Ultimate Homemade Rum Cake: Buttery, Moist, and Irresistibly Flavorful from Scratch
Indulge in the luxurious taste of this Homemade Rum Cake, meticulously crafted from scratch. Experience an incredibly buttery, soft, and light texture, generously infused with rich rum flavor. This exquisite cake is further enhanced by an easy-to-make rum glaze, ensuring it remains wonderfully moist and delightful for days.
The journey to perfecting this rum cake recipe has been a labor of love, spanning several months and numerous test batches. This particular recipe has been among the most highly requested, and after extensive experimentation, we are thrilled to present the winning version. The effort was undoubtedly worth it, as this homemade rum cake is nothing short of incredibly delicious, delivering a truly unforgettable dessert experience.
What sets this recipe apart from many others is its authentic “from scratch” approach. Unlike rum cakes that rely on a boxed cake mix as a shortcut, every element of this cake is prepared with care, ensuring superior flavor and texture. The result is a cake that is exceptionally soft, remarkably light, deeply moist, and bursting with a sophisticated rum essence. To elevate its moistness and intensify the rum flavor even further, it’s crowned with a simple yet decadent rum glaze.
For those who prefer a more subtle rum note, we’ve included helpful tips on how to achieve a lighter flavor profile. To guide you through every step of this delightful baking process, a comprehensive video tutorial is also available, making it easy for anyone to create this spectacular homemade rum cake in their own kitchen!
Why Choose a From-Scratch Rum Cake?
While convenience can be tempting, baking a rum cake completely from scratch offers unparalleled advantages that significantly enhance the final product. A homemade rum cake allows for precise control over ingredients, ensuring the freshest, highest-quality components are used. This translates directly into a more profound, nuanced flavor profile that store-bought or mix-based versions simply cannot replicate. The texture, too, is superior; from-scratch cakes often boast a finer crumb, greater tenderness, and a delightful richness that truly stands out. Moreover, the act of baking from scratch is a rewarding experience, transforming simple ingredients into a masterpiece that fills your home with an irresistible aroma and your taste buds with pure joy. This recipe focuses on delivering that premium, artisanal quality, making every slice a testament to homemade excellence.
Crafting Your Rum Cake: A Step-by-Step Guide
Although this homemade rum cake recipe involves several distinct steps, each one is straightforward and contributes to its exceptional quality. By following these guidelines, you’ll achieve a perfectly baked, incredibly flavorful cake:
- Cream Together Butter and Sugar for a Light Crumb: This initial step is crucial for the cake’s ultimate texture. We recommend mixing your softened unsalted butter and granulated sugar for a full 4-5 minutes. During this time, the mixture will transform, becoming visibly lighter in color and developing a fluffy consistency. This extensive creaming process incorporates a significant amount of air into the mixture, which is essential for creating a light, tender, and airy cake crumb. Don’t rush this step!
- Incorporate Eggs, Egg Yolk, and Vanilla for Richness: Once your butter and sugar are perfectly creamed, gradually add the eggs, one at a time, ensuring each egg is fully incorporated before adding the next. This method helps maintain the emulsion and prevents the batter from splitting. The single egg yolk contributes extra richness and moisture, enhancing the cake’s velvety texture. Finally, stir in the pure vanilla extract, which complements the rum flavor beautifully. Remember to occasionally scrape down the sides of the bowl to ensure all ingredients are evenly mixed.
- Whisk Together the Dry Ingredients for Even Distribution: In a separate bowl, combine your cake flour, baking powder, and salt. Whisking these dry ingredients thoroughly before adding them to the wet mixture ensures that the leavening agents (baking powder) and salt are evenly distributed throughout the batter. This prevents pockets of unmixed ingredients and guarantees a consistent rise and flavor. If you don’t have cake flour on hand, don’t worry! You can easily make a homemade cake flour substitute.
- Combine Buttermilk and Rum for Moisture and Flavor: The buttermilk is a star ingredient in this recipe, playing a vital role in keeping the cake incredibly moist and tender. Its acidity also reacts with the baking powder, aiding in the cake’s rise. If you find yourself without buttermilk, a homemade buttermilk substitute can be quickly prepared. For the rum, we highly recommend using dark rum to achieve the most robust and authentic flavor profile, but gold or spiced rum are also excellent alternatives that will yield a delicious result. Whisk these two liquids together until well combined.
- Alternate Dry and Wet Ingredients for Optimal Batter Consistency: Given the generous volume of this cake batter, it’s essential to alternate adding the dry ingredients with the buttermilk-rum mixture to the wet ingredients. Begin and end with the dry ingredients, adding them in three separate additions. This technique helps prevent overmixing, which can lead to a tough cake, and ensures all ingredients are gently yet thoroughly combined, resulting in a smooth, uniform batter.
- Generously Prepare Your Bundt Pan: This step is non-negotiable for a successful release. Rum cake batter can be a bit stickier than other cake batters, so it’s absolutely crucial to spray your 10-inch (12-cup) bundt pan *very generously* with a high-quality nonstick cooking spray. Make sure to coat every single nook, cranny, and crevice of the pan to prevent sticking. As an optional but highly recommended step, you can sprinkle about a cup of chopped nuts (walnuts or pecans work beautifully) into the bottom of the pan before adding the batter. The nuts not only add a wonderful complementary flavor and texture to the cake but also provide an extra layer of nonstick insurance.
