by David Riel

Created on: December 17, 2009

Got Rum?

Rum cake is a Christmas tradition in my family, right up there with decorating the Christmas tree, wrapping presents, and trying to light the Yule log.  I won’t go so far as to say rum cake is my favorite part of Christmas, but it’s pretty darn close to my favorite.

In the very unlikely event you have any of this rum cake left over after the Christmas Holidays consider yourself fortunate indeed: the rum in it acts like a preservative.  It actually gets better with age. It keeps almost indefinitely when frozen.

It’s also a wonderful gift cake.  You can mail it – even overseas - without worrying about it drying out. 

Despite its wonderful flavor and other attributes it’s quite easy to make and only takes me about half an hour (a better cook would take a few minutes less.  Here’s the recipe then for our family’s Christmas rum cake, which has been part of our family’s Christmas tradition for at least half a century.

Christmas Rum Cake

Cake Ingredients:

1 cup chopped toasted pecans

1 package yellow cake mix (18.5 oz)

1 package instant vanilla pudding mix (3.25 oz)

4 eggs

1/2 cup cold water

1/2 cup vegetable oil

1/2 cup dark Jamaican rum

Glaze Ingredients:

1/2 cup butter

1/4 cup water

1 cup cane sugar

1/2 cup dark Jamaican rum

Use a 12 cup Bundt pan and grease and flour it. Line the bottom with the pecans. Beat all cake ingredients for 2 minutes with an electric mixer at top speed.  Pour into Bundt pan and place in pre-heated 325 degree oven for 1 hour.

To make the glaze melt the butter in a sauce pan and then stir in the water and sugar.  Boil for about 5 minutes stirring to keep it from sticking.  Take it off the heat and pour in the rum.

When cake is cool, remove it from the pan by inverting it onto a plate, punch holes in the cake with a fork, and pour on the glaze. Pour the glaze on the cake slowly giving the cake a chance to absorb it. The holes help the glaze to seep down into the cake and soak into it.

You’ve done it!  Remember, this Christmas rum cake will keep forever so don’t eat it all at once.  Make it part of your Christmas holiday tradition for a happy, and very delicious, holiday. 

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