Gimme Some Oven

Rum Cake

This post may contain affiliate links. Please read my disclosure policy.

Ok, I have literally been waiting to post this recipe ever since I began the blog. It is without a doubt my favorite dessert in the entire world. And it may soon become yours too. :)

Behold….the famous rum cake.

Words can’t even describe this one. Suffice it to say, it is by far my most-requested recipe. My family loves it. My friends are crazy about it. Friends of my friends email to ask for the recipe. Non-rum-lovers ask for seconds at parties. Even my boss asks for leftovers whenever he hears it’s being made!

Yes, it is that good. :) And, it only takes about 15 minutes of total prep time. What could be better??

So if you’re looking for a new rockstar dessert this holiday season, look no further. This is the cake for you. Enjoy!!!

Print
clock clock iconcutlery cutlery iconflag flag iconfolder folder iconinstagram instagram iconpinterest pinterest iconfacebook facebook iconprint print iconsquares squares iconheart heart iconheart solid heart solid icon

Rum Cake

5 Stars 4 Stars 3 Stars 2 Stars 1 Star 4.8 from 4 reviews
  • Prep Time: 15 minutes
  • Cook Time: 60 minutes
  • Total Time: 75 minutes
  • Yield: 1 cake 1x

Description

You’ll love this Rum Cake Recipe! It’s super-delicious!


Ingredients

Scale

Cake Ingredients

  • 1 (18.25 oz.) package yellow cake mix
  • 1 (3.4 oz.) package vanilla instant pudding mix
  • 4 eggs
  • 1/2 cup water
  • 1/2 cup rum
  • 1/2 cup vegetable oil
  • extra sugar for pan

Glaze Ingredients

  • 1/2 cup butter
  • 1/4 cup water
  • 1 cup white sugar
  • 1/4 cup rum

Instructions

  1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees F (165 degrees C). Liberally grease (either way cooking spray or butter) a bundt pan, and then pour sugar into it and swirl around until the entire inside of the pan is coated in sugar. (Discard any remaining sugar.)
  2. In a large bowl, combine cake mix and pudding mix. Mix in the eggs, 1/2 cup water, oil and 1/2 cup rum. Blend well. Pour batter into pan.
  3. Bake in the preheated oven for 60 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the cake comes out clean. Let sit for 10 minutes in the pan, then turn out onto serving plate. Spoon glaze over top and sides. Allow cake to absorb glaze and repeat until all glaze is used.

Glaze Instructions:

  1. In a saucepan, combine butter, 1/4 cup water and 1 cup sugar. Bring to a boil over medium heat and continue to boil for 5 minutes, stirring constantly. Remove from heat and stir in 1/4 cup rum.

Share this Post

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Recipe rating 5 Stars 4 Stars 3 Stars 2 Stars 1 Star

23 comments on “Rum Cake”

  1. Your pictures are great. I make my glaze with 1/2 cup instead of 1/4 cup of rum and poke holes all in the cake then I pour a little glaze in the pan and then put the cake back in the pan and pour the glaze all over the cake in the pan. After it sit awhile I shake the cake loose carefully and plate it we usually eat it the next day too. But I love it abpout a week later.

  2. The cake was a hit at our party last night.
    Delish!!

  3. I’ve made this cake for years and it’s always a hit (found the recipe on a Bacardi ad). I do the same as Miche and put the cake back in the pan to soak up the glaze. Otherwise it goes all over the plate, and not into the cake. I also sometimes put a chocolate drizzle over the whole thing too (as my original recipe called for). Extra yum!

  4. Would Captain Morgan’s Spiced Rum work or is there a rum that you would recommend – like light or dark?

    • Hi Kim!

      I’ve never actually tried this yet with spiced rum, but had a friend who did and loved it! And I prefer dark rum, but either work well. :)

      Enjoy!
      ~A

  5. I made this for Chirstmas and it kicked ass, the family loved it…I used Appleton’s 12 year reserve dark rum and used the suggestion to put the cake back in the pan and poke holes. What a wonderful and easy recipe.

    Next time, I’m going to experiment with some Key Limes and see what happens…thanks a bunch!

    • Sweet! Glad it went well, Andrew!

      Definitely let me know how things go with the key limes next time — I’m intrigued!!

