Mom's Rum Cake

Instead of poking holes in the cake, I poured the glaze into the Bundt pan and merely reinserted the cake into the pan allowing it to absorb all of the glaze. Took about an hour to do so.

I have to say I have been using this recipe for two years and have gained some noteriety for it. Whenever there is a bake sale or picnic I am asked to bring the rum cake. In fact it fetched $130 at a cake auction ! The glaze is the trickiest part but just keep sttirring and it will thicken. The nuts at the bottom of the cake become soaked with the glaze and many people have told me that is their favorite part. If you like rum- you will LOVE this cake ! YOu can always cut back on the rum in the glaze a bit if you don't like a real strong rum taste. Most of the rum cooks off though, so don't worry about getting drunk by eating this cak.

This recipe is the best after trying several others. I took not of others suggestions and left the cake in the pan to pour the glaze over and let it soak into the cake. I also used fewer pecans than called for and added about a 1/4 cup brown sugar in the bottom of the pan before pouring the batter in. Finally, do not let the glaze cook too long. It will burn and/or turn to sticky candy. 5 minutes is sufficient on med/high heat! You can not beat this recipe!

I have to say I have been using this recipe for two years and have gained some noteriety for it. Whenever there is a bake sale or picnic I am asked to bring the rum cake. In fact it fetched $130 at a cake auction ! The glaze is the trickiest part but just keep sttirring and it will thicken. The nuts at the bottom of the cake become soaked with the glaze and many people have told me that is their favorite part. If you like rum- you will LOVE this cake ! YOu can always cut back on the rum in the glaze a bit if you don't like a real strong rum taste. Most of the rum cooks off though, so don't worry about getting drunk by eating this cak.

This recipe was "the bomb"(meaning great). I followed it exactly to the "tee" and it came out perfect. It looks like a lot of people had trouble with the glaze however, it will come out great but you must dissolve the water and sugar first then add the butter. I split the sugar half brown, half regular and added a teaspoon of vanilla. This cake had a lot of compliments...whew lord, I have a dinner date tonight and I am baking one to take along. I am sure that I will get my man.

Thanks Laura for sharing your Mom's very tasty rum cake! I mistakenly added the rum glaze to the bottom of the cake instead of the top. When I turned the cake upright onto a platter, I realized my mistake. I felt I should redeem myself by making more glaze for the top of the cake or no one would be able to taste the rum. Well, obviously doubling the glaze is not necessarily a bad thing, because I had more compliments on that cake than any other I've ever made! Several friends asked if they could take a slice home. I refrigerated my leftover slice and had it the next morning with my coffee. YUM! I liked it even better when it was cold. Yes, I'll be making this one again.

I used the glaze recipe from this one, as I had already made a yellow cake from scratch. YUM, was this wonderful!!! I reduced the amount of glaze that I allowed to absorb into the cake, and with the glaze I reserved, I spooned onto individual servings of the cake. It was fantastic and I will definitely be making this again :)

This is such a wonderful Rum Cake! Seriously, it rose 50% more than others that I've tried. I took the advice of another reader and poured the glaze into the tube pan and returned the semi-cooled cake to that same pan. What a great method and all of that delicious rum glaze was absorbed by the cake. FANTASTIC!

A good gift for a hostess or to take to a dinner! However, the recipe is incorrect as written. This is the Bacardi Rum Cake recipe word for word except they are using the wrong amount of butter which is why it's too thin. It's 8 TBS (1 stick) of butter in the glaze, not 3 TBS. Also, just pour the glaze over the cake while it is still in the pan and it will soak into the cake in 5 mins. Invert onto a cake plate and it's done.

I took this to an office party and it went so fast. I used 160 proof spiced rum. Created holiday spirit for sure.

I dont usally go through the trouble and time for reviews but everyone needs too try this one. I actually received the receipe from a girl at work whos grandma makes it all the time. I to wasnt sure about the glaze. That is why I looked it up here. Did I add to much water? It seemed to make to much and I was worried about it becoming soggy so I added only half. Now that I have the official receipe I will make it accordngly. Once again this is the best cake we have tried so far.

