This cake was a classic in my household growing up. Super easy to make, and always a crowd pleaser. Moist and…rum-a-licious? Rum was not made for mai-tai’s and Coke and BS drinks…it was made for this cake.

I decided to make this on Christmas Eve while visiting the future in-laws in Alaska. It’s   scary baking something in a kitchen that isn’t yours (wait…the kitchen in Bellevue isn’t even my own) but this cake is foolproof. Everyone loved it, and I think it tastes even better the next day after the rum has marinated into the cake and settled. Who doesn’t love that?

Recipe
Rum Cake
From Lulu…who adapted it from a 1980’s magazine ad. Retro, and still delicious after all these years.

Ingredients

• 1 Cup chopped pecans or walnuts (optional)
• 1 package yellow cake mix
• 1 (3 & 3/4 ounce) package Jello butterscotch instant pudding mix
• 4 eggs
• 1/2 Cup cold water (this is the part where you could possibly add 1/4 cup water and an extra 1/4 cup rum. If you want. boozy!)
• 1/2 Cup Vegetable oil/Canola oil
• 1/2 Cup Rum (80 proof Bacardi gold works great)

Glaze

• 1/4 cup (1/2 stick) of butter
• 1/4 Cup Water
• 1 Cup granulated sugar
• 1/2 Cup rum (80 proof)

Directions

Preheat oven to 325F.  Grease and flour a 10 inch tube or 12 cup bundt pan.  Sprinkle nuts over bottom of pan.
Mix all cake ingredients together with an electric mixer.  Pour batter over nuts.  Bake for 1 hour. Cool.  Invert cake on serving plate.
Prick top of cake and drizzle glaze over top and sides.  Allow cake to absorb glaze.  Repeat until glaze is used up.

Glaze:  Melt butter in saucepan.  Stir in water and sugar.  Boil 5 minutes, stirring constantly.  Remove from heat. Stir in rum.