Bacardi Rum Cake From Loren Martin

This is THE rum cake recipe that gets passed around at potlucks and nobody ever turns down a second slice.

A yellow cake mix gets amped up with instant vanilla pudding and half a cup of 80-proof dark rum right in the batter, then baked over a layer of chopped pecans in a Bundt pan.

Once it’s cooled and flipped, the real magic happens: a hot butter-sugar-rum glaze gets drizzled over the top again and again until every last drop is absorbed into the cake.

The result is sticky, soaked through, and smells like a Caribbean holiday.

Kitchen Tips

• Prick the top of the inverted cake generously with a fork or skewer before glazing. The more holes, the more glaze soaks in.
• Apply the glaze in batches, waiting for each layer to absorb before adding more. Patience here is the difference between a moist cake and a soggy one.
• Boil the glaze for the full 5 minutes while stirring constantly. Under-boiled glaze is too thin and runs right off the cake.
• Let the cake sit overnight after glazing if you can stand to wait. The flavor deepens and the texture gets even more tender.