right sweetness and punch of rum. All that good stuff being said, this is not her rum cake recipe. You’ll have to acquire that another way.

What this is, however, is a fluffy Bundt cake redolent with rum and glazed with a sugary butter-rum coating. It’s an adaptation of a bourbon cake with simple ingredients and no fancy techniques. It’s made with cake flour so it is especially soft, like, softer than I expected it could be. While I like this cake very well all on its own where its fluffy texture and bittersweet rum aroma can be especially appreciated, it was also very good with a scoop of vanilla ice cream or with sliced peach sautéed in butter, brown sugar, and more spiced rum.

I think you could swap other liquors or liqueurs for the rum (including, of course, bourbon), but I’d recommend using one with a flavor you like quite a lot. The rum is a big part of the taste of the cake, and anything you substitute for it would be, too. There isn’t much room for mix-ins, since the cake does fill a 10-cup Bundt pan, but if you want to add nuts or chocolate, you could try a larger pan. You certainly could add spices, especially if you really want to play up the spiced rum quality of your rum.

 

This has been a delicious dessert and a welcome change from compulsory zucchini-patch-to-table baking. If you like boozy cakes, this one really is for you. It’s also for you if you like easy cakes. It may even be for you if you just like cake. I know it works for me!

Glazed Rum Cake

Adapted from Vintage Cakes by Julie Richardson

For the cake:

12 ounces cake flour (3 cups)

1 teaspoon baking powder

½ teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon fine salt

1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature

1 ½ cups granulated sugar

½ cup packed brown sugar

4 large eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

¼ cup light or golden rum or spiced rum

1 cup buttermilk

For the glaze:

6 tablespoons unsalted butter

¾ cup granulated sugar

¼ cup light or golden rum or spiced rum

1. Preheat oven to 350 F. Prepare a 10-cup Bundt pan by coating it with cooking spray or soft butter and coating the spray or butter with flour. Set aside.

2. In a medium-size bowl, combine the cake flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Whisk or sift together to combine well. Set aside.

3. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, combine the 2 sticks butter, 1 ½ cup granulated sugar, and brown sugar. Beat at medium to medium-high speed until the mixture is light and fluffy. Give this time, about 3-5 minutes. Scrape any lumps of butter from the sides of the bowl and the paddle as you go to make sure they are incorporated.

4. Add the eggs one at a time and beat well after each addition to incorporate each egg. Beat in the vanilla extract.

5. In a measuring cup or a small bowl, combine ¼ cup rum and buttermilk. Add about 1/3 of the flour mixture to the butter mixture and beat until just combined. Add half the buttermilk mixture and beat it in. Repeat with the remaining flour and buttermilk mixture, ending with the flour mixture.

6. Spoon or pour the batter into the prepared Bundt pan. Bake at 350 F for 45-55 minutes, or until a cake tester or wooden pick inserted in the center of the cake comes out without any wet batter attached.

7. When the cake is about 10 minutes from being finished, make the glaze. Combine the 6 tablespoons butter, ¾ cup sugar, and ¼ cup rum in a small saucepan. Heat over low heat, stirring frequently, until the butter is melted, the sugar is dissolved, and the mixture is smooth.

8. When the cake is finished baking, leave it in the pan and place it on a wire cooling rack. Poke deep holes in the cake using a wooden skewer or chopstick. Slowly pour about ¾ of the hot glaze over the hot cake. Set the remaining glaze aside.

9. Cool the cake in the pan for 30 minutes. Invert the cake onto a serving plate or cake stand and remove it from the pan. (I find that the center of the pan tends to stick more than the outer edges, so I take special care to run a thin knife around that section between the cake and the pan to help release the cake.) Warm the remaining glaze over low heat. Brush the hot glaze over the outside of the cake. Let cool completely.

Makes 10-12 servings. This cake freezes well when wrapped in airtight packaging.

Other recipes like this one: Glazed Orange Pound Cake, Glazed Apple Walnut Cake, Plum Upside-Down Yogurt Cake, Simple Vanilla Yogurt Cake

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