Rum Cake… out of the vault…

*deep breath*

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I have decided to share my most treasured recipe with you. It was never a ‘secret family recipe’ or anything, but after I made it the very first time and received rave reviews, I clammed up and vowed not to divulge how easy this recipe is. I chose to put the Rum Cake recipe into my own personal vault of information and not share it with anyone!

But, like many things….

I have changed my mind.

A girl has the prerogative to do that, you know… any time she wants…

So today is THE DAY. The day to share my most favorite and treasured recipe. I really want you to make this for your friends and family, because this cake has magic powers, I tell you. No, really it does.

This cake has the ability to move mountains… bridge differences…turn frowns upside down… there have been many-an-arguement settled after the consumption of this delectable treat.

Seriously.

I have kept this recipe a secret now for eleven, yes 11, years. It has wowed French restaurant owners, and gastronomical geniuses on 3 continents…. all because of one teeny-tiny little ingredient that no one is expecting…

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…

and no,

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it is NOT the rum.

The secret ingredient to this wildly addictive cake is… *drumroll please*…

…

…

(are you getting giddy with anticipation?)

…

…

VANILLA INSTANT PUDDING.

Yep, that’s it.

…

I bet you thought it was something a lot more exciting, didn’t you?

Gotcha!

So… are you ready? Here we go…

AUNT RUBY’S RUM CAKE
*yes, I had an Aunt Ruby, and she made this cake. But, she added chopped pecans to the bundt pan before pouring in the cake and I do not. It’s your choice.

INGREDIENTS

• 1 box of Duncan Hines Butter recipe cake mix
• 1 small box of vanilla instant pudding (must be instant)
• 4 eggs
• 1/2 cup of oil
• 1/4 cup of rum
• 1/4 cup of water

I know you are all in disbelief that this cake comes from a BOX! Ha-ha… just one of my MANY SECRETS.

So… grease a bundt pan and preheat your oven to 325 degrees. Mix together all of those ingredients. I want to say something here about ‘mixing’… I mix the cake mix together so that it is pretty uniform, but I do it by hand and there are lumps of dry batter, no matter how hard I try to make it smooth. Don’t worry about this… don’t overly mix this trying to achieve a smooth texture, its not important and it might actually ruin the cake.

Okay, so pour your mixed cake batter into the bundt pan and throw it in the oven for 50-55 minutes. The cake is done when there is a nice brownish color to the edges and they start to sort of shrink away from the sides of the bundt pan. Err on the side of caution and do not overcook.

Once the cake has cooked, pull it out of the oven and let it cool in the bundt pan. Completely… IF YOU DO NOT DO THIS, YOU WILL RUIN THE CAKE BECAUSE LATER IT WON’T COME OUT OF THE MOLD. (trust me on this because I always get so excited trying to finish the cake that I jump the gun and do the next step without letting the cake cool and then I have a disaster and ruin the cake… this has happened to me probably 15 times, so seriously, learn from my mistakes and LET THE CAKE COOL)

Once the cake is cool and it is still in the bundt pan, poke a zillion holes in it using a toothpick. Poke them all over the bottom side of the cake (the part facing you and not hidden inside the bundt pan) as you are creating the veins that the rum will travel through the whole cake…

Then, you need to add the following to a small saucepan and heat to a rolling boil while mixing thoroughly…

• 1 stick of butter
• 1 cup of sugar
• 1/4 rum
• 1/4 water

When you have this sugar/rum mixture liquified and rolling, take it off of the heat and slowly pour it over your cake (yes, it is still upside down in the bundt pan) letting the holes you poked absorb the liquid. When all of the liquid is absorbed into the cake (there is sometimes a frothy, foamy edge of liquid that remains, don’t worry, it’s okay if that doesn’t absorb), flip your cake out of the bundt pan onto a cake plate.

You’re DONE!

***one piece of advice*** Once your hot liquid has been poured onto the cake and absorbed, you must invert the cake and get it out of the bundt pan. If not, the sugar mixture starts to stick as it cools and you will never get it out of the pan! Don’t delay… Watch the liquid disappear into the cake and then flip that bad-boy onto a cake plate…

Capiche?

Oh, and I really didn’t think I had to tell anybody this, but I’ve been amazed at the people over the years that have asked me about the rum consumption… Listen, folks… you are not going to get drunk eating my rum cake. When you heat up the rum (both in the cake and the sugar/rum sauce) you are cooking the alcohol itself out of the rum and just leaving behind the flavor. Never fear, you will not get loopy!