The first time I ever made this rum cake recipe was on Christmas Eve, when I had just started getting into baking. Now, it’s a fall/winter special even on a random Tuesday because I have half a bottle of white rum sitting on my counter.
This cake has got that whole “grandma’s recipe” energy even if your grandma has never touched rum in her life.
It’s buttery, dense, makes the entire house smell like a Christmas morning and feels like a warm hug. I’ve made this on special requests from my friends on their birthdays, a random Tuesday afternoon and once for a potluck where three people asked me for the recipe with the cake still in their mouths.
Equipment Required
- Mixing Bowls: You’ll need at least 2 mixing bowls for wet and dry ingredients.
- Stand Mixer, Hand Mixer or a Whisk: I use a whisk but if you’re making a big batch, I would recommend a hand mixer or a stand mixer to make things easier.
- Spatula: I use a spatula to fold the dry ingredients into the batter and it scrapes the bowls clean so we’re not wasting any of that delicious cake batter.
- Baking Pan: You can use any shape your heart desires, I used a round baking tin, but a bundt pan would also work beautifully.
- Measuring Spoons and Cups: I recommend measuring your ingredients because baking is a science and you can’t always wing it.
- Parchment Paper: Use parchment paper to line your baking pans because who wants to deal with a cake that’s stuck and won’t slide out?
- Wire Rack: A wire rack will help cool the cake evenly and quickly because let me tell you, when you smell this, you’ll want to risk burning your tongue.
- Skewer: For testing when the cake is done.
Rum Cake Ingredients & Substitutions
Note: This recipe serves six people. In case you want to increase the quantity, you can double or triple the recipe accordingly.
- 1 Cup Dried Fruits: My preference is for a mixture of raisins, chopped dates, apricots or figs, but you can choose whichever dried fruits you want.
- 1 Cup Dried Berries: Dried cranberries are a preference, but dried blueberries, dried cherries, dried strawberries or additional raisins will be just fine.
- 150ml Bacardi White Rum: Rum is a great flavor ingredient to add to the mix of dried fruits, but if you prefer a non-alcoholic dessert, you can use orange juice, apple juice or grape juice instead.
- 1 Cup Orange Juice: I use fresh or store-bought orange juice. If you don’t have that on hand, apple juice, pineapple juice or cranberry juice works as well.
- 2 Cups All-Purpose Flour: Using plain white all-purpose flour will give better results, but you can substitute it with almond flour if you want a gluten-free version.
- 1 Teaspoon Baking Powder: Baking powder ensures your cake will rise properly and not be very dense, but you can use the same amount of baking powder too.
- ½ Teaspoon Cinnamon Powder: Cinnamon is my choice because of its nice flavoring, but you can use mixed spices, allspice or pumpkin spice.
- ½ Teaspoon Ginger Powder: The ginger powder gives a hint of warmth to the cake.
- ¼ Teaspoon Grated Nutmeg: If you don’t have nutmeg, leave it out completely.
- 1 Teaspoon Orange Zest: Orange peel brings in fresh citrus flavor. Lemon peel can be substituted if you do not have oranges or you can leave it out if you prefer.
- 1 Cup Softened Butter: The butter needs to be softened to mix in with the sugars. You can swap it for vegan butter for a vegan cake.
- 1 Cup Sugar: Plain sugar is preferred here, but caster sugar or fine granulated sugar can be used.
- ¼ Cup Brown Sugar: It brings a rich, caramel taste to the cake. It can be substituted with white sugar, coconut sugar, or molasses.
- 3 Eggs: Eggs are what makes the cakes fluffy and soft but if you want an egg-free version, swap it with some yogurt.
Preparation And Cooking Time
| Preparation Time | Cooking Time | Total Time |
|---|---|---|
| 20 Minutes (excluding the overnight soak) | 25 Minutes | 45 Minutes |
How To Make Rum Cake At Home
Step 1
Soak the dried fruits and berries in the orange juice.
Step 2
Add white rum and soak overnight or at least 2 hours before you start making the cake.
Step 3
In a mixing bowl, cream together the butter and both sugars for around 10 mins until they are light, fluffy and the butter turns a pale yellow.
Step 4
Beat in the eggs one at a time.
Step 5
In another bowl, sift the dry ingredients together and fold them into the butter, sugar and egg mixture in batches using a spatula.
Step 6
Fold in your soaked fruits and berries.
Step 7
Pour the batter into a parchment lined cake tin and place in the preheated oven at 170°C for 25 minutes or until a skewer comes out clean.
Step 8
Let the cake cool and sprinkle on some icing sugar for garnish.
Expert Tips That I Recommend
Although this is as foolproof as it can get, here are a few tips and tricks if you want to take it up a notch.
- If you forget to soak your fruits overnight, simply heat them up in a saucepan with your orange juice and take it off the heat and add the rum.
- Massage the orange zest into your sugars before mixing them with the butter. This releases the oils in the orange zest and makes it taste so much better.
- Preheat the oven right as you start preparing the cake batter.
- Always measure your ingredients to get the perfect consistency.
- Use room temperature eggs, it makes a real difference in how the batter comes together and how even your crumb turns out.
- Use a serrated knife to cut clean slices of your cake.
- Dust a little icing sugar using a sieve to make the cake look perfect to be laid out on your kitchen counter.
