Back in college, my friends and I went on our very first cruise. We were SO excited, even though we would literally only be on the boat for two nights…but the most exciting part was the fact that we were going to the Bahamas. When we started talking about taking our trip to the Bahamas, that’s when I started to hear comments about how we HAD to get a rum cake when we were down there visiting. Unfortunately, I was so caught up with everything else that we were doing down there, that I forgot to get one of those little rum cakes.
A few years ago when I got into baking, my dad told me that I should make a rum cake. That man loves his rum. I tried one a few years ago but wasn’t all that impressed with how it turned out, so it needed to be experimented with again. Well, the perfect opportunity presented itself when my girls’ weekend trip to Florida presented itself. I knew that I had to make something delicious for the ladies, and when I asked them for suggestions, one of them suggested a rum cake. I gasped at the fact that the idea to make a rum cake didn’t immediately pop into my head in the first place. