Rum Cake brings me back to my childhood. There is a sweet lady, Ms. Helen, who I used to go to church with and she would always make a delicious Rum Cake for church bake sales and just about anytime people asked. She NEVER made just one, either!
Her rum cake was one that I have never forgotten. Although Ms. Helen has gotten older and is now in a full time nursing care facility, I remember the many dinners we had at her house with her and her sweet husband Sid.
Oh the memories, the sweet memories. Sid and Helen were like grandparents to me. You see, as a child I didn’t live near my grandparents. We would see them around holidays or special occasions.
I am in my 30s now and all of my grandparents passed away either before I was born, when I was a young child or in my 20s. My Granny passed away in my 20s, she was the last living grandparent for me.
Ms. Helen and Mr. Sid would have our family over for dinner and she was an amazing cook. Sid and Helen were SO hospitable and always wanted to fill our plates with more and more food.
Of course, there was always a dessert. She knew how much we loved her rum cake, so she’d have that a lot of the time, too! Oh man, how I miss that rum cake.
More Dessert Recipes
- Key Lime Cupcakes – A Burst of Summertime!
- Strawberry Cupcakes
- A Spoonful of Sugar Cake Pops
- Pineapple Upside Down Cake Sweet Rolls
- Homemade Cookies N Cream Ice Cream
- Cranberry White Chocolate Chip Cookies
Grandma’s Rum Cake
This recipe for rum cake has to be the closest one that I can find to Ms. Helen’s. It is SO super moist and flavorful. You’ll want double to the recipe as one won’t be enough!
Ingredients Needed for Grandma’s Rum Cake
- Yellow cake mix
- Vanilla instant pudding
- Bacardi Rum
- Vegetable Oil
- Heavy cream
- Eggs
- Pretzel sticks
Tools & Other Materials Needed:
- Bundt Pan
- Crisco
- Flour
How to Make Grandma’s Rum Cake
First, you’ll want to grab your bundt pan and use the Crisco to oil it and then prep it with flour like you would a cake pan! This is very important so that your rum cake comes out of the pan easily!
Next, crush up the pretzels and sprinkle them in the bottom of the cake pan.
Grab your stand mixer and add the cake mixes into the bowl along with the vanilla pudding, and blend together.
Add the liquids – rum, oil, heavy cream and eggs. Mix until all ingredients are well blended. Scrape the sides of the bowl and ensure all is blended.
Pour this delicious batter into the bundt pans and bake the cake until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
Remove the cake to a wire rack, and allow to sit.
Place a cake plate over the top of the Bundt pan, and holding the pan with oven mitts, by the handles, flip the Bundt pan, turning the cake out onto the cake plate.
Yield: 8-10 servings
Prep Time: 5 minutes
Cook Time: 45 minutes
Additional Time: 10 minutes
Total Time: 1 hour
Grandma's Classic Rum cake is sure to please. This cake is super flavorful and moist, with just the right amount of rum flavor!
Ingredients
- 2 yellow cake mixes - see instructions
- 1 package of Vanilla instant pudding - 3.5 ounce
- 1/2 cup of Bacardi Rum
- 1/2 cup of Vegetable Oil
- 1/2 cup of heavy cream
- 4 large eggs
- 1 cup of crushed or broken Pretzel sticks - these go in the pan, not the cake - see instructions
Instructions
- Grease and flour a large Bundt pan: Use Crisco, or butter flavored Crisco to grease the pan, it makes a huge difference in the cake easily coming out of the pan. Flour the pan after greasing with Crisco - if there are any spots missed, go back over them with the Crisco, and flour again until the inside of the pan is covered.
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
- Crush or break into small pieces, Pretzel sticks, and sprinkle them in the bottom of the Bundt pan.
- In the mixing bowl of a stand mixer, place 1-1/2 of the boxes of cake mixes in the mixing bowl, along with the Vanilla pudding, and blend together.
- Add the Rum, Oil, heavy cream, and eggs, and mix on low until all ingredients are well blended. Turn mixer on high, and mix for 2 minutes.