- Bake to Golden Perfection: Carefully pour your prepared batter into the bundt pan, spreading it evenly. Bake the cake in a preheated oven for 40-55 minutes, or until a wooden skewer or toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. If you notice the cake browning too quickly during the last 5-10 minutes of baking, loosely tent it with aluminum foil to prevent excessive browning while allowing the inside to finish cooking.
The Secret to Ultimate Moisture: The Rum Glaze
Once your rum cake emerges from the oven, allow it to cool slightly in the bundt pan on a wire rack while you prepare the incredibly moistening rum glaze. This syrup-like glaze is the secret to locking in moisture and intensifying that beloved rum flavor. You’ll need just a few simple ingredients: unsalted butter, granulated sugar, rum (dark rum is preferred for the glaze as well), water, and pure vanilla extract.
Begin by melting the unsalted butter in a large saucepan over medium heat. To speed up the melting process, it’s helpful to slice the butter into smaller, tablespoon-sized pieces. Once the butter is fully melted, stir in the granulated sugar, rum, and water. Bring this mixture to a rapid boil, stirring occasionally to dissolve the sugar completely. As soon as it reaches a rolling boil, reduce the heat to medium-low and allow it to simmer gently for another 6-8 minutes. This simmering period allows the flavors to meld and the syrup to slightly thicken. Finally, remove the saucepan from the heat and stir in the pure vanilla extract. Keep in mind that this glaze is designed to be thin and syrup-like, rather than a thick frosting. It will thicken only slightly as it cools, ensuring maximum absorption into the cake.
With the warm glaze ready, use a skewer or the tines of a fork to generously poke holes all over the surface of the cake while it’s still in the bundt pan. Pour approximately one-third of the rum glaze evenly over the cake. Allow it to sit and absorb for about 10 minutes; this initial soak will deeply infuse the cake with flavor and moisture. After this initial absorption, carefully place a piece of foil or parchment paper under your cooling rack to catch any excess glaze. Invert the cake onto the cooling rack and gently remove the bundt pan. Now, poke more holes into the top and sides of the exposed cake. Spoon the remaining glaze slowly and evenly over the entire cake, allowing it to drip down the sides. Any glaze that collects on the foil or parchment paper can be spooned back over the cake until it’s fully absorbed, ensuring every inch is coated in delicious, moistening rum goodness.
Once the cake has cooled completely, which allows the glaze to set and the flavors to fully develop, it’s ready to be sliced and enjoyed. If you’re not serving it immediately, store the rum cake in an airtight container at room temperature to maintain its freshness and incredible moisture for several days. This cake is perfect for special occasions, holidays, or simply as a luxurious treat to brighten any day.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ’s) about Homemade Rum Cake
What’s the best type of rum to use for this recipe?
For the deepest and most authentic rum flavor in both the cake and the glaze, we highly recommend using dark rum. Through extensive testing, Myer’s Dark Rum emerged as a personal favorite, delivering a rich and complex taste. However, gold rum or spiced rum are also excellent choices and will yield a delicious cake, offering slightly different nuances in flavor. Feel free to experiment with your preferred rum type!
Does this rum cake need to be refrigerated?
No, this homemade rum cake does not require refrigeration. It can be stored perfectly at room temperature. To maintain its delightful moisture and freshness, simply place the cake in an airtight container. It will stay wonderfully delicious for up to 4 days.
How can I adjust this cake for a lighter rum flavor?
If you prefer a more subtle rum presence, there are a few easy adjustments you can make. First, consider using a gold rum instead of dark rum in the cake batter and glaze, as it generally has a milder flavor profile. Additionally, you can reduce the amount of rum glaze you pour over the cake. For an even lighter touch, you might try cutting the rum glaze recipe in half altogether. These modifications will allow you to tailor the rum intensity to your personal preference.
Can I freeze this rum cake?
Absolutely! This rum cake freezes beautifully, making it an excellent option for meal prep or enjoying a slice later. You can freeze the entire cake or individual slices. Ensure it’s tightly wrapped in plastic wrap and then aluminum foil to prevent freezer burn. It will keep well in the freezer for up to 3 months. When ready to enjoy, thaw overnight in the refrigerator and bring to room temperature before serving for the best texture and flavor.
What is the alcohol content of rum cake?
While this cake is made with rum, a significant portion of the alcohol typically cooks out during the baking process and the simmering of the glaze. The exact alcohol content can vary depending on baking time, temperature, and how much glaze is used. Generally, the alcohol content in a baked rum cake is quite low. However, if you are concerned about alcohol, or serving to children or those avoiding alcohol, you can replace a portion of the rum with rum extract (non-alcoholic) or apple juice/cider for flavor, especially in the glaze.