I tried to find faults with this cake since it was so easy, but no luck. I used 70 proof spiced rum which kept the alcohol from being overpowering, and added a aromatic Caribbean flavor to the cake. Rum=Good, Cake=Good, This Rum Cake=The Best!

Good recipie, however, the glaze instructions were a bit unclear. If you cook the glaze too long, you get candy! Also, the instructions don't tell you that the cake get 1/2 cup water and the glaze 1/4. It also says the nuts should be on the top, however, the bottom of the Bundt pan (where the nuts are) is the top. These seemingly minor details tend to cause trouble for the novice cook! You also can add the rum to the glaze while it's reducing to cut the alcohol. Excellent recipe!

Born, raised and living in the US Virgin Islands, the rum cake is a big part of our culture. I was quite skeptical about this recipe. It just seemed too easy and simple. I made this yesterday and it is AWESOME! Tastes exactly like the ones I'm used too! I did add a half tsp of rum extract for extra flavor-wow! The glaze...well it was not a glaze. The sugar crystalized when I added the rum so it was thick and crumbly and the cake did not absorb most of it and still the cake was great. Next time I will add more butter and melt the sugar in it 1st and then add the water and lastly the rum. I think that should do it. This cake gets a 5 star from me!!

This cake is very moist and delicious. I substituted lemon cake mix for the yellow cake mix. For the glaze, I ran out of rum so, I used 1/4 of rum and 1/4 cup of orange juice, it turned out great!

I have been making this during the holidays for 20 years both for gifts and as a family favorite. Yellow cake mix with pudding already in the mix works just as well as the two separate parts. Usually I use Capt Morgan's rum, but have substituted Bacardi silver or gold. Either way, it's tasty.

I bought 1.5 oz pudding mixes because I didn't have this recipe on me to know what size so I just bought a bunch of the small ones. So I used two small packages of pudding (3 oz total) and even that was WAY too much. The batter is So thick! I was making a bunch of mini Rum Cakes so I wasn't planning on turning them upside down. Now I have to because the batter was so thick that the tops are ugly. No word on the taste yet. I'm sure they'll taste fine. But presentation was key for me this time because I was planning on giving them to co-workers as gifts for Christmas. LESS PUDDING! I'd make more with less pudding but "The Rum's Gone!" Planning on maybe cutting off the tops and turning them upside down? But I don't have pretty paper plates to give them out on... I'll figure something out.

Very good base cake recipe. I was skeptical at first because the batter is very thick and I thought the cake would come out thick and dry, but it did not. The cake is very moist and light. And instead of 1/2 cup of spiced rum, I used 1 cup of spiced rum. The cake has more kick and you can smell the rum, and really taste the rum flavor. I placed sliced almonds in the bottom of the pan instead of pecans. The glaze is the weakest link of this recipe. It is too watery. Instead I used West Indian Cream Rum Liqueur (like Bailey's) and I added the sugar and butter, and sliced almonds to thicken up the glaze and then I let it cool. I it added after I took the cake out of the pan and let it cool.

As a non-alcoholic drinker (I am allergic) I thought the rum was too strong, but got raves that the quantity of rum was 'just right.' Leftover cake was cut up in equal pieces for guests to take home. As for the glaze, I believe I found the solution. Initially, it's very runny, but if you remove the glaze from the stove for about 20 mins, it will thicken to a manageable consistency. I followed others in inverting the cake pouring the rum glaze over it, then let it sit 30 minutes and then flipped it over, and glazed the top, dusting with powdered sugar. I used a decorative mold and the cake turned out beautifully. Just be sure you spray the mold with cooking oil first, or the cake will stick.

I have been making this cake for 5 years and everyone always begs for more. My boss ask for this cake for her birthday every year and it is so good that I have to make one for her to share with the office and another one for her to take home to her family. Great receipe thank you so much for sharing.

This is a great recipe for sure! I still have a problem with the glaze. My husband's grandmother made this cake (same recipe) but her glaze hardened on the cake and it was DELICIOUS!! I can't get my glaze to harden. I follow the glaze directions to a T....any suggestions?

