This is the best and easiest rum cake recipe, bursting with rum flavor and soaked in a delicious rum glaze. With the holidays coming up, a gorgeous rum cake makes the perfect holiday dessert. Follow my tips below to make the best rum cake recipe you’ve ever had!
The Story Behind This Rum Cake
I gave up on a traditional rum cake recipe until I came across my Great Aunt Amy’s handwritten version. She used boxed cake mix and instant pudding to enhance the flavor and keep it simple. A lot of her recipes featured instant pudding. I think it must have been such a novelty when it was invented in the 1940s that savvy cooks immediately jumped on the instant pudding bandwagon! But regardless, this rum cake recipe yields a rich, moist cake.
In addition to the boxed mixes, you just need eggs, rum, oil, water, nuts, butter, and sugar—that’s it! Great Aunt Amy used imitation rum extract in her original rum cake recipe, which might be an option for you too. If you are feeling fancy, you can dust each decadent slice with a bit of confectioner’s sugar. I like feeling fancy, so I always break open the box of sugar!
Why I Love This Rum Cake Recipe
Everyone needs a no-fail, easy-to-whip-up rum cake recipe! They are always a hit at parties or perfect for a birthday. This rum cake recipe had made crowd-pleasing debuts on Christmas Eve, Valentine’s Day, and even Super Bowl & March Madness parties—it’s a hit with crowds! After all, who doesn’t love a combo of sweetness, nuts, AND alcohol!
Rum Cake Shopping List
Here’s why this rum cake recipe is my absolute favorite: boxed cake mix and instant pudding are the base of the ingredients! Trust me, I’ve experimented with several fancier, from-scratch rum cakes and they have turned out less-than-extraordinary. Sometimes simplicity makes the best dessert!
For this recipe, you’ll need:
- Boxed yellow cake mix
- Instant pudding
- Eggs
- Oil
- Rum
- Pecans
- Brown sugar
- Butter
- Sugar
Rum Cake Recipe Tips
- Grease that bundt pan! Don’t be shy with the nonstick cooking spray.
- Prick the top and sides of the cake many, many times to allow all the yummy glaze to infiltrate the cake.
- For a super moist cake, I let my rum cake come to room temperature after glazing, then I cover the entire cake (top/sides/bottom) with plastic wrap. This seals in the moisture. I let the cake rest like this overnight and serve the following day. You CAN serve the same day, but the cake loves to soak up that rum overnight!
- Do not over bake this cake! Your cooking time may need to be adjusted based on your pan; black pans need less cooking time.
- You can use imitation rum extract if you want a non-alcoholic version. Also, if you are using real rum, feel free to try it with Caribbean rum. Let me know how it goes in the comments below!
How To Make This Simple Rum Cake Recipe
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Spray the bundt pan well with non-stick cooking spray, making sure to get all the nooks and crannies.
- Finely chop the pecans, place them in the bottom of the bundt pan, and then evenly sprinkle the brown sugar on top of the pecans.
- Mix the yellow cake mix, instant pudding, eggs, water, rum, and oil in a large bowl. Pour the batter over the brown sugar/pecan mixture.
- Bake the cake for 1 hour.
- Prepare the glaze while the cake bakes: melt butter in a medium saucepan and then stir in water and sugar. Bring the mixture to a boil for about 4 minutes, stirring constantly. Remove the glaze from the burner and pour in rum. Stir thoroughly. Return the saucepan to the burner and heat the glaze for a minute or two.
- When the cake is finished baking, remove it from the oven and pour about ⅓ of the glaze on top of it while it is still warm and in the pan. Let it sit like this for a few minutes.
- Turn the cake onto a serving platter. Poke the top and sides of the cake with toothpicks or a fork. Repeat this multiple times! Pour the remaining glaze evenly on the top and sides of the cake.
- Let the cake return to room temperature. Cover the cake with a domed cake lid OR cover it entirely with plastic wrap (the latter method is preferred), and allow the cake to soak in the glaze for a minimum of 2-4 hours before serving. The cake is best if allowed to rest covered overnight.
FAQs About Rum Cake
What Is The Best Rum To Use For Rum Cake?
Dark rum is the best type of rum to use for this bundt cake. A nice dark, spiced rum adds so much flavor to the cake because of the spices already included in the liquor. Using a lighter rum will lessen the flavor, and why not take all the help you can get from the ingredients? Many brands make a dark spiced rum, so check your local liquor store to see which varieties are available to you.
Can Rum Cake Get You Drunk?
No, rum cake cannot get you drunk. Yes, there is rum in the cake and glaze, but not enough to alter someone’s state of mind. That said, you can decide whether or not you serve this cake to children. I usually save this cake for adult parties and birthdays. For a kid’s birthday, try my Strawberry Cake!
What Are The Ingredients In A Rum Cake?
You need just a few simple ingredients to make this cake, many of which you may already have in the pantry. I use boxed cake mix, instant pudding, eggs, oil, dark rum, pecans, brown sugar, butter, and white sugar. This short list of ingredients creates one of the best cakes of all time!
