Caribbean Rum Cake

Caribbean Rum Cake has a soft, tender crumb, delightful rummy flavor, and billowy coconut cream topping. It’s a slice of paradise!

Hi friends, – it’s been a while! I took an unintentional break from blogging and social media for most of July and half of August. It wasn’t a vacation- quite the opposite! It’s a busy time of year, where content creators are hard at work collaborating with brands for holiday content. I cannot wait to share all the things I’ve cooked up, baked up, and styled for spooky season, Thanksgiving, and beyond!

In the meantime, summer is still very present. This recipe fits right into this in-between time. It offers tropical flavors to help prolong the magic of summer. But, Caribbean Rum Cake is also a staple for the holiday season. You can find these cakes lining the shelves gourmet and specialty shops during November and December, because they are often gifted at Christmastime.

Historians suggest that the roots of rum cake can be traced back to the 18th century when British colonists established themselves on the islands. These settlers brought along a tradition of rum-soaked steamed Christmas puddings, which is believed to have laid the foundation for the rum cakes we know today. This, along with the fact that rum and sugar are great preservers, could be why it’s so popular at Christmas. (However, I’m game for a slice year-round!)

Reverse creaming.

First, we should talk about reverse creaming. Cake recipes usually begin with creaming butter and sugar together in a stand mixer. Not this one. For this technique, you beat the fat (in this case oil and butter) directly into all the dry ingredients until a dry, crumbly mixture is formed. Next, you beat in the liquid ingredients and magically, the sandy-cornmeal-y stuff turns into a thick, cohesive batter.

Why use this method? Cakes have a more velvety texture with reverse creaming, and they don’t rise quite as much during baking. This means you won’t have to level the cake before plating it.

Pudding in the mix.

This batter has instant pudding added to the dry ingredients. Don’t be tempted to skip this ingredient. I almost did due to lots of box mixes on the market using ‘pudding in the mix’ as a marketing ploy. It truly makes a huge difference in the softness and moistness of this cake. Texturally, it’s one of the best bundt cake recipes I’ve ever made.

Rum syrup.

Here’s the good stuff. It’s pretty much the standard for rum syrups, except I swapped in brown sugar for half of the white sugar in the recipe. This tastes really great along with the golden rum I used in the recipe. Speaking of rum! You can use plain rum, coconut rum, golden rum – but for the holidays spiced rum is where it’s at!

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Begin a day ahead.

After the syrup is cooked, poke holes in the cake. Then gradually pour the syrup over it. Lightly cover the cake with plastic wrap. Then let it stand overnight to infuse.

Toppings are optional.

Whip up some easy coconut flavored whipped cream for a summer-appropriate topping. This cake is delicious both cold and at room temperature. I added some shaved coconut, which makes it look extra tropical and it adds another layer of texture. You can find the dried coconut chips with edible brown rind that I used .

If you plan to serve or give this for the holidays, it needs no topping. However, a sprinkle of cinnamon-sugar for holiday spice and crunch is nice and the cake still travels well.

I’m so happy I made this cake, after years of it being on my (lengthy) baking bucket list. It’s a great recipe that I adapted from the trustworthy website – totally holiday worthy, and it’s not shy with the booze. However, if you’re avoiding alcohol but would still like to make this rum cake, see the recipe notes for a no-alcohol version made with rum extract.

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Source: http://feeds.feedburner.com/SprinkleBakes