This is a wonderfully delicious cake. My daughter makes this cake. She began making it at 16 years old. She is 18 now. She has received orders for this cake from several of my coworkers. My daughter has discovered that the cake has the best flavor and moisture when you USE PILLSBURY CAKE MIX and Myers's Original Dark 100% Fine Jamaican Rum.

This is the same recipe my mom has been making for years. Perfect in every way. I added 3/4 cup of Rum to the glaze mix and depending on your oven, baking time may be shorter than 1 hour. Perfect and moist to the last piece and easily freezable.

I make this every Christmas, and it never lasts long. Great recipe, I follow it exactly and it always works. Thanks for posting!!

I do love this cake recipe and have finally mastered the glaze! Like others have mentioned, you have to get it to a boil before you pour on cake. I usually boil for 5 minutes and it comes out fantastic!

It's good enough for cake from a box but I don't understand all the reviews calling it awesome. The rum in the mix isn't strong enough to really flavor the cake leaving all the rum taste concentrated in the glaze.

Best Rum cake recipe out there. This is so moist. At first i thought it called for too much rum but after tasting it, it was perfect to say the least. Everyone raved about it. The pecans really add the flavor too. I followed the recipe in detail & didn't change one thing. Just can't say enough. Wish i could rate it 10 stars!!

This cake was easy and delicious. I've been holding on to it for a couple of years but decided to channel my inner Julia and make it. I used a pineapple cake mix because every knows you can't go wrong with pineapple and rum.

Made this and it didn't turn out so great. Tasted like yellow cake mix with rum. Oh wait, that's what it is.

Very moist and good! I think I would add more rum in the batter next time.

I made this cake during the holidays. After "sampling" several pieces I took the rest in to work, and it was gone within 5 minutes! A woman there who is "known" for her rum cake emailed me to tell me that she thought this was better than hers! I like having a lot of glaze, so I doubled the glaze recipe and spooned it over the individual slices on the second day when I took it to work. YUMMY!

Isn't this the exact same recipe for Golden Rum Cake on this site?

Not to detract from the person who posted because my family has always thought of this as 'my' rum cake recipe too, but I got this exact recipe from a friend years ago and she said she originally got in from a Bacardi bottle. It IS the best Rum Cake ever and we too have enjoyed it for years. I always sprinkle the top with a little powdered sugar letting it fall over sides like 'snow', then I put 4-6 cherries on top using toothpicks and it makes a nice presentation.

So moist!

I made this in a 13 x 9 pan, dusted it with powdered sugar and took it to my church council meeting. It got rave reviews. The little bit that was left over went to work the next day, and was gone in a heartbeat. Delicious (and easy to make)

This rum cake was really great. It's best eaten right after you pour the glaze on. My neigbors devoured it!

This cake is awesome, I have the same recipe only I use a butter pecan cake mix, every time I take this cake to an event, I am the most popular person in the room. Sherry

This was a big hit at our Thanksgiving feast! It will be a new tradition at our house!

Delicious!!!! is all I have to say.

This is an excellent recipe. I was given this same exact recipe years ago, and continue to make it every Christmas - for my family and for gifts. I am always asked to write down the recipe!! ENJOY!!!

I made this for Super Bowl Sunday and it was a huge hit. The only thing I did differently was I let the cake cool in the pan while a made a batch of glaze. I poked some holes in the cake and poured half the glaze on it. After it soaked in, I turned the cake onto a pan, poked holes in the top and poured the rest of the glaze over it. At that point I decided to make another batch of glaze, poured half of it into the pan, reinserted the cake and poured the other half over the cake. This way the glaze soaked through the cake evenly. I will be making this again............soon. :-)

This rum cake came out just wonderfully. It was my first rum cake, made while hosting my first holiday, so I was more than a little nervous. I attempted the glaze 3 times, and each time I ruined it. It must either be a very fine art, or I'm a clutz, though my boyfriend couldn't do it either. We were so worried about the warning that it might make the cake mushy if not done right, so we abandoned the glaze and simply topped the cake with powdered sugar, and it was so rich and perfect I can't imagine it being any better! We used a bundt pan instead of a tub pan, and it was a big hit!

Thanks for sharing this absolutely yummy, easy recipe!

