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World’s Best Rum Cake

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This World’s Best Rum Cake is tender and moist, loaded with the delicious butterscotch taste of rum and topped with lots of buttery chopped pecans. It’s a delightful Holiday dessert and so easy to make.

If you could get tipsy from “Rum” cake… Mars and I would be in a stupor right now! That’s a lie…we’d be face down passed out on the floor! Cake Faced!

A delicious rum cake with nuts on top

I don’t throw words out like “World’s Best” unless I mean it!

I don’t profess to be an “expert” on “Rum Cake”… y’all know I don’t drink, and truthfully…this is the only one I’ve ever had. (I just lost all validity with you, didn’t I? Lol) BUT… I do know when I’ve had a great cake…and this is a GREAT cake! (Wipe that drool off your phone screen! Lol Wink, wink!) 

Slice of the Worlds Best Rum Cake topped with delicious pecans

I’ve had this cake recipe for years. There were some elements that I loved and some I wasn’t overly crazy about. I loved the cake! The original glaze…not so much so!

So I made a few changes. Which made a huge difference and added it to the “must have” list for the Holidays.

Let’s do this!

How To Make The World’s Best Rum Cake

Preheat the oven to 350°. Spray a bundt pan with Baker’s Pride, or grease and flour the pan. Place 1 cup of chopped pecans in the bottom of the pan.

Bundt pan sprayed with cooking sleep and pecans in the bottom of the pan

This cake begins with 1 yellow cake mix.  I ALWAYS use Duncan Hines. If you have to use a cake mix I firmly believe in using the best! Duncan Hines is the best in this chicks humble opinion.

Place the cake mix, and one small box (3.9 oz) of vanilla pudding into your mixer with the paddle attachment.

This is where my first change came into play. I added one box of the new Godiva White Chocolate Vanilla Bean Puddings into this cake. OH. MY. GOSH! It’s divine in this cake! Nuff said.

Cake mix in the mixer with wet ingredients

Add 4 eggs, 1/2 cup cold water, 1/2 cup vegetable oil, and 1/2 cup Baquardi Rum…80 proof. (I told you…face down on the floor! Lol) The original recipe calls for “dark Rum”… I had regular clear rum. It worked fine.

TIP: If you do NOT want the alcohol in the rum…you can bring it to a boil over medium heat, and it will cause most of the alcohol to evaporate…however…keep in mind that even Vanilla Extract has alcohol in it. Say WHAT? That’s right my friends. A minimum of 35%. (Put that vanilla down right now! Lol)

Mix all the cake ingredients together until smooth. Being careful not to over beat the cake. Too much air in cake batter can cause your cake to “fall” during baking.

cake batter in prepared bundt pan

Pour cake mixture into your prepared bundt pan, and place in preheated 350° oven.

Bake for 1 hour. Remove from oven and allow to cool, in the pan, for 1 hour.

Isn’t that a beautiful cake?! It rises spectacularly and smells heavenly! The texture is pure perfection! This is what a truly amazing bundt cake looks like my friends…and it’s so SIMPLE!

Rum cake baked and fresh out of the oven

Invert the cooled cake onto a cake plate. Poke holes around the top of the cake and down the sides, about half way.

Drizzle the buttery rum glaze over the top of the pecans and down onto the cake. The holes make it possible for that amazing glaze to seep down into the cake.

Cake on cake plate baked and with chopped pecans.

This is where my biggest change came into play. Like I said… I was never a fan of the original glaze with this cake. It was too thick and gloppy! (I’ve always wanted to use that word in a sentence! Lol

It didn’t need to be. A thick glaze is icky. The only reason it was thick… had to do with the cook times. I wanted a thinner glaze that would soak into the cake, but I didn’t want a soggy cake. The goal was a cake that was infused with a tantalizing marriage between cake and glaze.

I reduced the cook time and used “Rum” extract instead of another cup of Rum! (I didn’t want to supply Jack Sparrow’s habit!) 

Using a small sauce pan add 1/4 cup salted butter, and one cup sugar. In a 1 cup glass liquid measuring cup add 2 Tablespoons of Rum Extract, fill the remainder of the measuring cup with water to equal 1 cup.

Butter and Rum glaze for Rum cake

Bring the mixture to a low boil, stirring continually, until sugar is melted and sauce becomes slightly thickened.

Using a ladle, carefully drizzle 1/2 the hot glaze over the top of the cake, making sure to focus on those holes you poked in there earlier. Be sure to go slowly and watch it seep through the pecans.  It’s okay that some runs down the sides and onto the bottom. You just don’t want the base “swimming” in it.

Pouring Rum Glaze over Rum cake

Look how pretty the nuts are after you’ve poured that buttery rum glaze over the top of them. YUM! You can see the streaks of glaze running down the sides of the cake. There’s a touch of the glaze down in the center. That’s fine…we want the bottom to soak up a little too.

World's Best Rum Cake

I want you to see how tall and beautiful this cake is. It’s not a fancy cake…you could place a sprig of holly in the center to “gussy her up” a bit. I chose to let this cake just speak for itself.

It’s golden, buttery, and loaded with the flavors of rum…which mimics butterscotch.

If Harry Potter’s butter beer were going to be a cake…this would be it! (Maybe I should rename it? Naw!)

Delicious Worlds Best Rum Cake

Slice nice thick slices, reheat the remaining glaze, and drizzled it over the cake before serving.

