Popular since the 1970s for its taste and texture, this Bacardi rum cake is soft, fluffy and supremely moist. It’s bursting with rum and yellow cake flavor, easy to prepare, and perfect for any special occasion.
I’ve been dreaming about rum cakes ever since I went on a cruise and had a taste of Tortuga Rum Cake for the first time. Having never heard of it before, I was amazed at how moist it was for a packaged cake, and how lovely the rum flavor was without being overpowering. I did some research and came across this recipe from The Bacardi Party Book circa 1973. The result is exactly the same as the cake I had from the cruise, and I don’t have to pay $30 for it.
This recipe starts with a cup of walnuts sprinkled over the bottom of a bundt pan. Then you mix a package of yellow cake mix, vanilla pudding mix, eggs, water, oil and half a cup of rum until smooth. Pour the batter into the pan and bake for one hour. Once the cake is done, you prepare a simple butter-rum sauce made of butter, sugar, water and rum. Brush the hot sauce all over the warm cake. Let it sit to soak in all that butter-rum goodness and serve.
The original recipe calls for brushing all of the rum sauce on the cake, but I like to only brush half of the sauce on the cake, and reserve the rest for drizzling over the cake when serving. This actual cake was used to celebrate the 50th birthday of one of my husband’s work friends. Everyone in his office loved the extra rum sauce on the side.
The taste of this cake is rich and buttery. It starts with a delightful rum flavor and finishes with a vanilla custard flavor. There is a little nuttiness and crunch from the walnuts. The texture is soft and fluffy, and it’s the most moist cake ever. Drizzle with a little extra sauce for even more sweet butter rum taste!
Bacardi Rum Cake
This famous Bacardi rum cake is super moist and bursting with rum and buttery-vanilla flavor.
- Prep Time: 30 min
- Cook Time: 60 min
- Total Time: 1 hour 30 minutes
- Yield: 12-16
- Category: dessert
- Method: bake
- Cuisine: Caribbean
Ingredients
Cake
- 1 cup (125g) chopped walnuts
- 1 box yellow cake mix (like Duncan Hines or Betty Crocker brand)
- 1 package (3.75oz) instant vanilla pudding mix
- 4 large eggs
- 1/2 cup (125ml) water
- 1/2 cup (125ml) vegetable oil
- 1/2 cup (125ml) Bacardi dark rum
Glaze
- 1/2 cup (114g) butter
- 1/4 cup (63ml) water
- 1 cup (200g) granulated sugar
- 1/2 cup (125ml) Bacardi dark rum
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 325F. Generously grease and flour a 10″ bundt pan. Sprinkle chopped nuts evenly over the bottom of the pan.
- Mix together the rest of the cake ingredients in a large bowl using an electric mixer until well blended. Pour batter into the pan.
- Bake for 50-60 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Let stand for 10 minutes in the pan.
- Meanwhile make the glaze: in a small saucepan, combine butter, water and sugar. Bring to a boil over medium heat and continue to boil for 5 minutes, stirring constantly. Remove from heat. Carefully and slowly whisk the rum (it will bubble).
- Invert the cake onto a serving plate. Brush the top and all sides of the cake with the glaze. Repeat until all the glaze is used, or reserve half the glaze for serving. Let the cake stand for 15 minutes to absorb all the glaze.
Keywords: old-fashioned rum cake, Bacardi rum cake, Tortuga rum cake recipe
I’ll be sharing this at Fiesta Friday #255 hosted by Angie, and co-hosted by Jhuls @ The Not So Creative Cook and Diann @ Of Goats and Greens.
Chocolate Lava Cakes
Vanilla Bean Pound Cake
Homemade Strawberry Shortcake (video)
Healthy Apple Cinnamon Banana Bread (video)
Apple and Brie Tartlets
Can I use rum extract instead of rum?
If you want to use rum extract instead of rum for the cake, then just add another 1/2 cup of water and use 1-2 tsp of rum extract. As for the sauce, just replace the rum with 1 tsp of the extract. I hope that helps and have a great weekend!
I remember making this cake with my grandmother back in the 70s. it was always the best! Instead of glazing the cake after removing it from the pan, she would poke holes with an icepick in the cake after it cooled for 10 minutes and pour the glaze over the cake in the pan to soak through before inverting on a plate. Has anyone done this? It allowed for the glaze to really permeate all throughout the cake and I don’t recall getting it out of the pan being an issue, but she has been gone for many years now and sadly took her baking tips with her…
I use banana pudding instead of vanilla
★★★★
I live at 7500 ft. Should I add extra flour and egg or liquid? If so, how much?
Hi Billie,
I don’t have any experience with high-altitude baking, but here’s a great article from King Arthur Flour on how to adjust recipes for high elevation:
https://www.kingarthurflour.com/learn/resources/high-altitude-baking
Sorry, I couldn’t be more help, but I hope you still enjoy the cake!
When I have made this cake several times in the past, the cake always “fell” in the middle – when unmolded, there were two distinct layers visible. Any hints?
Pp
The two distinct layers is a sign that your batter is separating while baking. Try using room temperature eggs and mixing the batter a bit more. The cake sinking is usually because it’s undercooked and in this case, the separation might be a contributing factor as well. I hope that helps!
I just made my sister one for Thanksgiving. Very easy to make and delicious!
★★★★★
I’m glad you liked it:) Thank you for your kind review, Marsha!
Hello,
Can I use rum instead of water? I want the cake to be very rummy.
The cake with the glaze is already quite rummy, but if you want it to be stronger then go ahead and substitute the water with more rum. The texture of the cake itself might be a little bit dryer because of the alcohol, but you should be ok once you add the glaze. I hope that helps and enjoy!
Can you use Buttermilk in this recipe?
Yes, you can use buttermilk instead of water for the cake batter. Enjoy and have a great day!
Is it salted or unsalted butter?
You can use either, though using salted butter cuts the sweetness a tiny bit.
When it says Grease can i use butter?
Yes, you can use butter. Thank you for your question and I hope you enjoy the rum cake!
Going to make this recipe for Easter this year! I attempted another rum cake recipe last year and it was a failure – the addition of the pudding mix here I think will be the ringer! Quick question – should I be used salted or unsalted butter?
★★★★★
Hi Jackie,
You can use salted or unsalted butter for the rum sauce. The only difference is the salted butter will cut the sweetness a bit. I hope that helps and please feel free to reply back if you have any other questions.
Yes, rum cakes are expensive, but you have made them accessible and affordable. Thanks for the recipe Lily.
★★★★★
You’re very welcome, Rita! Thank you for your lovely comment:)
I made this for a New Year’s party and it was fabulous!!! Everyone loved it and it was so easy to make. The extra rum sauce was a hit too. Thank you for the recipe!
★★★★★
You’re very welcome, Charla! Thank you for your lovely comment, and happy new year to you!
Rich and buttery is always a win. Thanks for sharing with Fiesta Friday!
You’re very welcome and thank you for co-hosting!
I can’t find a 18.5 ounce cake mix. Which do you use?
Any yellow cake mix like Betty Crocker or Duncan Hines will work. I used Duncan Hines. Enjoy and happy holidays!