  6. I have made the rum cake twice since you posted it. The first one I shared with my neighbors and we all LOVED it. The second one is sitting in my office right now for a lunch party this afternoon. It is soooo tempting. I was thinking this recipe could be tweaked to make an apple cake substituting good apple cider for the rum.

  7. I made this cake today and couldnt resist trying it. It was absolutely amazing. My family are very big non drinkers and loved it. Thank you so much for sharing.

  8. I made this cake yesterday and I used regular rum in the cake, but in the glaze I used CAPTAIN MORGAN SPICED RUM. The flavor of the glaze was AMAZING. Next time I will use the spiced rum in both the cake and the glaze. YUM!

    • Hey Erin!

      I’ve heard so many people talk about spiced rum with this! So glad you loved it! Next time I make it, I’m totally going with that — sounds amazing!

      ~A

  9. I made this for Easter, it was gone in about 15 min! I made it with drained crushed pinapple, instead of water I used pinapple juice in the cake and the icing. Also, I used ” Whaler’s Vanille Rum ” A wonderfull cake, Thanks for sharing!

  10. Hi Ali:

    Exactly like you said, this cake has become our family’s favorite. I made it the first time last week and my hubby and step-son loved it. I made another one and took it to work. My co-workers loved it. Some asked for the recipe. Others asked when I would bring another one. I will make another one tomorrow for my hubby to take to his office.

    The glaze was amazingly delicious. My little problem is it didn’t get soaked in to the cake despite all the little holes of toothpicks. Having said that, the glaze that later formed a crust around the cake was just too good. I scraped all the glaze left on the plate and ate it after the whole cake was gone. This cake has become my family’s regularly made cake. Thanks again, Ali, for sharing the recipe. I will try more of your recipes from the blog and report back. :)

  11. I add pecans to my rum cake. It is awesome..Love this recipe..Thanks

    • Thanks for sharing Lori (we think that sounds amazing)! And we’re happy you love the recipe! :)

  12. It seems like all packaged foods are shrinking. Every yellow cake mix in the store was 15.25 oz. Have you made this cake recently with the new package sizes and do any of the other ingredients need to be adjusted?

    • I think that the packaging is shrinking, but the actual size of the cake mixes should be the same. :) Double-check, though, for sure!

    • Actually, cake mixes are shrinking. Tried and true older recipes call for 18.25 oz mixes, but cake mixes are now 15.25 oz. To deal with this problem, I keep a package of yellow cake mix in my freezer and add 6 Tbsp to make up the difference.






  13. I just made this with the kids for dad and Thanksgiving dinner. I’m am sad say that… It didn’t make it to dinner it is AMAZING! The ABSOLUTE BEST RUM CAKE EVER! I DON’T eat it but I tried it and OMG it’s really awesome. I had to use white cake mix because that’s all I had and fluffed confectionery sugar on top with the glaze and that’s all she wrote. Thanks for the recipe.






  14. Made this cake for the first time with your recipe! Everyone loved it! So easy and beautiful – yet it takes long enough to make it a proud moment to be finished! Thanks for posting!

  15. Love this cake! I agree with previous comments to soak the cake in butter rum syrup. I let the cake sit for 10 minutes after it was out of the over, waited 10 minutes and put it back in the pan. I poked many holes in the bottom with a skewer and slowly poured the butter rum syrup on the cake letting it soak in. I left the cake in the pan for an hour to let the syrup soak the entire height of the cake then took it out. I also have tried a couple flavor variations. I used Malibu coconut rum in the cake batter and regular light rum for the sauce for a delicious subtle coconut rum cake. I also used lemon pudding in another cake for a fabulous lemon rum cake.






  16. What a great recipe. Although I found it to take at least 1/2 hr to prepare but well worth it. I found pouring the glaze over in 3 even pours made it a bit thicker plus I sprinkled powdered sugar all over the topping. So ? awesome.

  17. Hi, I made this cake today and it turned out great! I make rum cakes for my neighbors at Christmas time who always appreciate the effort!
    I like the glaze method. The recipe I used last year suggested poking holes in the top of the cake to allow the glaze to run into the cake. I didn’t like how it looked, so I won’t use that recipe again.