Rum Cake

This rum pound cake was one of my late mother's favorite desserts. It was a recipe that I picked up during my many visits to Puerto Rico, and it became a monthly treat for our family. 

Instead of sweetening this all-butter cake only with sugar, I started adding a good portion of honey to complement the aged rum's heady flavor.

It’s loved in our family because it has one of the most delicate crumbs of any cake I make, it's fairly easy to make, and I usually have all of its ingredients on hand. Try it and I'm positive it will become a favorite in your home too.

How to Make Rum Cake

The key to creating that delicate (or tender) crumb I mentioned earlier is properly mixing the fat and sugars together to develop small air cells. These cells provide the rum cake's texture and give it a little bit of rise.

Because too much gluten makes cakes tough, using cake flour is ideal. It's low in gluten and it minimizes the chance of us developing too much of it while mixing the cake batter.

The cake flour and baking powder are sifted 3 times to aerate the flour and combine them. Aerating the flour helps create a cake that bakes up lighter and fluffier. The wet and dry ingredients are added alternately to create a harmonious balance between normally unmixable fat and liquid. Take your time, and don’t rush. It’s worth it.

Remove the cake from the oven when just a few crumbs stick to a toothpick inserted into the middle of the cake, which usually takes just under an hour.

Pour part of the butter-rum syrup over the cake as soon as it comes out of the oven. The cake is more apt to soak up the syrup while its hot, without growing soggy and the syrup caramelizes ever so slightly when it hits the hot pan. The remaining syrup is poured after you remove the cake from the pan. You can also reserve it to pour on just before serving the cake.

Why Use Honey in Rum Cake? 

I started adding honey to this Rum Cake because it was just so darn tasty. I mean, is there a better reason than that? 

But, whenever I was out of honey and made it with just sugar, I realized that honey, an invert sugar, helps retain moisture in the cake, making it super moist. So, even more reason to add it. Not only does it keep the cake moist longer, but the flavor of the honey also complements the caramel, oaky notes of the rum.

I use regular honey, but feel free to experiment with different honey flavors. Wildflower, salted, or even spiced honey would add a more unique flavor to this cake. 

 Tips and Tricks for Making Rum Cake

Here are a few tips and tricks for you to make the best cake possible!

• Use a baking spray that contains flour to make greasing and releasing your pan easier. 
• A 12-15 cup Bundt pan is perfect for this recipe. 
• Grease the measuring cup with the butter wrapper to prevent the honey from sticking.
• Use a rum that you would drink in a cocktail. Though I've indulged in my fair share of gut-rot rums, this isn't the recipe to use a bottom-shelf rum in. 
• Turning the cake out of the pan 5 minutes after removing it from the oven is key to avoiding patches on the exterior of your cake. 

Can Kids Eat Rum Cake? 

This cake isn't completely alcohol-free, but it's on par with vanilla extract's alcohol content. Burning off alcohol at the beginning and baking the cake helps reduce a percentage of alcohol. That said, the flavor will be left behind, so that's something to consider if you plan to serve it to children or to someone abstaining from alcohol. 

Be careful when igniting the rum. I light mine with a long-stemmed lighter or a long matchstick. Keep cabinets, hair, clothing, or body parts clear of the flame as well. 

Because you lose some liquid volume while burning off the alcohol, this recipe calls for  more than is used in the actual cake and syrup. If you don't plan to burn off any of the alcohol, decrease the amount of rum to 1 1/2 cups. If you don’t, the cake batter will not only taste boozier, but it will be runnier, which could lead to a longer bake time.

Swaps and Subs

Rum Cake is easy to adapt to what what you have on hand. Here are a few ideas to make this recipe work for you.

• You can omit the honey altogether and use 1 1/2 cups of granulated sugar. The finished cake won't be as moist, though.
• Use gold, dark, or spiced rum in place of the aged rum for alternative rum flavors. 
• If you don't have cake flour, make your own at home:
• Measure 3 1/2 level cups (448g) of all-purpose flour into a bowl
• Add 1/2 cup (60g) of cornstarch into the same bowl
• Sift the all-purpose flour and cornstarch together with the baking powder
• If you don't have salted butter to use in the butter-rum syrup, just use unsalted butter and add a 1/2 teaspoon of salt to the pot with the liquids.
• You can also omit the salt altogether. The taste may be a little bland, but it won’t be a massive difference.

Ways to Enjoy Rum Cake

• For something fancier, lightly toast slices of this cake in a pan with a little butter and serve it sprinkled with toasted coconut and a drizzle of pineapple jelly.
• A favorite way to serve this cake is as a sundae: topped with a scoop of vanilla ice cream, warm dulce de leche, and whipped cream.
• Plain is never too plain when it comes to this cake. I highly recommend enjoying it as is. 

How to Store Rum Cake

The great thing about this rum pound cake is that it doesn't require refrigeration. In fact, I don't recommend putting it in the fridge at all since it makes the cake stale faster. Keep it at room temperature for 3 days covered by a cloche (cake dome) or wrapped in plastic film. 

You can also wrap the cooled cake (or any leftovers) really well and freeze it for 2 months.

More Irresistible Pound Cake Recipes

• Vanilla Pound Cake
• Lemon Pound Cake
• Lemon Blueberry Ricotta Pound Cake
• Mrs. Adams’ Delicious Pound Cake
• Marmalade Pound Cake