Homemade Rum Cake
Rich and tender rum cake soaked in a rum glaze makes this decadent cake recipe the perfect addition to your next extra-special dinner or holiday gathering. Drenched in flavor without being overpowering, this moist rum cake recipe pairs perfectly with a warm cup of coffee and a dollop of fresh whipped cream.
Rum cake was one of a small rotation of desserts that showed up at my grandma’s house on Sunday afternoons. You could usually count on one of the following: rum cake, icebox cake, angel food cake with strawberries and whipped cream, or poor man’s cookies.
My great-aunt made an amazing rum cake that was thick and moist, and of course, packed with rum. When I asked my aunt for the recipe years later, I found that she always used a doctored-up box of yellow cake mix (apparently everyone knew this recipe, and it’s now famously known as “Bacardi rum cake”).
I was determined to create the absolute best rum cake that wasn’t based on a box mix; years ago I finally found a recipe that I tweaked to rum-soaked perfection.
Quick History
Typically served during the holidays, rum cake originated in the Caribbean as a dessert similar to fruit cake or steamed puddings. Dried fruit soaked for months in rum before being added to a cake batter and baked into this holiday dessert.
Ingredients Notes
This decadent cake can is comprised of two main parts, the bundt cake and the rum sauce that soaks and glazes the cake. Most of the ingredients are pantry staples, but below are a few quick notes, recommendations, and substitution options:
- Walnuts: Optional, but highly encouraged, they are used as a topping for the rum cake. You can also substitute other chopped nuts; pecans would be delicious!
- Oil: You can use any all-purpose baking oil like vegetable oil, canola oil, corn oil, or safflower oil.
- Vanilla Pudding Mix: You can use your own DIY vanilla pudding mix or a 3.4-ounce package of instant pudding mix.
- Milk: Whole milk is preferred, but 2% will work, too.
- Rum: You can use whatever rum you like for this cake (light or dark); I typically use Myers dark rum.
If you want to make this cake alcohol-free but still have the flavor of rum, make these substitutions:
- For the Cake: Substitute the rum in the cake batter with an equal amount of milk, then add 2 tablespoons of rum extract along with the vanilla extract.
- For the Rum Syrup: Substitute any of the following for the rum: apple juice, orange juice, white grape juice, or apple cider. Then add 2 teaspoons of rum extract, as well.
How to Make the Cake
- Grease and flour a standard 10 to 12-cup Bundt pan (the pan shown in the photos is a Nordic Ware Heritage Bundt Pan; another pan I love and recommend is the classic original Bundt pan). Sprinkle the chopped walnuts around the bottom and set aside.
- Whisk your dry ingredients (flour, cornstarch, baking powder, and salt) together in one bowl. Then in another medium bowl, whisk together your wet ingredients (eggs, milk, rum, ½ cup of the oil, and vanilla extract).
- Cream together butter and sugar, then add the flour mixture and the remaining 3 tablespoons of the canola oil and mix. Then, add the pudding mix and combine.
- Add the wet ingredients and mix until thoroughly combined (the batter will be thin!).
- Pour the batter into the pan and bake!
How to Make the Rum Syrup
When the cake has about 10 minutes left to bake, start making the rum syrup.
- Melt the butter in a saucepan, then add the sugar and water. Once melted, boil for 5 minutes, stirring constantly.
- Remove from the heat and stir in the rum. Pour it in slowly, as it will cause the butter and sugar mixture to bubble up.
- Return the stove and cook over medium heat for 30 seconds.
Soak the Cake with the Rum Glaze
This is where the magic happens!
- When the cake comes out of the oven, immediately pour about one-third of the rum syrup (about ⅔ cup) over the bottom of the cake. Pour slowly so it has time to seep into the cake and let it sit for about 5 minutes.
- Invert the cake onto a serving platter, then using a fork or skewer, poke holes all over the cake.
- Sloooooooowly spoon the remaining rum syrup over the top of the cake, allowing it to drip down the sides. You want to do this step slowly (it took me almost 15 minutes) so that the syrup can seep into the cake and doesn’t just pool at the bottom of the serving dish. You can also use a pastry brush to brush on the rum syrup.
Allow the cake to cool completely before serving.
