Rum Cake: When one cannot decide if the indulgence of the night is alcohol or desert...
Rum cake is one of my favorite desserts and this recipe was given to me by my Aunt years ago after I begged for it for quite some time. The cake was always a staple at family gatherings and the favorite that when I began actively baking in my 20's I finally begged her to share it with me convincing her that I'd be the one in the family to carry on the tradition. This is the still the recipe I make for every family holiday and family's birthday celebrations and it's always one that continues to get better with time. Substitute any flavored rum you may like for a variation on the taste and you may or may not add nuts based on allergy or preference. Is there a cake recipe in your family that has been passed down for generations? Would love to hear about it!
Ingredients:
1 (18.25 ounce) package yellow cake mix with pudding or made your own from scratch ( I usually make my own simple yellow cake batter)
4 eggs
1/2 cup water
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1/2 cup rum or spiced rum
1/2 cup chopped pecans or walnuts
3 tablespoons butter
1/4 cup water
1 cup white sugar
1/2 cup rum or coconut rum
Directions
Preheat oven to 325 degrees . Grease and flour one 10 inch tube pan
Beat eggs, water, oil and rum until frothy. Add cake mix/pudding mixture and beat until well mixed. Spread pecans evenly over the bottom of the prepared pan and pour batter over pecans.
Bake cake at 325 degrees F (165 degrees C) for 60 minutes or until a toothpick comes out dry when inserted in the center. Allow to cool in pan for 5 minutes and remove from pan. Place in serving dish immediately, right side up. (Pecans should be on the bottom)
Glaze: During the last 15 to 20 minutes of baking time, combine butter or margarine, water and sugar in a sauce pan and bring to boil over high heat. Reduce heat to medium and boil rapidly until it's very thick and syrupy stirring very frequently. The syrup must be reduced quite a bit and very thick otherwise it will make the cake mushy. Remove from heat and add rum. While cake is still hot, poke holes all over top of cake with a toothpick and spoon glaze over top of cake. Allow cake to sit at room temperature for one day then refrigerate.