Cake is by far everyone's favorite. I have been making it for over a year now and finally thought I should chime in. I too had much problems with the glaze getting runny as soon as you add the rum. Many reviews suggested putting the cake back into the pan and pouring the glaze over it and letting that soak in for an hour. Well it worked! I finally have a cake with a nice hard glaze on the outside just like my MIL always made it. Thank you all so much for you reviews!

I've made this rum cake (without pecans though) at least 10 times. It's absolutely wonderful, my family goes crazy over it. I've experimented with different liquors as well (lemoncello with lemon cake mix and baily's irish cream with chocolate cake mix), it turned out great. Still, rum cake rocks! Thank you for sharing it.

moist and wonderful cake, as good as you get when down in the Carribean. But instead of 3 Tablespoons of butter in the glaze, try 8 Tablespoons of butter! (With 3 T. of butter in the glaze, it would cristilize!)

Soooooo moist and the rum is very mild.I haven't done the glaze quite right yet,but it doesn't matter...it always tastes wonderful!! 6 stars if I could!!

Great recipe! although the glaze was a bit difficult to make, so I would def. opt out from that the next time around. It definitely tasted like a rum cake and it wasn't too sweet or too strong, just right! the cake was moist yet took longer to bake than expected.

" Allow cake to sit at room temperature for one day then refrigerate." YEAH RIGHT!! I have 4 teenagers they and their friends smell it!!! Awesome cake, easy to make. Haven't met anyone that doesn't like this cake.

Smelled SO GOOD! Loved this recipe - made 2 small ones out of this recipe for a bake sale at school.

Really good-followed directions exactly. Thought I did something wrong when I added the rum to the glaze because it got so thin but poured into bottome of bundt pan like others and put cake back in to soak. The top was strong but good!!

This is a great & tasty rum cake recipe. BUT it isn't an original! This is the EXACT same recipe that's on the back of the Bacardi rum bottle and in their cookbook. It's been around for years! And I have been making it for years. So this is basically Bacardi's rum cake recipe with another name attached!

I made this for the first time and brought it to a New Year's Eve party. I didn't have any dark rum so I used the coconut rum I had on hand. It was absolutely fabulous! I brought Cool Whip to serve with it, but no one wanted it as it was great by itself! Thank you for sharing the recipe. It's definitely a keeper.

This rum cake is exceptional! It is moist and delicious. It turned out great and there were no leftovers! Next time I'm going to try coconut rum!

I have long been in search for the perfect rum cake recipe, similar to the one my great aunt used to make when i was little. This one was it. It was so good and moist. I shared half with some neigbors, they called that very night to get the recipe. I will definately make this one again. Thank you so much for submitting this recipe!

Not only is this recipe super easy and very good, it must be nearly foolproof! I had no tube pan, but it puffed up fine in my shallow cake pan and in cupcake tins. I coconut pudding instead of the vanilla; it makes a colada flavor. I couldn't even make the glaze, and wound up just adding some rum to a butter cream icing, and it's *still* terrific- and easy enough to be a regular recipe.

was very dry; not like Mary Nortons. She used more butter, maybe 1/2 cup (1stick)in the syrup. Mary's cake had a plate full of syrup after it was turned over.

This was an easy recipe. I used a 10" bundt pan. I also put brown sugar on bottom with the pecans. However, mine stuck to the bottom.Next time, I will use parchment paper and regular tube pan. I also used coconut pudding instead of vanilla. Great recipe. No one could believe it was from a cake mix.

I got excellent compliments on this cake!! It came out so pretty too. I did do one thing different and used powdered sugar and 8 tbls of butter. I also added a little vanilla in the cake mix and cut the rum a little in the glaze.

This rum cake is spectacular the only difference is that for the glaze I split the white sugar with an equal part of brown sugar and added a tsp of vanilla to make it richer.

Excellent!! This cake is so moist and delicious. I baked it for my family and took the little bit that was left over to work and everyone raved about it. Thanks Laura!!

