HomerecipeA holiday treat from my childhood

A holiday treat from my childhood

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My mother found a version of this recipe in a magazine in the early 1970s and we had it every year at the holidays, along with date nut bread. It really isn’t the season to me without one or both of these old school treats being on the table.

I am not a big baker, so the ease of this recipe makes me very happy. I usually like to make everything from scratch, but this is just so good that I am OK with the boxed ingredients. And once you try this moist, tasty treat, you will be, too….

I pretty much follow the magazine recipe, as captured on a hand-written index card I got from Mon, but I use a little less sugar and I replaced the plain rum with a spiced one — it was all I had in the house the first time I made this, but it was so good, I always use it now.

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Rum Cake

Recipe by Chuck Cushman
Servings

10

servings
Prep time

20

minutes
Cooking time

1

hour 

Ingredients

  • 1 box yellow cake mix

  • 1 box instant vanilla pudding

  • 4 large eggs

  • 1/2 cup water

  • 1/2 cup spiced rum

  • 1/2 cup neutral/ vegetable oil

  • 2 cups chopped walnut pieces

  • 2 Tbsp flour

  • 1 Tbsp oil (or spray oil)

  • for the glaze:

  • 1/2 cup water

  • 1 stick unsalted butter

  • 3/4 cup sugar

  • 1/2 cup spiced rum

Directions

  • preheat your oven to 325 degrees F.
  • in a stand mixer, add all the ingredients except the walnuts, and mix together with the paddle attachment for about 5 minutes.
  • While the mixer is working, prepare your tube cake pan: spray or oil it heavily and flour it. Then add the walnuts in a nice layer across the bottom.
  • Pour the batter in gently and shake the pan a few times to even it out.
  • Bake for one hour, or until a skewer/toothpick comes out clean.
  • Let the cake cool for 15-20 minutes, then turn it out of the pan, onto a nice cake plate.
  • While the cake cools, poke it with a skewer so the glaze will be able to penetrate.
  • Make the glaze: put the water, sugar, and butter in a pan and melt them together, then cook at a low boil for 5 minutes. Take it off the heat and add the rum.
  • Glaze the cake, and expect it to take a few layers to use up all the glaze.

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