Can I Make A Rum Cake Without Nuts?
Yes, you can make rum cake without nuts if you have a nut allergy, or you just aren’t a fan of nuts. The nuts are used to make a firm base that is a little crunchy, so you simply need to substitute the nuts for something with a similar texture. Try seeds, such as roasted pumpkin or sunflower seeds. You can also crush biscuits, crackers, or pretzels into smaller pieces as a great nut substitute. Roasted soybeans or chickpeas also make a high-protein, healthy alternative.
How Do You Make Rum Cake From Scratch?
If you want to make rum cake from scratch, eliminate the boxed cake mix and pudding mix. You can easily use a homemade vanilla cake mix and then make your own pudding as well. This will of course add time and energy to the recipe, things many of us are short on. I like to take help from the store and use the boxed varieties, just like in my delicious Peach Cake recipe.
What Rum Is Best For Baking?
Any dark rum is great, and spiced rum is even better. The spices in the rum range from cinnamon, cloves, anise, and nutmeg, among others. All of those spices and flavors then get into your cake without you having to add them yourself! Sure, you can add spice on your own, but I love the specific flavor of dark, spiced rum.
Should You Refrigerate Rum Cake?
If you have leftovers from this cake (which I doubt!), then I recommend storing in an airtight container at room temperature. I find that when I refrigerate my cakes, the crumb sometimes gets harder and the icing gets a little weird. Letting it come to room temperature revives it again, but I prefer to cover my cakes and leave them at room temperature to begin with.
How Should I Bake My Rum Cake?
Using a bundt cake pan gives a really cool shape and style to the cake, which I love. You can also make this a layer cake by using layer cake pans and laying down icing in the middle, like a birthday cake. You could even make cupcakes using a cupcake pan if you wanted!
Rum Cake Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 box yellow cake mix
- 1 package instant vanilla pudding
- 4 eggs
- ½ cup light rum
- ½ cup water
- ½ cup vegetable oil
- 1 cup chopped pecans
- 4 tbsp brown sugar
Rum Glaze
- 1 ½ stick butter (either salted or unsalted - both work)
- ¼ cup room temperature water
- 1 ½ cups sugar
- 1 cup light rum
Instructions
- Heat oven to 350 degrees. Spray Bundt pan with non-stick cooking spray, making sure all pan crevices are equally coated. Spray it again for good measure.
- Finely chop the pecans and place them in the bottom of the Bundt pan. Evenly drop the brown sugar on top of the pecans.
- In a large bowl, mix together the yellow cake mix, instant pudding, eggs, water, rum and oil. Pour batter over the brown sugar/pecan mixture.
- Bake the cake for 1 hour - do not over bake this cake! Your cooking time may need to be adjusted based on your pan; black pans need less cooking time.
- While the cake bakes, prepare the glaze: melt butter in a medium saucepan and then stir in water & sugar. Bring the mixture to a boil for about 4 minutes, stirring constantly. Remove the glaze from the burner and pour in rum. Stir thoroughly. Return the saucepan to the burner and heat the glaze for a minute or two.
- When the cake is finished baking, remove it from the oven and pour about ⅓ of the glaze on top of it while it is still warm and in the pan. Let it sit like this for a few minutes.
- Turn the cake onto a serving platter. Prick the top and sides of the cake with toothpicks or a fork. Repeat this multiple times! Pour remaining glaze evenly on the top and sides of the cake.
- Let the cake return to room temperature. Cover the cake with a domed cake lid OR cover it entirely with plastic wrap. (The latter method is preferred.)
- Let the cake rest, covered & coated in the glaze for a minimum of 2-4 hours before serving. The cake is best if allowed to rest covered overnight.
- Optional: When ready to serve, sprinkle the top with some powdered sugar
Video
Nutrition
More Delicious And Easy Dessert Recipes
If you liked this rum cake recipe you might also like….
- My famous Twix Cake Recipe
- Yummy all- time favorite Banana Bread Muffins
- Simple and delicious Apple Pie Bites
https://brandsofttech.blogspot.com/
This is the perfect cake recipe for cold weather
Jenny
Thanks so much for the kind words!
Pat
This recipe is the best. I have used it for years. You can substitute chocolate cake mix for yellow using chocolate pudding also.
Jenny
So glad you like it Pat! And I love that substitution idea
Dawn
Best!!
Jenny
So glad you love it! It's my favorite too
Ghulam Mohyudin
Good to know that works too! It was perfect the first time. I learn so much from you as well! Wow great post.
Jenny Melrose
So great to hear this! Thanks for the compliment
Ann
This is the perfect cake recipe for cold weather. Judging by the description, it is very similar to my ideas about the cake of my dreams :))) Thank you very much for the recipe and such detailed recommendations, I will definitely bake it as soon as I come up with a worthy reason to invite many people to visit us, because an attempt to eat such a miracle on my own may finish with a significant increase in scales! All in all, cakes for cold weather should not be useful as that’s all their charm!
Jenny Melrose
You are so welcome Ann! I hope you enjoyed it!