Good cake ... liked the heavy moist texture. My glaze worked well ... cooked it till it thickened to almost a paste, but, sure enough, the minute I added the rum, it was total liquid. I let it sit for about 5 minutes, which allowed it to thicken a little, and then poured very slowly over the cake. As it cooled, used a pastry brush several times to brush the glaze over the cake, and it was perfect. Left it covered in a very cold garage for 24 hours to "age", and then served for an adult pirate party ... while most of us aren't rum drinkers, we all enjoyed this cake!

I followed the recipe to the T. The cake turned out very moist and was very pretty. I found the vanilla to be dominant flavor w/ a hint of rum. The glaze was very nice. Thank you for the recipe.

I remember my mother making rum cakes when I was young and I am pretty sure that this is the recipe she used. I lifted the cake a bit and poured some of the glaze into the bottom of the pan and then reinserted the cake. I also took a thin wooden skewer and made holes in the top of the cake so the glaze could seep in. I loved the flavor of the rum, but the finished product still tasted like a boxed cake mix to me. I think the glaze would be fabulous on a good homemade yellow cake such as David’s Yellow Cake, one of my favorite cakes from this site.

This is FANTASTIC! I double the rum in the sauce part to give it a little extra "kick". People are always asking for the recipe. It's a great holiday treat!

Loved this! Had several people tell me that it was one of the best cakes they had ever eaten. I left out the pecans though.

I made this cake some time ago but just now getting around to making my review. This cake was delicious. My mom used to make it and when I came across this recipe I had to bake it for myself. I followed the easy steps to the tee with and exception on the glaze. I made the recommended amount of glaze however I did not pour all of it on my cake for fear that it would be soggy. I did pour about half on but I recommend pouring all of the glaze on the cake. I did have the rum taste (I used a dark Jamaican rum) but it was a very light. Next time I will use all of the glaze. Thanks for the recipe.

Just perfect. Didn't change a thing.

This is a keeper.. This is my go to recipe..

This cake is so moist. I thought the cake tasted much better the second day than the first day.

Recipe itself is very good -. I messed up on the glaze & cooked it too long so it got really thick. Also only used 1/4 cup of rum in glaze as I did not want it to turn out too strong. You can taste/smell the rum in the cake so that turned out well. First time baking Rum Cake - will definitely try this again & hopefully get a better result. Thanks for sharing.

wonderful! delicious! couldn't wait 1 day to let "soak". can't wait to taste after it's been sitting for 1 day. only 1 suggestion: where it calls for white sugar, it should say powdered sugar. didn't work well with regular sugar.

yummy

This is a wonderful recipe. As a variation, I use Limoncello liqueur instead of rum in the cake and the glaze and add 1/3 cup lemon juice to the cake portion. It's a real hit at home and at work!

Fantastic cake - thanks for sharing.

I decided to use spiced rum, added coconut to the pecan topping and cinnamon to the glaze- the cake came out absolutely beautiful, fragrant and I sprinkled the fresh glaze with a little more coconut . My wife and mother in law took pictures before it went home as a gift to my MIL . This recipe is a definite repeat !

My 1st Rum cake. Hubby Loves them, so I made him one! It turned out PERFECT and is oh soooo good. This is a super easy cake to make and even better to eat. You can taste the rum and it is Moist. Thanks for a fab cake to add to my recipe box! It will be used many times...!

This is the perfect Rum cake recipe! I've made 2 in less than 5 days and will be making another tomorrow for my husband who can not stop eating it. The only thing I changed was, I added a few pecans in the batter and the glaze.

Hubby gave this a 5. I didn't have dark rum but will get some for next time. I think our rum was old. He couldn't stop eating it. I poked holes after taking out of over and cooling a bit. Doubled sauce, poured in holes (no longer than 15 minutes-it can get hard) flipped it on a cake pan - and brushed remaining sauce over cake letting it dry between layers. He says I need to make this very often. Thank you!!

The cake turned out delicious - very moist. There must be a real trick to this glaze. I tried making it two times and each time I ended up with sugar candy crystals. Next time to make I plan to try previous suggestion by pouring glaze in bottom of cake pan and placing the cake back into bundt pan to soak up the glaze. Great idea!

I substituted yellow cake for golden vanilla and used white chocolate pudding mix... mmmmm... this was good. Only complaint I got was "more rum please!" Next time I'll use 1 1/2 cups or 2 cups and a little more glaze.