Serving Suggestions
My favorite way to enjoy a slice of this rum bundt cake is warm and with a cup of coffee. Some other ways to enjoy this cake include:
- Dolloped with whipped cream
- Served with fresh fruit such as strawberry, pineapple, or cherries
- Topped with salted caramel sauce
- Alongside a scoop of vanilla ice cream
- Sprinkled with additional nuts or shredded coconut
Make-Ahead, Storing, and Freezing Instructions
- Make-Ahead: As you’d imagine, this gets better the longer you let it sit and soak, so you can absolutely make this cake a day ahead of time.
- Storing: Best kept at room temperature, you will want to wrap this cake tightly in plastic wrap to maintain the moisture. It keeps for up to 5 days at room temperature.
- Freezing: You can freeze rum cake! Wrap it twice in plastic wrap then aluminum foil, and place in a freezer bag for up to 3 months. Thaw in the refrigerator for at least 12 hours, or at room temperature. Do not unwrap until completely thawed.
More Decadent Cake Recipes:
- Kentucky Butter Cake
- Tiramisu
- German Chocolate Cake
- Eggnog Bundt Cake with Rum Icing
- Russian Pound Cake
Watch the Recipe Video:
If you make this rum cake and love it, remember to stop back and give it a 5-star rating – it helps others find the recipe! ❤️️
Homemade Rum Cake
Ingredients
For the Cake:
- 1 cup (113 g) chopped walnuts (optional)
- 1¾ cups (228 g) all-purpose flour
- ¼ cup (28 g) cornstarch
- 4 teaspoons baking powder
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- ½ cup (113 g) unsalted butter, at room temperature
- 1½ cups (297 g) granulated sugar
- 3 tablespoons canola oil
- ½ cup (99 g) canola oil
- 3.4 ounce instant vanilla pudding package, or ⅔ cup homemade pudding mix
- 4 eggs
- ¾ cup (180 ml) whole milk
- ¾ cup (180 ml) dark rum
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
For the Rum Syrup:
- ¾ cup (170 g) unsalted butter
- 1½ cups (297 g) granulated sugar
- ¼ cup (60 ml) water
- Pinch of salt
- ½ cup (120 ml) dark rum
Instructions
- Make the Cake: Preheat oven to 325 degrees F. Grease and flour a standard Bundt pan (12-cup capacity). Sprinkle the chopped walnuts around the bottom; set aside.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, cornstarch, baking powder, and salt; set aside.
- Using an electric mixer on medium speed, cream together the butter and granulated sugar until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add the flour mixture and the 3 tablespoons of canola oil, and mix on medium-low speed for 1 to 2 minutes – the mixture should look like wet sand. Add the pudding mix and mix again on medium-low speed until combined.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the eggs, milk, rum, remaining ½ cup canola oil, and vanilla extract. Add the egg mixture to the dry ingredients and beat on medium speed until thoroughly combined, about 2 to 3 minutes, scraping the sides of the bowl as needed. (The batter will be quite thin – this is good! It will be nice and moist!)
- Pour the cake batter into the prepared Bundt pan and bake for 50 to 60 minutes, or until a tester inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean.
- Make the Rum Syrup: When the cake has about 10 minutes left to bake, start the rum syrup. Melt the butter in a medium-sized saucepan over medium heat. Once it is melted, stir in the sugar and the water. Boil for 5 minutes, stirring constantly. Turn off the heat and stir in the rum. Once it is mixed in, return the pan to medium heat for about 30 seconds.
- When the cake comes out of the oven, immediately pour about one-third of the rum syrup (approximately 2/3 cup) over the bottom of the cake. Pour slowly so it has time to seep into the cake. Let it sit for 5 minutes.
- Invert the cake onto a serving platter. Using a fork or a skewer, poke holes all over the cake – the top, sides, and around the inside. Don't be shy – all of the holes ensure that the rum syrup seeps into the cake evenly. Sloooooowly spoon or brush the remaining rum syrup over the top of the cake, allowing it to drip down the sides. You want to do this step very slowly (it took me almost 15 minutes) so that the syrup actually seeps into the cake and doesn't just pool on the bottom of the serving dish.
- Allow the cake to cool to room temperature before serving. Leftovers can be kept, tightly wrapped, at room temperature for up to 5 days.
