Chocolate Rum Cake
Everyone should have a signature dish. Back in college, my friend Oliver Lucky and I were infamous for attending potlucks, where other people showed up with something homemade, bearing a bag of tortilla chips and jar of salsa. And yes, I mean one bag and jar between the two of us. Hey, we were poor and living in the dorms — those were things we could buy at the on-campus convenience store with our food cards.
It’s a good thing that we’ve grown up since then. Not that there’s anything wrong with chips and salsa, but being known for making a bad-ass rum cake is a whole lot more fun.
My obsession with this dessert started on my first Caribbean cruise. I was with my husband, my friend Jenna and her husband. We would stumble off of the ship on our port days and be immediately greeted by several liquor stores, all providing complimentary rum and rum cake samples. Sure it was eight in the morning, but there was no way in hell we were going to turn down free booze!
In fact, we sampled (and purchased) a good amount of both items to bring back home. However once the rum cakes were gone, which didn’t take long, I felt sad. A little empty inside. They were just so moist and delicious that I couldn’t stop thinking about them. And, as time went by, I decided I wanted a rum cake for my pirate-theme scavenger hunt party… There sadly wasn’t another cruise lined up beforehand so I needed to make the cake myself, which that meant finding the perfect recipe.
Luckily, with minimal online digging, I found this one. And it is amazing!
I can vouch for how incredibly spot-on it is to Tortuga’s. It is a perfect match. I have made it now about five or six times, and each time it’s just as delicious as the last. The rum mixture really soaks into it and parts of the cake are just drenched in sweet rum goodness. Those are, of course, my favorite parts!
** Quick note: I have found my cakes need to bake longer than the recipe claims. Just keep baking until the skewer comes out clean — it might take up to another 15-20 minutes, so don’t stress. **
In fact, I love this cake so much, I’ve even experimented a bit with the flavorings. You can switch out the vanilla instant pudding pack for other flavors — I’ve used both chocolate and coconut with great results. You can also play around with the rum*. I have been wanting to do a pineapple rum-coconut pudding cake one of these days. Oh! And a chocolate pudding-coconut rum cake. And maybe a banana pudding-coconut rum one. Way too many options!
** I do think that the Whaler’s Vanilla Rum gives this cake a lot of its authentic flavor (even though it’s Hawaiian, it has a very similar taste to Tortuga’s vanilla rum). So if you do switch up the flavor of rum, I would suggest only switching half of it.
This is an easy cake (even if the recipe seems daunting, it comes together very quickly) and it will make you friends. After all, who could resist something that looks this good?
Pour a combination of rum, butter and sugar over the warm cake
It looks like a lot but it will all soak in!
Vanilla Rum Cake (sadly I was too intoxicated to get a picture of it out of the mold!)
Chocolate+Rum=Perfection!
Now go forth and get boozy!
Can’t wait to try this! A girls’ porch party is coming up and I am sure they will love it!
You really should, it’s impossible to not love this cake! =)
An entire cup of rum for 1 cake? Pardon me while I clutch at my pearls lol! All kidding aside, I’m always up for trying out new cake recipes. I’ve never had the Tortuga rum cake so I won’t have anything to refer back to, but the recipe does look very good. I’ll let you know if I try it out.
Well, part of it does cook out and trust me — with the sugary butter glaze on top of all that rum, you’ll only need a small slice. It’s really the perfect party cake — a little goes a long way! =)
I love rum cakes and yours looks like perfection! I’ll be making this one!
Please do — it’s really fabulous. And very boozy, of course! Thanks for stopping by! =)
Gorgeous! I’ve been making a similar one (from a recipe that my mom had) for a couple of years. Like my mom always did, its my go-to treat for the school office staff, the pediatrician’s office, our pastor, etc. I love the idea of a flavored or spiced rum! We’ve always used just Bacardi light rum. Yum!
Nothing pleases people more than an excuse to eat an alcoholic dessert! =) I love that you are also known for your rum cake. If you decide to play around with the flavors next time you make yours, let me know how it turns out.
Will do!
This looks amazing! I’m definitely going to have to try it – with the coconut! (I’m a bit obsessed with that lately!)
Thanks! Definitely try it with coconut and keep me posted on how delicious it is. And I think Whaler’s even does a coconut rum so you could really go crazy!
Got to try it!!! We have a dessert in France called “Baba au rhum”, very similar to that, but the cake dough is more complicated, the original recipe is a brioche kind of dough made with bread yeast, so much more time consuming. My dad made one for me when I was there, there is a pic on my blog: http://tartinemaple.wordpress.com/2012/07/15/party-is-an-art/#jp-carousel-364. Love Boozy cakes 😉
Well you’ll have to give this one a shot and let me know how it compares!
WOW how have I never noticed this before?! Yum…and brings back awesome memories of our time living in Cayman, surrounded by Tortuga and rum cakes a plenty! Might see if someone can send me a bottle and make this recipe 🙂
Oh whoops, perhaps when I’m not pregnant, hahahaha.
Yeah — the booze sneaks up on you while eating this…Some of it cooks out…most stays in! =)
Mmm, I’ve made bourbon cake with boozy cherries & chocolate chips but I may have to switch fermented beverages, or at least expand my repertoire. I bet the butter & rum glaze smells amazing and the cake flour must make the crumb light & fluffy. Yum.
This smells insane when you’re making it. Sooooo much butter!! The consistency is actually moist and dense but the outsides (where less booze resides) tend to be lighter and fluffier. It’s seriously so good I get requests for it now. It is very sweet but you only need a small piece. =)
so goood