- Turn off the mixer, and scrape the sides of the mixing bowl with a spatula, and blend into the cake batter.
- Pour the cake batter into the Bundt pan, on top of the crushed Pretzels, and place the pan in the oven.
- Bake the cake for 45 - 60 minutes.
- Bake the cake until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Remove the cake to a wire rack, and allow to sit in the pan for 5 to 10 minutes.
- Place a cake plate over the top of the Bundt pan, and holding the pan with oven mitts, by the handles, flip the Bundt pan, turning the cake out onto the cake plate.
Notes
When the original recipe was written, cake mixes were normally 18.5 to 22 ounces - some a little more. However; cake mixes bought today are only about 15 ounces, so you need to use 1 and 1/2 boxes to get the recipe ingredients correct.
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Nutrition Information:
Yield:
10Serving Size:
1
Amount Per Serving:Calories: 645Total Fat: 22gSaturated Fat: 6gTrans Fat: 1gUnsaturated Fat: 14gCholesterol: 94mgSodium: 915mgCarbohydrates: 97gFiber: 2gSugar: 49gProtein: 8g
This N That with Olivia, occasionally offers nutritional information for recipes contained on this site. This information is provided as a courtesy and is an estimate only. This information comes from online calculators. Although thisnthatwitholivia.com attempts to provide accurate nutritional information, these figures are only estimates.
Next you’ll want to make a delicious caramel glaze to add on top of this rum cake!! Here’s how:
Ingredients Needed for Caramel Glaze:
- Brown sugar
- Butter
- Heavy cream
- Powdered sugar
- Shredded coconut
How to Make Caramel Glaze
Melt the butter, and add the brown sugar. When the brown sugar melts, add the heavy cream, and vanilla, bring to a boil, stirring constantly, turn the heat to medium, and cook until the icing starts to thicken.
Add the powdered sugar, and coconut, and stir. (If the icing seems to thin, add a little more powdered sugar until you get the consistency you want)
Remove from heat, let frosting cool slightly, and frost cake immediately with icing. When icing sets, serve, and Enjoy!
Yield: 8-10 servings
Prep Time: 5 minutes
Cook Time: 5 minutes
Total Time: 10 minutes
This caramel glaze will finish off Grandma's Rum Cake perfectly! It is super easy to make and truly adds more sweet flavor to the cake.
Ingredients
- 2 cups of brown sugar
- 1/3 cup of butter
- 1/2 cup of heavy cream
- 1 teaspoon of Vanilla
- 1 cup of powdered sugar - plus more if needed
- 3/4 cup of shredded coconut
Instructions
- In a heavy saucepan, melt the butter, and add the brown sugar. When the brown sugar melts, add the heavy cream, and vanilla, bring to a boil, stirring constantly, turn the heat to medium, and cook for 4 - 6 minutes, or until the icing starts to thicken.
- Add the powdered sugar, and coconut, and stir. (If the icing seems to thin, add a little more powdered sugar until you get the consistency you want).
- Remove from heat, let frosting cool slightly, and frost cake immediately with icing. When icing sets, serve, and Enjoy!
Notes
You can enjoy the Rum Cake without this icing, but it truly makes the cake.
Add more powdered sugar if the icing is too thin.
Nutrition Information:
Yield:
10Serving Size:
1
Amount Per Serving:Calories: 306Total Fat: 12gSaturated Fat: 8gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 3gCholesterol: 30mgSodium: 80mgCarbohydrates: 50gFiber: 1gSugar: 49gProtein: 1g
This N That with Olivia, occasionally offers nutritional information for recipes contained on this site. This information is provided as a courtesy and is an estimate only. This information comes from online calculators. Although thisnthatwitholivia.com attempts to provide accurate nutritional information, these figures are only estimates.
Do you have a family recipe? I’d love to learn about it and the story behind it!! Leave it in the comments below.
Also, let me know when you try this delicious rum cake recipe. You’re going to love it.