Notes
- Equipment: Standard 12-cup Bundt pan (you may substitute a 9-inch tube pan). The pan shown in the photos is the Nordic Ware Heritage Bundt Pan.
- Rum: Use your favorite! I typically use Myers dark rum.
- Alcohol-Free Option: To make this cake alcohol-free, substitute milk and rum extract in the cake and try apple juice, orange juice, white grape juice, or apple cider, along with rum extract, in the syrup. (See post above for measurements.)
- Walnuts: You can substitute something else (pecans would be great!) or omit them entirely.
- Vanilla Pudding Mix: This cake utilizes pudding mix to make it ultra-moist; use store-bought or make your own!
- Serving: Serve with fresh fruit, homemade whipped cream, vanilla ice cream, or salted caramel sauce.
- Storage: The rum cake can be stored, wrapped tightly in plastic wrap, at room temperature for up to 5 days.
- Freezing: Rum cake can be frozen, wrapped twice in plastic wrap then aluminum foil and placed in a freezer bag for up to 3 months. Thaw in the refrigerator for at least 12 hours, or at room temperature. Do not unwrap until completely thawed.
Did you make this recipe?
Leave a review below, then snap a picture and tag @thebrowneyedbaker on Instagram so I can see it!
Photography by Ari Laing.
My husband and his friends love this cake. I’ve used this recipe many times, thank you. I’ve used chocolate pudding sometime and have mixed in a couple handfuls of dried cranberries. This cake is a hit! Awesome recipe. Thank you for sharing.
LOVE this recipe. I must emphsize that this cake is worth every guilty calorie!!!
I love the dramatic pan you used!! In the Nordic line, it is only 10 cups, not large enough for the 12 C recipe. Did you use another brand or just use less batter? Thank you!!!
My husband’s favorite ❤️❤️
Valuable blog I have read so far on baking. Thanks for sharing
Wonderful cake!
This cake is divine! The texture and moistness are better than the old box mix I DO NOT use anymore! I would love to adapt this cake for other flavors because of the high quality of the flavor, texture and moistness. Was wondering if I could use orange juice for the 3/4 cup rum to make an orange cake. What do you think? I am just so impressed by this cake!
Thank you for this fabulous recipe!
My first time making rum cake. Had rum cake as a 12 year old at my best friend’s house. Always loved the flavor. Though I did not recall the alcohol taste. It just tasted good to me. Finally, looked all around for a good recipe. Asked my girlfriend if she had her mom’s recipe: nope😞. Then found this one. This cake was pretty darn good. I personally felt the alcohol flavor was too much like alcohol, so I might do a 1/2 a cup of the rum the next time I make it. As noted, “the batter will be quite thin- this is good! It will be nice and moist.” So a 1/4 cup less rum will probably be fine since it was a thin batter AND IT WAS VERY MOIST! I brought it to church, so it might not be a good thing to actually taste the alcohol. 😬My desire to bake a rum cake has been 47 years in the making. Thank you Michelle for this recipe!! Excellent choice and the Sunday School adults really liked it too; there were no leftovers.
NOTE! I did not use the glaze sauce, then I would have gotten kicked out of church for sure.🤣
This is such a great recipe!! The cake is so moist and the balance of rum (I used Myers dark rum) flavor mixed with the homemade taste of the cake makes this a heavenly mouthful!! This has become a yearly tradition for me to make every holiday season – always a hit with the fam and guests! Thanks, Brown Eyed Baker, for sharing such a great recipe with us!!
I am going to make your cake this year with your homemade pudding. The weight for 2/3 cup says 14 S seems really low.
Best rum cake recipe ever!! I sometimes add a little orange peel to add a fresh taste to the batter.
Ps.(As advised from co-workers from Napoli, Italy) love that you add the perfect amount of vanilla! 👌🏽Amazing
One of my favorite cakes is Rum Cake! Can’t wait to try this recipe. My oldest grand asks for this often so I’ll be anxious to make it!
Super good instead of rhum..I use rumtoff mixture it is devine
Rumtopf! what a great idea!!
Looks delicious
Oh my so many comments! Would you serve this to children? Thanks- the recipe sounds great.
Hi Nan, I personally would not (I don’t serve it to mine).
