Rum Cake: Bake or Buy?

Tortuga Caribbean Rum Cake

If you’ve cruised around the Caribbean, chances are you’ve come upon the Tortuga Caribbean Rum Cake—you may have even brought one home. (If not, you can check out Amazon for a number of different sizes, flavors, and prices.)

Varieties include their golden original, chocolate, Key lime, pineapple, coffee, Mexican vanilla, and Florida orange.

Sweet Gift

The moist, fluffy confection is the perfect gift for the foodies among your family and friends. What’s more, the vacuum-sealed cake comes in an attractive, hexagon-shaped container, giving it the look of a fine gourmet gift.

True, the cakes are a bit pricey. So before making an investment, you might want to start with a small one. The 4 oz. is about $10 and serves one to two. A full-size original runs about $24 for a $16 oz. cake and $32 for a $33 oz. size.

Some on line say the cake is too moist; others that it’s too dry. Obviously, it has to do with your preferred rum-to-cake ratio. Like Little Red Riding Hood, I think it’s just right.

How Much Rum?

A friend who was in the Cayman Islands told me she went on the 9 a.m. tour of the Tortuga Rum Cake Factory.

”You mean they served rum cake that early in the day?” I asked in surprise.

“They called it Breakfast Cake and no one had any trouble with that,” she replied.

According to the back of the container, the cake has less that 1/2 of 1% alcohol.

Let’s Bake

For the moment, let’s assume you want to try a rummy cake without the cost of a Caribbean cruise or an online purchase. Just make one yourself. And, why not? It couldn’t be easier.

This Sicilian Orange Cake made at the farm recently is enlivened with orange juice and zest. While there is no rum in the cake, it does benefit from a rum glaze.

Way Easy to Make

Below are two cakes, that I usually bake. The Bacardi Rum cake is an old standby made from a yellow cake mix and vanilla instant pudding and topped with nuts. It’s quite good.

The Sicilian Orange Cake has a courser texture, more like a European-style cake—which I prefer. Both make a splendid dessert, especially with a Rum Sauce topping. Scoop a bit of ice cream onto the plate and drizzle it with sauce as well.

Bacardi Rum Cake

Ingredients:

1 c. chopped pecans or walnuts
1 18 1/2 oz. pkg. yellow cake mix
1 3-3/4 oz. pkg. Jell-O vanilla instant pudding and pie filling
4 eggs
1/2 c. cold water
1/2 c. Wesson oil
1/2 c. Bacardi dark rum 80 proof
Note: If using yellow cake mix with pudding ALREADY in the mix omit instant pudding, use 3 eggs instead of 4, and 1/3 cup oil instead of 1/2 cup.

GLAZE:

1/4 lb. butter
1/4 c. water
1 c. granulated sugar
1/2 c. Bacardi dark rum 80 proof

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Grease and flour 10-inch tube or 12 cup Bundt pan. Sprinkle nuts over bottom of pan. Mix all cake ingredients together. Pour batter over nuts. Bake 1 hour. Cool. Invert on serving plate. Prick top. Spoon and brush glaze evenly over top and sides. Allow cake to absorb glaze. Repeat until glaze is used up.
For Glaze: Melt butter in saucepan. Stir in water and sugar. Boil 5 minutes, stirring constantly. Remove from heat. Stir in rum. Optional: Decorate with border of sugar frosting or whipped cream.

Robin cuts the Sicilian Orange Cake we made recently at the farm.

Sicilian Orange Cake with Rum Sauce

Ingredients:

2 cups all-purpose flour about 8-1/2 ounces, plus more for pan
2 Tbs. grated orange zest plus 1-1/4 cups fresh orange juice from 3 oranges, divided
1 1/2 tablespoons baking powder
1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
1/2 cup vegetable oil plus more for greasing pan
3 large eggs

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 350°F. Stir together flour, orange zest, and baking powder in a medium bowl. Set aside.

Beat sugar, vegetable oil, and eggs with an electric mixer on high speed until almost white, about 1 minute and 30 seconds. Add orange juice; beat on low speed until combined, about 20 seconds. With mixer running on low speed, gradually add flour mixture. Beat until just combined, about 1 minute (do not overmix).

Transfer batter to a greased (with vegetable oil) and floured 9-inch tube or Bundt pan. Bake in preheated oven until a wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean, 40 to 45 minutes. Let cool in pan 10 minutes.

Invert cake onto a wire rack; let cool completely, about 1 hour. Serve with ice cream and/or rum sauce show in the Bacardi cake above. (Recipe: Food and Wine)