Rum Cake

Yo Ho Ho and a slice of rum! Yes, you can have your rum and eat it too. This cake is super moist and there is no mistaking the flavor. A total of 1 1/4 cups of dark rum is used in the recipe. It is similar to a pound cake in texture and has a topping of chopped pecans (or walnuts if you prefer).

A friend requested this cake for her birthday. I was delighted to make it and honored she wanted one of my cakes to have for her party. I surprised her with Cherry Cream Cheese Bites too. She loves cheesecake and I figured she would enjoy them in addition to the cake.

Baking the cake made me smile too. I always enjoy baking. One of my favorite parts is licking the beaters after I have put the dessert in the oven. You may or may not like raw batter or dough. I sometimes think it is better than the finished product. In this case I have to ask: Is licking the beaters from rum cake batter in the morning considered drinking before noon? The alcohol may burn off in the baking/cooking process but it is still there 100% in raw form and you can taste it for sure. Whooo!

The rum syrup adds more flavor and moisture to the cake. Take a look at this slice – now that is one moist piece of cake. Oh, and the photo is also featuring one of my German Sammeltassen (plate, cup, and saucer set). I love being able to use these beautiful pieces in my photos and blog.

The recipe is an adaption from two sources. One is from a recipe I cut out of a newspaper, I believe it was either the Atlanta Journal-Constitution or my local county paper. Unfortunately it was many years ago and what is in my recipe book is a copy of that clipping without the paper’s name on it. The other source is a recipe I cut from a Southern Living magazine in 2005 and it can be found on the MyRecipes website.

How do you store printed or clipped recipes? I have a big binder where I tape the recipe to copy paper and then put them into plastic sleeves. I also have it divided with tabs. It is an easy reference but my collection is growing and now I need to either separate into multiple binders or start a new system. Do you have any suggestions?

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Rum Cake

A moist homemade from scratch cake made with dark rum and pecans or walnuts.

Course Dessert

Cuisine American

Prep Time 10 minutes

Cook Time 1 hour 10 minutes

Total Time 1 hour 20 minutes

Servings 6 People

Author Renee

Ingredients

For the cake:

• 1 cup chopped pecans or walnuts
• 1 1/2 cups unsalted butter softened
• 1 1/2 cups sugar
• 3 large eggs
• 1 egg yolk
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 3/4 cup dark rum
• 3 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup heavy whipping cream at room temperature
• Rum syrup

For the rum syrup:

• 10 tablespoons butter
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 1/2 cup dark rum

Instructions

For the cake:

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Grease and flour a 10-inch tube pan. Sprinkle nuts over bottom of pan and set aside.
2. In a large bowl, beat butter and sugar at medium-high speed of an electric mixer until light and fluffy. Add eggs and yolk one at a time mixing well after each addition. Add vanilla and mix to combine. Gradually add rum beating until blended (batter will look curdled).
3. In a small bowl, stir together flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Add flour mixture alternately with whipping cream, beginning and ending with flour mixture. Pour batter into the prepared tube pan. Bake for 55 to 60 minutes or until a cake tester inserted in the center of the cake comes out clean.
4. Cool the cake in the pan on a wire rack for 15 minutes. Pierce cake multiple times using a metal or wooden skewer. Pour rum syrup over the cake. Let cake stand for 45 minutes. Remove cake from the pan and cool completely on a wire rack.

For the rum syrup:

1. Melt butter in a 2-quart saucepan over medium-high heat. Stir in sugar and rum. Bring to a boil, stirring constantly. Reduce heat to medium and cook 8 to 10 minutes, stirring often, until slightly thickened. Cool 10 minutes.

Recipe Notes

A moist homemade from scratch cake made with dark rum and pecans or walnuts.