It would be fine. The alcohol cooks out of it; however they may not like the flavor.
really i appreciate, you made and guide properly regarding rum cake recipe. now i want to try this recipe pictures also looking very awesome
My husband requests thus cake every year for his birthday, too! I’ve had varying success from year to year and finally figured out why- when I use whole milk the cake never seems to set up and is just mush, like some previous posters mentioned. I now use heavy cream instead and it turns out great! I like to serve with whipped cream, so I first tried it in the cake so I wouldn’t have to buy two ingredients. I also never end up using all the syrup and add a cinnamon swirl (just brown sugar, cinnamon and rum), because, why not?! Great cake!
Once made, can you leave on the counter overnight? or does it need to ne refrigerated? it will be eaten the next day.
Hi Laura, You can definitely leave it overnight on the counter, I do it nearly every time I make this!
Delicious! Love love it. We couldn’t stop eating it. I found that I only used 1/2 the recipe for the rum sauce. It’s super moist. Thank you for sharing.
Not really a comment but a question: in the list of ingredients you have ⅔ cup (just above the list for the pudding). ⅔ cup of what?
The item is there – it’s ⅔ cup homemade vanilla pudding mix or a 3.4-ounce box of instant vanilla pudding mix.
Hi Michelle,
When you print the recipe, the instant pudding text text disappears. Maybe that’s what Pooofweedin was experiencing.
Hi! I can’t wait to make this cake. I’m having an though because the video you have on this page shows me an error. That means when I scroll, the little video thumbnail takes up a ton of space on the screen and there is no x to close it since it is just showing the error message.
You can use any dark rum you like the most for this cake. I used Old Monk which is my all-time fav dark rum. You can also use Bacardi dark rum or Meyer’s dark rum.
I made and loved this cake. I first picked the recipe based on her story about her husband birthday because i was making it for my husband and it turned out GREAT. He loved it, my friends and coworkers loved it and ask for it often. I lost the recipe and couldn’t find the link for awhile. My heart couldn’t use another person’s recipe cause I’m loyal to this one. I was determined to find it today and i did. So i will be saving the recipe and making it TODAY. Thanks
I have made this cake several times and it is really delicious. I have found for our taste and my neighbors, we prefer 1/2 cup of light rum (Bacardi) and 1/4 cup of Myers. We found using all Myers was too strong for us. For the glaze I use half of each. I think this cake gets better after a few days. I’ve made with and without nuts and we prefer with nuts. Walnuts and pecans taste similar on the cake. I baked for 55 minutes and let it sit in the pan for 10 minutes for the glaze to seep in.
I made this cake and it is delicious! I have always wanted to ditch the box recipe and this is my new go to. I do use pecans instead.
My one suggestion and genius tip. . . In my family we always made the cake three days prior and put the syrup on each day (three times) allowing the cake to get drunk but not soggy. TIP: use a basting brush to apply syrup, you won’t have to go as slow or waste any!!!
Can’t remember if I posted a review but the cake was delicious. I will probably cut back a little on saturating with the glaze next time because it was almost soggy but it was still delicious. Wanted to know how I can make it a little big bigger, increase by a half more. Do I just increase all the ingredients by an additional half?
Question I used cake flour instead of all purpose flour and forgot that I probably didn’t need the cornstarch. Will this not come out right?? Or can the cornstarch still be used?? Please respond asap if possible🙏🏾
I made a wonderful cake over the holidays for a friend’s birthday. It was so moist and flavorful and so delicious!! Several people factually said it was the best cake they’d ever had! So now I’m just dying to find one more excuse to make it again!!!
Shuhana Allen
http://myreviewcenter.com/
This cake is ridiculously delicious! I followed the recipe to the letter including adding the walnuts to the pan. The only change I made was to the rum sauce. Through trial and error of other recipes, the amount of sauce I use is usually half of what the recipe creates. Other than that EXCELLENT. I’m going to soak raisins in rum and add that next time. Thanks for this great recipe. Bookmarked!
I have made this cake two years in a row now for our Labor Day party and it has become the most anticipated dessert on the table. On the days leading up to the gathering I had numerous people asking if I was bringing the rum cake again, I have baked many desserts for our annual celebration and this by far is a fan favorite, I had so many compliments again this year I have decided it will be a tradition now. I highly recommend using Meyer’s Rum as suggested the flavor cannot be replicated by any other rum . Thank you for all your recipes, they never let me down.