Rum Cake

I think one of the quintessential cakes to have around the holiday are Rum Cakes. I've been searching for a really good Rum Cake recipe for a while and saw one on King Arthur Flour's website. I'm SO glad I went with the recipe from King Arthur because it's super moist and has the perfect amount of rum in the glaze. The only thing I did differently was made these into into mini bundt cakes, so I baked them for a shorter amount of time. Dr. Sweetpea raved about how good these cakes were!

Caribbean Rum Cake

(Source: King Arthur Flour)

RUM CAKE BASE

2 cups All-Purpose Flour

1 1/2 cups sugar

1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened

1/2 cup instant vanilla pudding mix, dry

2 teaspoons baking powder

1 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup vegetable oil

1/2 cup milk

4 large eggs

1/2 cup rum, plain or spiced

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

1/4 teaspoon butter-rum flavor (optional but excellent)

1/4 cup pecan or almond flour, for dusting baking pan

RUM SOAKING SYRUP

8 tablespoons (1/2 cup) unsalted butter

1/4 cup water

1 cup sugar

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup rum, plain or spiced

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 325°F. Place all of the cake ingredients except the rum, vanilla, and butter-rum flavor in a bowl and beat on medium speed for 2 minutes. Be sure to scrape down the bowl after one minute. Add the rum, vanilla, and flavor to the batter and beat at low speed for another minute.

Spritz a 10- to 12-cup Bundt pan with cooking spray. Sprinkle on the pecan or almond flour and turn the pan to coat evenly. Set aside. Pour the batter into the prepared pan and spread level with a spatula.

Bake the cake for 45 to 55 minutes. When done, the cake will test clean on a cake tester.

Leave the cake in the pan to cool slightly while you make the soaking syrup.

In a medium-sized saucepan combine the syrup ingredients, except vanilla. Bring to a rapid boil then reduce to a simmer and cook for about 5 to 8 minutes, until the syrup thickens slightly. Remove from the heat and stir in the vanilla.

Use a long skewer to poke holes all over the cake. Pour about 1/4 cup of the syrup over the cake (still in the pan). Allow the syrup to soak in, then repeat again and again until all the syrup is used.

Cover the pan loosely with plastic wrap and allow the cake to sit overnight at room temperature to cool completely and soak in the syrup. When ready to serve, loosen the edges of the cake and invert onto your serving plate. If the cake won’t release, place it in the oven, turn the oven to 350°F, and warm for 5 to 10 minutes, to soften the syrup. Remove from the oven, and tip the cake onto the serving plate.

Serve with hot coffee or tea. The cake is very moist, fragrant and potent. Wrap securely (or place under a cake cover) and store at room temperature for several days. Freeze for longer storage, up to 1 month.

NOTE: For my smaller bundt cakes, I reduced the baking time to about 30-35 minutes.