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.
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- 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.
All I can say is wow this cake was dam good. My family finished it the same day. I used a signature Appleton rum blend that I purchased in Jamaica so the cake had a strong rum flavor. I think it made my 10 yr old a little tipsy 😂. I will definitely make this again very soon!! Thanks for sharing!
I used to have this when I lived in Bermuda, the home of rum cake, when I was little. My Dad asked me for one for his 70th birthday. I have just taken it out of the oven and it smells like heaven! I couldn’t get jello pudding over in the UK where we live now, but substituted it with Butterscotch Angel delight which has worked perfectly. Thanks so much, it will make Dad’s birthday!
Thanks for this amazing recipe. I’m glad I found your recipe because I didn’t want a recipe that used yellow cake mix. I like making it from scratch. If I were to use this recipe in mini bundt cake pans, how would I adjust the baking time?
Hi Isaiah, I haven’t played around with mini bundt pans, but it’s a great idea! I might start checking around 12 minute? I truly have no idea but wouldn’t want you to overbake them!
I tried this cake. I used cske flour instead of all-purpose because that’s just what I always do. The cake was delicious and light. The only problem I had was that it broke in half when I inverted it onto the plate. The top part of the cake where the nuts were stuck to the pan. Not sure why. I have a seasoned Pampered Chef bundt pan and I even greased it to make sure the nuts didn’t stick. I will try this cake again…..perhaps in a different pan. My mom has a pound cake pan that’s older than I am. :) I do have a question. When you pour the syrup on top of the cake immediately after taking it out, is it supposed to boil? The glaze bubbled & seemed more like it was boiling when I poured it on top. I was just wondering if maybe that was the cause of the nuts sticking to the pan.
Hi Millicent, I always recommend greasing AND flouring Bundt pans to keep cakes from sticking. However, the syrup shouldn’t be boiling, if it was, then it may have reached a candy-like temperature and could definitely be why things stuck as well.
What dark rum do you guys use? Want to try this cake soon! Looks yummy
Hi April, I use Myers’s Dark Rum!
Update – my work colleagues LOVE the cake!!! :)
Amazing cake but the rum is strong! LOL! Next time I will just add a bit for flavour…I will also half the sauce as I had so much left over. :)
I made this Rum cake for my friends Birthday yesterday. It is being acclaimed the best rum cake ever!
They own a restaurant so I was nervous, I had to bake a good cake. All employees were begging for more. It was fun to make it from scratch, it took some time, but I will definitely make it again! Great recipe!
This cake is Outrageous! It has quickly become my family’s most favorite cake ever! So moist, full of flavor and pretty.
Delicious 😋
I have tried two other rum cake recipes and this was the best. It was easy to make, not too many ingredients and is super yummy and moist. One note, though: As I boiled the syrup, it started to rise in the pan ever so slightly, as I was stirring. I thought, the rum being cool, it will bring it down, so I added it to the very hot syrup and it immediately boiled violently out of the pan and all over my stove top, caught on fire and left charred black soot half an inch high on my stove, not to mention that we had to open the whole house up in below freezing weather to get rid of the smoke. It could have been very dangerous had I not had a large metal pan nearby that I smothered the fire with. And the bubbling hot sticky syrup ran down the sides of the stove and onto the floor, got stepped in – oh, what a mess. So let the syrup cool a wee bit before adding the rum. Even with losing about a third of the syrup, I still had much more than I needed. The cake was moist almost to the mushy point, and I still had some left over. Otherwise, wonderful experience, and just now had some of it, as it keeps well in the fridge or freezer, tightly wrapped.
Made this cake and it had nice rise during the bake. At 50 minutes test with skewer showed done. Removed from oven and added syrup. Cake slowly deflated eventually to about half its volume. Result was quite dense and ended up discarding
Any ideas about what the problem might have been?
Hi Russell, Oh no! I’ve made this cake dozens of times and I’ve never had it deflate. Sometimes that will happen if a cake isn’t cooked through but you said it was. Are you baking at altitude by any chance?
Amazing recipe! Box cake rum cake is so yesterday! This will now be my go to recipe. Thank You! It turned out beautifully.
Discovered this recipe and made it for a Christmas party. I followed it exactly and it was a total hit! Thanks!
I made the cake today.
The final few minutes of the baking process the top deflated in but since it is turned over it did not matter.
I think this is way too much syrup so putting it in a crystal bowl and will serve it over organic Vanilla bean Ice Cream.
