“Bund cakes” originated in Europe hundreds of years ago. Bakers discovered that placing a metal tube in the center of the pan and cooking it inside the cake allowed the cake to bake more evenly and rise higher. Today, to achieve the same effect, we use Bundt pans, which were invented by Nordic Ware in 1950 and are traditionally made of heavy cast aluminum.
My Bundt pan is old and tarnished from years of baking. It is my special occasion pan. It is the pan that belonged to my great-grandmother, with a history spanning sixty years, and is my most prized cooking vessel. Every time I pull it out to bake, it feels ritualistic. It conjures memories of when I was a child, anticipating my birthday months in advance, knowing that my great-grandma would make my most favorite cake—a rum cake. Unfortunately, her secret recipe never made it into my possession. Why did no one in my family ever write it down? Given its history, I’m pretty sure the ingredients were yellow cake mix, vanilla pudding mix, and imitation rum (my great-grandma didn’t drink). But that cake was made with love, and every bite was a mouthful of perfection and moistness, and when I ate the last slice, I started counting the days until my next birthday.
This rum cake doesn’t use mixes and it leans heavily into rum, so be sure to use a good one. If sourcing locally, I use Left Turn Distilling’s Piñon Rum; I also like Myers’s Original Dark Rum, a Jamaican import. I highly recommend serving this cake warm, but it can certainly be made in advance and sauced when ready to serve.
Rum Cake
Ingredients
Cake
- 1/2 cup crushed pecans
- 1 3/4 cups granulated sugar
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
- 1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
- 1/2 cup plus 1 tablespoon cornstarch
- 1/3 cup nonfat powdered milk
- 4 teaspoons baking powder
- 1 1/4 teaspoons kosher salt
- 3 tablespoons plus 1/2 cup vegetable oil
- 4 large eggs
- 3/4 cup whole milk
- 3/4 cup dark rum
- 1 1/2 tablespoons pure vanilla extract
Rum Sauce
- 3/4 cup heavy cream
- 2 tablespoons butter
- 1/4 cup dark rum
- 3 large egg yolks
- 1/4 cup sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 325°F. Grease and flour Bundt pan, and drop crushed pecans into the bottom of the pan. Set aside.
- In a stand mixer, cream sugar and butter together. Add flour, cornstarch, powdered milk, baking powder, kosher salt, and 3 tablespoons of oil; combine until evenly distributed.
- In a separate bowl, whisk together eggs, milk, rum, vanilla, and remaining 1/2 cup vegetable oil. Add to the dry mixture; mix until combined. The batter should be smooth, thin, and pour easily.
- Pour the batter into the prepared Bundt pan, and tap the pan on the counter to release air bubbles. Bake for 50–60 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean.
- Let cake cool in pan for 10 minutes. Invert onto a cooling rack and let cool for another 20–30 minutes.
- While the cake cools, prepare the rum sauce. In a small saucepan, over low heat, stir all ingredients together. Cook until thickened, stirring constantly for about 5 minutes. Drizzle over the cake, let set for 10 minutes, and serve.
- In a small saucepan, whisk yolks and sugar until smooth. Warm cream and butter in a separate pan over medium-low heat until just steaming (160°F).
- Slowly whisk hot cream mixture into yolks to temper. Cook over medium-low heat, stirring constantly, until thick enough to coat the back of a spoon, 6–8 minutes. Do not boil.
- Remove from heat; whisk in rum and vanilla. Return to low heat for 1–2 minutes, stirring, until glossy and just steaming again. Let it sit 5–10 minutes to thicken slightly, then drizzle on cake and serve.
Stephanie Cameron was raised in Albuquerque and earned a degree in fine arts at the University of New Mexico. She is the art director, head photographer, recipe tester, marketing guru, publisher, and owner of edible New Mexico and The Bite.
