Rum Cake

This seems like a good Christmas party cake- it feels very seasonal.  Of course, I ate it yesterday on a warm May day and it was fabulous.  It is from the Pioneer Woman website, and there are even better directions if you click the link at the bottom of this page.  The rum flavor is strong, but in a good way.  I almost felt a little buzzed from it, which was nice because I was at a faculty lunch at school.  I recommend dark rum and the bundt cake pan worked really well, so I will have to get one of these before I make this.  Enjoy!

Rum Cake
FOR THE CAKE:

1 box (about 18 Oz.) Yellow Cake Mix
1 package (3.5 Oz.) INSTANT Vanilla Pudding Mix
4 whole Eggs
½ cups Cold Water
½ cups Canola Oil
½ cups Rum (dark Or Light Is Fine)
1 cup Chopped Pecans
Brown Sugar (optional)
_____
GLAZE
1-½ stick Butter
¼ cups Water
1-½ cup Sugar
¾ cups Rum

Preheat oven to 325 F.  Grease and flour a bundt cake pan. Sprinkle nuts over bottom of pan. If desired, sprinkle a couple of tablespoons of brown sugar over the nuts.

Mix all cake ingredients together. Pour batter into pan over nuts. Smooth out ’til the top is even. Bake for 1 hour, or a little less if the pan is black. Do not overbake!

When the cake has ten minutes to go, make the glaze.  Melt butter in saucepan. Stir in water and sugar. Boil for 4 to 5 minutes, stirring constantly. Turn off flame and pour in rum. Stir to combine and reheat for 30 seconds.

Remove cake from oven. Immediately drizzle 1/3 of the glaze on the bottom (top) of the cake. Allow to sit for five minutes. Invert the cake onto a serving plate. Prick surface a hundred times with a fork (gently, please.) Slowly drizzle remaining rum glaze all over the top of the cake, allowing it to drip down the sides. Cool to room temperature before serving to ensure glaze has soaked in.

Eat. Enjoy. And don’t feel guilty. It’s Christmastime!

http://thepioneerwoman.com/cooking/2008/12/christmas-rum-cake/