I decorated the cake on top with Fresh Mint Leaves and by each leaf 2 red jelly beans. This looked exactly as Holly would.
Wish you allowed pictures.
Hope it tastes good won’t know Til Xmas ever. I am refrigerating it until then.https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10212413378706992&set=pcb.10212413382427085&type=3&theater
Just as ready to take out of the oven it deflated! Why??????
What is the other option for Vanilla pudding mix
I don’t really have any substitutes (you can make homemade, which is linked to above in the recipe); it really helps to keep the cake nice and moist.
Really awesome baking process and so easy to prepare rum cake . You have really done a nice job. As you have shared the best things for me.
Just curious to know what type of rum everyone used?
Meyers Dark Carribean Rum…..yum
Serve with vanilla ice cream…..takes the Rum cake to another level.😊
This cake was very good but next time I will use traditional way of making cake by creaming butter and sugar, adding eggs and then the flour alternately with liquid. When I added liquid using these instructions it was difficult to mix with dry Ingredients. I will also boil syrup less than 5 minutes.
I was wanting to make “mini” rum bundt cakes and give them as gifts. I planned to put the first portion of rum syrup on the bottom of the mini bundts, but put the remainder in small bottles for the giftees to apply themselves over the top . Do you think this would work, or should put the syrup on and then package?
Hi Patricia, That sounds like a good idea! You’ll want to add at least some to the cooked cake, as it will keep it nice and moist, and then you can gift the rest. Wonderfull idea :)
I had never had a rum cake before but I knew from your post and all the comments that it was going to be outstanding. The cake did not disappoint! I used bourbon because I didn’t have any dark rum, and it was delicious. Everyone raved about it!
I’m so thrilled that you enjoyed this cake! Thanks so much for taking the time to stop back and share your review!
I don’t know what happened, the rum syrup was a lumpy thick mess!! Tried to heat it up to get rid of the lumps but it didn’t work so the cake was basically ruined! I think I may have cooked the butter & sugar at too high heat. What do you think?
Hi Leslie, That’s possible; you just need a gentle heat to melt the two into a simple syrup.
Sponge flavor was good (mine fell apart coming out of the pan because I did not grease/flour well enough), but I think the rum syrup should be cooked longer to make sure alcohol is cooked out. Mine had so much raw rum flavor that is was practically inedible.
Delicious!!! Thank you!
The directions don’t mention where to add the pudding mix when making the batter. I nearly forgot it! I was looking at the batter and thinking wow, should it really be THAT thin? Then I realized what was missing.
It’s baking now, I hope it turns out well! I added t he pudding mix after the egg/milk/rum mix had been added and had mixed for about a minute. The batter tastes dynamite (so boozy!) crossing my fingers it turns out.
Thanks!
Hi Ashley, They do, it’s the last sentence in step #3. Enjoy the cake!
I have never made rum cake and this cake was PERFECT! I’m glad I came across this recipe in going to make it again for Christmas. I read some people saying wish they didn’t have theirs drip so much on plate and also wish they didn’t pour so much rum. I actually did get some on the plate which when I cut it the bottom stuck with lots of rum SOOOOO GOOOOD!!! I used what was instructed for the bottom 2/3cup and then on the other size I used about the same VERY slow pour!!! I didn’t even have to use all the glaze it was amazing. I tried it about 45 min after! I will say this I was on the phone and not paying attention to the glaze instructions and I put it all in different order I knew right away I had did it wrong so I threw it out and redid and it was to perfection!!!!
I made this rum cake for Thanksgiving and everyone raved about it. It was so good!! I also cut down on my rum sauce the third time I made it. This is definitely a keeper!
Made it……it is awesomely delicious!
Can this cake be refrigerated?
Yes, definitely!
The cake itself came out fabulous, I cut it in half after putting the initial glaze on it and removing it from the pan. After making holes and pouring additional glaze over the cake, very slowly, it turned into a dense soggy mess. It tastes great because, well Rum, but was very disappointed in the texture after the second glazing. I followed the recipe to a T so I’m hesitant to try it again but I know so many others have had perfect results. Any ideas what I could have done wrong? I ended up using half of the syrup recipe total on the whole cake and it still came out dense and soggy.
Hi Leah, Cutting it in half could have definitely been the problem. Things like cakes and breads continue to cook after they come out of the oven and if cut before they are cool enough, steam escapes and it actually makes them gummy. I’ve learned the hard way with bread and as much as it pains me, I wait for it to cool before I cut into it!