This easy Rum Cake Recipe is just like grandma used to make. With only seven ingredients, you can make this moist cake right at home!
Looking for the best homemade rum cake?
This easy recipe is like a piece of nostalgia. It’s light, fluffy, and flavorful, perfect for any time of the year. No need to wait for Grandma to make it.
The best dessert recipes are tried and tested. They come with notes and stains. They are on old, wrinkled sheets of paper that are small, like a Sunday morning in the kitchen. They are handed down from one generation to the next, like snickerdoodle cookies or carrot cake. This rum cake is no different, a special recipe that was passed down for generations. And with all those combined years of baking experience, it’s down right perfect.
What Is Rum Cake?
Think grandma came up with the infamous pound cake? Well, that’s not exactly the case. Rum cake actually originated in the Caribbean islands during the 18th century when British colonists settled there. What started off as a bread pudding quickly became Caribbean rum cake, reminiscent of the rum cake your grandma makes.
Similar to pound cake, rum cake is made with an insane amount of eggs, eight to be exact. The eggs add fat to the batter, creating an incredibly moist, dense cake that melts in your mouth, like this olive oil cake. The only difference between rum cake and pound cake is the rum. Basically, rum cake is pound cake but with rum added.
Why you’ll love this recipe
This recipe is perfect for so many reasons. One, it’s easy to make. Two, it’s delicious. And three, it brings a wave of nostalgia over you with every bite.
Ingredients
- Unsalted butter
- Sugar
- Eggs: This recipe uses 8 eggs, resulting in a super fluffy cake.
- All-purpose flour: Provides structure.
- Rum: Provides the rum flavor. We used dark rum for this recipe, but light rum would also work.
- Almond extract
- McCormick Pure Vanilla Extract
How to Make Rum Cake
First, preheat the oven to 350 degrees F and grease either an angel food cake pan or three loaf pans with nonstick baking spray. In the bowl of your stand mixer with the paddle attachment, cream the butter and 2 cups sugar on high speed until light and fluffy, which takes about 1 – 2 minutes. Remember to scrape down the sides as needed.
Next, add the egg yolks one at a time, mixing until combined. In a separate bowl, whisk together the rum, almond, and McCormick vanilla extract. Now, add the flour alternating with the rum mixture to the butter in three batches, starting and ending with the flour. Set this mixture aside.
In another clean bowl, whisk the egg whites with a whisk attachment over high speed. Gradually sprinkle in the remaining 1 cup sugar and beat until soft peaks form. Gently fold the butter batter into the egg whites until no streaks remain.
Then, pour the cake batter into the prepared bundt pan and bake in the preheated oven until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. This will take about 1 hour and 20 minutes for an angel food pan and 55-60 minutes for loaf pans. Let the cake cool in the pan for 20 minutes before turning it out onto a cooling rack. Once turned out, let it cool completely before serving.
Expert Recipe Tips
- Beating the yolks and whites separately is the key to creating the perfect cake. Make sure you don’t skip this step.
- Feel free to leave out the almond extract if you’re not a fan.
- Do not overbake the cake, as this will result in a dry consistency. To prevent overbaking, we recommend baking a few minutes under the baking time, adding more time as needed. As always, use a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake to check for doneness.
- Make sure the wet ingredients are at room temperature so they incorporate more easily into the batter.
How to Store Leftovers & Reheat
Store leftover rum cake in an airtight container on the counter for up to 10 days. The rum acts as a preservative, allowing the cake to sit out for longer than other cake recipes.
To reheat, place a piece of cake in the microwave for 10 seconds.
What to Serve with this Delicious Rum Cake
Since the rum basically bakes out of the cake, you can always pair the cake with hot buttered rum to keep your spirits high (literally). A glass of cold milk will also pair nicely for those who don’t want to get too boozy.
Recipe FAQs
We recommend a dry white rum like Bacardi Gold for this recipe. It has a smooth flavor without the overpowering molasses notes. If you prefer a spicier cake, you can always use Captain Morgan Spiced Rum or Bacardi Black Rum. If you want more Caribbean vibes, Meyers’s Original Dark Rum is a great choice.
Absolutely! If you want an extra kick of sweetness, you can make a simple glaze with powdered sugar and milk to drizzle over the top.
Yes! Use 1 teaspoon of rum extract instead of rum.
Rum Cake
AmericanIngredients
- 1 lbs unsalted butter - softened
- 3 cups sugar - divided
- 8 eggs - at room temp, separated
- 3 cups flour
- 1/3 cup rum
- 2 tsp almond extract
- 2 tsp McCormick Pure Vanilla Extract
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Grease an angel food cake pan, or three loaf pans.
- In the bowl of your stand mixer, fitted with the paddle attachment, cream the butter and 2 cups sugar on high speed until light and fluffy, about 1 – 2 minutes. Scrape down the sides as needed.
- Add the egg yolks one at a time, mixing until combined.
- In a bowl, whisk the rum, almond, and McCormick vanilla extract together.
- Add the flour alternating with the rum mix to the butter in three batches, beginning and ending with the flour. Set aside.
- In another clean bowl, whisk the egg whites with a whisk attachment over high speed. Gradually sprinkle in the remaining 1 cup sugar. Beat until soft peaks form.
- Gently fold the butter batter into the egg whites until no streaks remain.
- Pour the cake batter into the prepared pan(s) and bake until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, about 1 hour 20 minutes for an angel food pan, or 55-60 minutes for loaf pans.
- Let cool in pan 20 minutes before turning out. Cool completely and serve.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutritional informations provided as a courtesy and is only an approximatation. Values will changes based on ingredients used.
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Whether it’s a special occasion or a random day of the year, this easy cake will hit the spot. If you can’t get your hands on grandma’s rum cake until the holidays, this rum cake recipe is the next best thing. If you try this recipe, please rate the recipe card and leave a comment down below to help out the next reader!
Love the hand me down recipes. The ingredients are simple and the quality of them shine through. Our family recipe is a pound cake that we serve with fresh fruit. Those that ask for the recipe think I’m holding something back from them, but they don’t use the quality vanilla which makes all the difference.
I love making a pound cake with a lemon glaze on top #FlavorStory.
I love this recipe so much!! So yummy – and lovely for Mother’s Day!
I too remember my grandma and mom always having a bottle of quality vanilla extract in their spice cupboards when I baked with them. I enjoy being frugal but I will not skimp on the really good vanilla extract because it really does make a difference in taste.
my boyfriend’s mom always gives me homemade vanilla extract!:)
My favorite flavor is Vanilla — I have several different types of vanilla that I use to make cakes, cookies, puddings and other desserts for my #FlavorStory
Digicats {at} Sbcglobal {dot} Net
Growing up, I only knew of McCormick’s vanilla extract. My parents never bought the imitation stuff. To this day, I only bake with real vanilla extract. I foresee my future children learning to bake with the same real ingredients as the tradition gets passed down from generation to generation. #FlavorStory
When you make a dessert, you do it SO well! Nothing better than a simple bundt cake…quality ingredients make all the difference. My family would love this…they never refuse my offer to bake a cake.