I’m pretty sure I heard Angels singing when I took the first bite! Your guest will too!

big slice of Rum Cake ready to dig into

This cake is so moist that it melts in your mouth. Even the outer edges are perfect! Mars commented on that fact more than once. (Somewhere between his second and third slice…not that I was counting.)

Can we just have a moment of silence for those stunning glazed pecans on top!

Pecan crusted Rum Cake slice

This cake is actually even better the next day! I kid you not.

I took a poll of my Instagram followers… the number one post they wanted to see… was this cake! I love my tribe! Ya’ll have the BEST taste!

This cake is a wonder! I’ve seen a lot of really pretty desserts in my time that lacked flavor and the right texture. This cake has both…in abundance!

If you enjoyed this Holiday Cake you might enjoy these other Holiday Desserts

Enjoy! Be sure to check back frequently this next week! I’ve got a LOT of yummy idea’s headed your way. I’ve been super busy in the kitchen and can’t wait to share.

Happy Holidays and Happy Nesting!

Norine's Nest Signature
Yield: 20 servings

World’s Best Rum Cake

Slice of Worlds Best Rum Cake

Moist flavorful Rum Cake with chopped pecans and a delicious rum glaze a perfect Holiday dessert.

Prep Time 20 minutes
Cook Time 1 hour
Total Time 1 hour 20 minutes

Ingredients

  • 1 Duncan Hines Yellow Cake Mix
  • 1 (3.9 oz) box Godiva White Chocolate Vanilla Bean Pudding, OR small Vanilla Pudding
  • 4 eggs
  • 1/2 cup cold water
  • 1/2 cup vegetable oil
  • 1/2 cup baquardi Rum, 80 proof
  • 1 cup chopped pecans

Glaze

  • 1/4 cup butter
  • 2 Tablespoons Rum Extract
  • 1 Cup Sugar
  • 1 Cup Water *See instructions

Instructions

  1. Preheat oven to 350°
  2. Spray Bundt pan with Baker's Joy or grease and flour pan.
  3. Sprinkle 1 cup of chopped pecan into the bottom or prepared pan. Set aside.
  4. In mixer, with paddle attachment, mix together cake mix, box of pudding, 4 eggs, cold water, vegetable oil, and 1/2 cup of Rum.
  5. Mix until incorporated.
  6. Pour over nuts. Bake 1 hour. Allow to cool in pan for 1 hour.
  7. Poke holes in top and 1/2 way down cake.
  8. Spoon 1/2 of the glaze carefully over the top of the cake.
  9. Drizzle remaining warm glaze over individual cake slices when serving.

Glaze

  1. Place 2 Tablespoons Rum extract into a glass 1 cup liquid measuring cup. Fill remainder with water to equal 1 cup of liquid.
  2. In a small sauce pan, over medium heat, melt 1/4 cup butter, 1 cup of liquid, and 1 cup of sugar. Stirring constantly until mixture comes to a boil and slightly thickens.

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Nutrition Information:

Yield:

20 servings

Serving Size:

1 serving

Amount Per Serving: Calories: 307Total Fat: 15gSaturated Fat: 4gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 10gCholesterol: 44mgSodium: 244mgCarbohydrates: 37gFiber: 1gSugar: 26gProtein: 3g

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Maryann

Saturday 28th of October 2023

Hi Norin,I just came across your recipe'Worlds Best Rum Cake' I want to make it for our family reunion coming up in a week, but don't want the half cup of Rum it ask in the recipe,can I just sub it with the Rum extract instead? If I can how much ? Any info is truly appreciated thank you Maryann

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Monday 30th of October 2023

Hi Maryann! My suggestion is to use 2-3 teaspoons of rum extract and add enough water to create a 1/2 cup of liquid. You need to replace the liquids. Hope this helps. Enjoy! Norine

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Wednesday 24th of February 2021

[…] World's Best Rum Cake by Norines Nest […]

Danielle Franco

Thursday 21st of January 2021

I can’t find rum extract. Can I use regular rum instead? If so, how much should I use? Thanks.

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Thursday 21st of January 2021

Hi Danielle! I use regular rum all the time. Just switch out the same measurements and it should work just fine for you. Hope this helps! Thanks so much for stopping by and I hope you enjoy the cake. Sincerely, Norine

MsRandall

Saturday 23rd of May 2020

Thank you for the delicious recipe. I am allergic to both pecans and walnuts. I made this a few hours ago and it’s almost gone because my family loves it.

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Tuesday 26th of May 2020

I'm so glad your family enjoyed this cake! I'm so sorry your allergic to both pecans and walnuts. That is just sad! This cake does have such great flavor. One of my favorites. Thanks for sharing and for stopping by and visiting. Hope you have a great week. ~Norine

Cottie

Saturday 21st of December 2019

Hi Norine, The title and pic sold me and I am making this for Christmas. I don’t have a special mixer like the one you used, what instructions would you suggest for a standard hand-held mixer? Also, did you use gold or white rum?

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Saturday 21st of December 2019

Hi Cottie! Yes you can make this with a standard hand held mixer. You may want to mix it just a tad longer, but not too much. More air tends to make cakes fall. I use white rum in this cake recipe, but honestly I think either would work well. Just remember that your darker or golden rums have been aged longer and have a bolder taste. So if you like the strong taste of rum, a golden rum would be fantastic in this recipe. Hope this helps. Thanks so much for stopping by and visiting. I hope you have a wonderful Christmas and a Happy New Year. Happy Nesting! Norine

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