Expert Baking Tips for a Perfect Rum Cake
- Rum Selection Matters: We’ve successfully tested this cake recipe with both Myer’s Dark Rum and Bacardi Gold Rum. Both produced fantastic results, highlighting that while dark rum offers a richer, more profound flavor, gold rum provides a slightly milder yet equally delicious profile. Choose the rum that best suits your taste!
- Pan Preparation is Paramount: This cannot be stressed enough – make sure to spray your bundt pan incredibly generously with nonstick cooking spray. The unique texture of this batter can be a bit more prone to sticking compared to other cakes. After rigorous testing, we found that simply buttering and flouring the pan did not provide the same reliable nonstick barrier. So, for an effortless release, stick to a thorough application of nonstick cooking spray, ensuring every crevice is coated.
- Nuts: Optional, but Recommended: The addition of chopped pecans or walnuts is entirely optional, but we highly recommend it. We prefer the added depth of flavor and delightful textural contrast that nuts provide. Furthermore, the nuts sprinkled in the pan offer extra reassurance, acting as an additional nonstick layer to help your cake release flawlessly from the pan.
- Efficient Butter Melting for the Glaze: To expedite the process of making your rum glaze, we suggest cutting the unsalted butter into smaller, tablespoon-sized pieces before melting it in the saucepan. This allows the butter to melt much faster and more evenly, ensuring a smooth start to your glaze.
- Room Temperature Ingredients: Always use room temperature butter and eggs for the cake batter. This ensures they emulsify properly with the sugar, creating a smooth, homogenous batter that traps air efficiently, resulting in a lighter and more tender cake.
- Don’t Overmix: After incorporating the dry and wet ingredients alternately, mix just until combined. Overmixing can develop the gluten in the flour too much, leading to a tough and dense cake. A few small lumps are perfectly fine!
Video Tutorial
Homemade Rum Cake
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Ingredients
To make the rum cake:
- 1 cup (230 grams) unsalted butter softened to room temperature
- 2 cups (400 grams) granulated sugar
- 4 large eggs room temperature
- 1 large egg yolk room temperature
- 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
- 2 and ¾ cups (305 grams) cake flour spooned & leveled
- 2 and ½ teaspoons baking powder
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ¾ cup (180 ml) buttermilk
- ⅓ cup (80 ml) dark rum
- 1 cup (120 grams) chopped walnuts or pecans optional
To make the rum syrup:
- ½ cup (115 grams) unsalted butter
- 1 cup (200 grams) granulated sugar
- ½ cup (120 ml) dark rum
- ¼ cup (60 ml) water
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
Instructions
To make the rum cake:
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Preheat oven to 350°F (177°C).
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In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, or in a large mixing bowl using a handheld mixer, cream the butter and granulated sugar together until light and fluffy (about 4-5 minutes). Beat in eggs one at a time, then beat in the egg yolk and pure vanilla extract, stopping to scrape down the sides of the bowl as needed.
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In a separate mixing bowl whisk together the cake flour, baking powder, and salt. Set aside.
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In a large measuring cup whisk together the buttermilk and rum. Set aside.
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Alternate mixing the dry ingredients with the buttermilk rum mixture into the wet ingredients in three additions, starting and ending with the dry ingredients.
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Generously spray a 10-inch (12-cup) bundt pan with nonstick cooking spray, making sure to fully coat the entire pan. Sprinkle the chopped nuts into the pan and spread them around in an even layer. Scoop the batter into the prepared bundt pan over the chopped nuts and spread it around into one even layer.
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Bake at 350°F (177°C) for 40-55 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the cake comes out clean. Cover loosely with foil for the last 5-10 minutes of baking time if needed to prevent excess browning.
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Remove the cake from the oven and place it on a wire rack to cool slightly in the pan while you prepare the glaze.
To make the rum glaze:
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Slice the butter into pieces and place it in a large saucepan over medium heat. Once the butter has melted, add the sugar, rum, and water to the saucepan and stir until well combined.
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Bring to a rapid boil over medium heat, stirring occasionally. Once the mixture begins to rapidly boil, reduce the heat to medium-low heat and simmer for 6-8 minutes, stirring occasionally. Remove from the heat, then stir in the vanilla extract.
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Use a skewer to poke holes in the cake, spoon about 1/3 of the glaze over the cake in the pan. Allow it to sit for about 10 minutes.
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Place some foil or parchment paper under the wire rack, then carefully invert the cake onto the wire rack and remove it from the pan. Use a skewer to poke holes on the top of the cake and then carefully spoon the rest of the glaze on top of the cake and around the sides.
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Allow the cake to cool completely, then serve, and enjoy!
Notes
Freezing Instructions: Cake will freeze well for up to 3 months. Thaw overnight in the refrigerator and bring to room temperature before serving.
Cake Flour: I prefer to use Swansdown or Pillsbury Softasilk cake flour in this recipe for the best results. If you don’t have any, you can easily use my homemade cake flour substitute.
Buttermilk: Don’t have any buttermilk on hand? No problem! You can effortlessly use my homemade buttermilk substitute here.
Rum: While I truly loved the rich and deep taste this cake achieves with dark rum, you can certainly use a gold or spiced rum for a slightly different flavor profile. Feel free to adjust to your preference!