This disappeared when I made it for our Friday night dinner at our American Legion post. Even though I didn't try it (had already had enough sweets yesterday), it looked tasty and I'll be making it again. I used what was left of our Bacardi rum. Since I was making it to go with dinner, I used a 13 x 9 pan instead of the called-for Bundt pan, figuring it might go further, be easier to slice, too. And I substituted walnuts for the pecans. I had a little trouble getting the glaze to thicken, especially after adding the rum, even though I cooked it for the recommended 5 minutes. It didn't seem to be thick enough so I put it back on the heat for a couple minutes, then went ahead and spooned it over the cake, which I left in the pan, after poking holes in it with my metal cake tester. Also used half brown sugar and half white for the glaze. Will definitely be making this again so my husband & I can try it. Thanks, Laura, for sharing. -Judy

I had trouble figuring out if the glaze was actually done--it seemed to take awhile. Then it seemed like there was too much so I only poured half on cake to prevent sogginess. The cake was very good and very moist.

I had a problem with the glaze. I cooked it until very thick, but it thinned to almost like water when I added the rum. I let it cool a bit before I put it over the cake. I used a hint that I read about pouring part of the glaze in the pan and putting the cake back in the pan to soak up the glaze. I ened up with the pecans on top and I spooned the rest of the glaze over it. No matter what, it was a big hit......everyone loved it!

Come out beautifully. I have trouble draining the glaze into the cake (I use toothpick to poke holes, maybe I need to make larger holes). I wonder if I can use other liquors besides rum to make it taste more alcoholic?

This cake is FABULOUS. I DO NOT agree with the other review suggestions that you should pour the glaze into the pan and reinsert the cake. This leaves the top scrumptious and the bottom plain and boring. It probably would be easier to leave the cake in the pan, POKE HOLES, and pour over the bottom of the cake, but I don't think this would leave the top very "glazy" or pretty for presentation's sake. I think it's best just to stick with the glaze application as indicated in the recipe!

I would reduce the rum a little but other than that it was great.

Thanks so much for this recipe! I just made it yesterday for a 4th of July BBQ and everyone loved it! I think I've found my new potluck dish! ;)

The cake itself is very easy. The glaze I had a little trouble with but I know what I did wrong and will definately correct it next time. I have a habit of experimenting with recipes until I get it perfect. My husband will not object to my experimenting with this one as he loved the cake itself. Thank you so much.

Great recipe . My only change was to cut the glaze in half. Otherwise the cake can get too mushy especially the next day.

First time making rum cake and the cake itself turned out delicious and made my house smell heavenly! However, I "goofed" on the glaze. I thought I had it thick enough but when I poured the rum in, it liquified so I substituted with powdered sugar :o( Someone feel free to explain my error here...

SO MOIST! this cake never gets dried out, it's so moist and delicious, altho i did find that the glaze with the rum needs quite a while to soak in and mellow out, otherwise it tastes very alcoholy. i would even suggest putting no rum in the glaze but puttin a little more in the cake (less water). GREAT RECIPE ive been making some for all my neighbors

I used French Vanilla instant pudding and reduced the rum in the glaze to half. I had a problem with the glaze too - I must have boiled it too long because it crystallized when I added the rum. I whisked together as much as I could then strained the glaze and it was very tasty. We'll make again.

This cake is awesome! As for the glaze--I couldn't master it so I took some confectioner's sugar and stirred it together with a little rum & water and drizzled it over the top. Just as good. I had three pieces before the day was over. Thanks for a great recipe!

I've made this several times with great success. I've substituted lemon cake with orange cake as a change of pace. Very good.

Great taste, easy and loved by the whole family.

This was delicious! What's so funny is, when I was just sending it to friends and re-reading it, I realized I messed up the glaze (forgot the sugar!! LOL) and it was still SO delicious! Thanks so much! Yummy!

This Cake was a HIT at my office Party. Thanks!!!! My staff loved it, I made two and they were gone in 25-30 minutes.

Yum I have made this before many times and it is soo good. dont change a thing its awesome just as is.