My Easy, So Good You Want To Kiss Your Mother-In-Law Christmas Rum Cake!

I love this rum cake. This is a perfect dessert for the holidays. The cake is really moist, tastes great, and is not difficult to make. The recipe was given to me by a lady who worked for me in Florida over 25 years ago. She gave it to me on a handwritten recipe card, so I have no idea where this recipe originally comes from. I remembered the first time I tasted it. Wow! Hence the title of the cake! And by the way, no disrespect to mothers-in-law...I would gladly kiss mine! ❤️

I originally was going to entitle this blog post, "My Easy, So Good You'll Want To Slap Yo Mama Rum Cake", but a couple of people advised against it. Although others liked it, including me! I decided to go with the less violent title!

It is made from a box cake mix with ingredients added in, so this is an easy recipe. The rum is cooked out, so it is safe for everyone to eat. The taste is not overwhelming with rum. The rum adds a sweet, but not too sweet taste that even my kids like. The cake is baked in a bundt pan, which I love because there is no messing with frosting, or multiple layers. Just sprinkle the cake with powdered sugar, and garnish with rosemary, holly sprigs, etc. for a pretty presentation.

This is the original recipe card! Just a little worn! 😳

First, gather the ingredients

I use what I have, and often substitute ingredients, i.e. rum

The Ingredients

• 1 yellow cake mix such as Duncan Hines Delux Buttercake Mix

• 3-oz package of vanilla pudding, not instant

• 4 eggs

• 1/2 cup of oil

• 1/2 cup of water

• 3/4 cup of rum

• 1-2 cups of chopped pecans, and half pecans for decoration. Feel free to leave out the nuts. It does not change the taste. 😁

• recipe for the glaze, see below

1. Pre-heat the oven to 325 degrees. Grease and flour a bundt pan.

This step is very important because you don't want the cake to stick to the pan. I usually use butter to grease the pan, and then pour flour in the pan, and shake the flour all over the pan; then discard the excess flour. An easier method is to use Baker's Joy- see the picture above. It is a one-step process, which includes the grease and the four. Just spray the pan with Baker's Joy. However, even when I use Baker's Joy, I usually grease the pan first, just to be on the safe side!

2. Arrange half pecans in the bottom of the pan for a nice presentation.

2. In a large mixing bowl, beat all the ingredients for 3 minutes, then pour into the greased and floured bundt pan.

Bake at 325 degrees for 50-60 minutes and until a toothpick comes out clean. Remove from the oven, and cool for 15 minutes. Pour the glaze over the cake. See below for ingredients and instructions for the glaze.

The Glaze

Ingredients and Directions:

● 1 cup of sugar

● 1/2 cup of butter

● 1/2 cup of rum, or similar alcohol. In the picture of ingredients, I just used what I had, which was bourbon and Calvados. However, I prefer the taste of rum in this recipe. 😁

● 1/4 cup of water.

1. Mix all the ingredients in the saucepan, and boil for 2 minutes until sugar is dissolved.

2. Pour the glaze slowly over the cake. Cover the cake with foil, and let sit overnight or for 8 hours.

3. Turn the cake upside down onto a serving plate. Be sure to use a knife to loosen the edges of the cake before inverting. If the cake seems to stick to the pan, dip the bottom of the pan in warm water for a minute; or reheat in the oven for 5 minutes, and then loosen the edges with a knife before inverting. Sprinkle with powdered sugar, and garnish with holly leaves.

Enjoy! And Bon Appetit!! 🎄