FAQs About Rum Cake Recipe
Nutritional Information Per Serving
Listen, it’s a cake, so don’t expect to meet your protein goals, but Christmas and winters in general are a great excuse to indulge. So if you’re still watching your calorie intake, here is the nutritional information per serving for this rum cake:
| Calories | 915 kcal |
| Carbohydrates | 102g |
| Protein | 12g |
| Fat | 46g |
| Saturated Fat | 9g |
| Polyunsaturated Fat | 11g |
| Monounsaturated Fat | 23g |
| Trans Fat | 0.01g |
| Cholesterol | 82mg |
| Sodium | 467mg |
| Potassium | 344mg |
| Fiber | 5g |
| Sugar | 61g |
| Vitamin A | 1561 IU |
| Vitamin C | 21mg |
| Calcium | 103mg |
| Iron | 4mg |
Recipe Variations for Different Diets
- Vegan Diet: To make this cake vegan-friendly, use vegan butter and non-dairy yogurt instead of eggs.
- Gluten-Free Diet: To make this cake gluten-free, swap out the all-purpose flour with almond flour.
- Alcohol-Free Version: If you don’t have alcohol, you can leave it out completely and it will still taste great!
Storing and Reheating
Storing
- Storage: Since this is more of a colder-weather cake, this cake can be stored right on your kitchen counter with a shelf life of up to 5 days. You can also keep it in an airtight container if not on a cake stand.
- Freezing: If you do want to freeze this cake for longer, you can wrap it tightly in cling wrap and freeze for up to a month.
Reheating
If you want to enjoy this cake with a cup of coffee, heat the cake slices in the microwave for 1-2 minutes until it’s just warm to the touch. But please do not heat this if you’re serving it with a glaze or a frosting.
What to Serve With This Rum Cake
- Coffee: This cake pairs perfectly well with any coffee you enjoy. I personally love a freshly brewed French press coffee, but it could also be an amazing treat with a cup of Hot Latte.
- Glaze: You can whip up a quick glaze with icing sugar and a dash of milk to glaze the cake.
- Frosting: If you want, a cream cheese or a Coconut Pecan frosting with this cake is a match made in heaven.
Printable Version
Boozy Rum Cake
Ingredients
- 1 Cup Dried Fruits
- 1 Cup Dried Berries
- 150 ml Bacardi White Rum
- 1 Cup Orange Juice
- 2 Cups All-Purpose Flour
- 1 Teaspoon Baking Powder
- ½ Teaspoon Cinnamon Powder
- ½ Teaspoon Ginger Powder
- ¼ Teaspoon Grated Nutmeg
- 1 Teaspoon Orange Zest
- 1 Cup Softened Butter
- 1 Cup Sugar
- ¼ Cup Brown Sugar
- 3 Eggs
Equipment
- 2 Mixing Bowls
- 1 Stand Mixer, Hand Mixer or a Whisk
- 1 Spatula
- 1 Baking Pan
- Measuring Spoons and Cups
- Parchment Paper
- 1 Wire Rack
- 1 Skewer
Instructions
- Soak the dried fruits and berries in the orange juice.
- Add white rum and soak overnight or at least 2 hours before you start making the cake.
- In a mixing bowl, cream together the butter and both sugars for around 10 mins until they are light, fluffy and the butter turns a pale yellow.
- Beat in the eggs one at a time.
- In another bowl, sift the dry ingredients together and fold them into the butter, sugar and egg mixture in batches using a spatula.
- Fold in your soaked fruits and berries.
- Pour the batter into a parchment lined cake tin and place in the preheated oven at 170°C for 25 minutes or until a skewer comes out clean.
- Let the cake cool and sprinkle on some icing sugar for garnish.
Notes
- If you forget to soak your fruits overnight, simply heat them up in a saucepan with your orange juice and take it off the heat and add the rum.
- Massage the orange zest into your sugars before mixing them with the butter. This releases the oils in the orange zest and makes it taste so much better.
- Preheat the oven right as you start preparing the cake batter.
- Always measure your ingredients to get the perfect consistency.
- Use room temperature eggs, it makes a real difference in how the batter comes together and how even your crumb turns out.
- Use a serrated knife to cut clean slices of your cake.
- Dust a little icing sugar using a sieve to make the cake look perfect to be laid out on your kitchen counter.
Nutrition
Did You Make This Recipe ?Tag @thefoodxp on Instagram and Hashtag it #thefoodxp!More Dessert Recipes That You Can Try
Conclusion
It is one of those recipes that may look overwhelming when you first look at the ingredient list but in actuality, it couldn’t be simpler to whip up. The overnight soak is something you do need to remember but there’s a way around it which I mentioned earlier in case you forgot.
The slightest hint of rum on the back of your throat, mixed with the warm hug of the spices, is something that, once you try, you’ll want to come back to. I have taken this to many Christmas parties and although it has a shelf life of up to 5 days, it has never lasted more than a day. If you try this recipe, let me know how it turned out.
And if there are any secret ingredients you add to your rum cake recipes, drop them in the comments and I’ll try them out.
Let’s Connect
Follow Us On Our Social Media Platforms
You can subscribe to TheFoodXP to get weekly recipes in your inbox.
If you make this recipe, let us know! Leave a comment, rate it, and tag us in your photos on social media. We would love to share your pictures.
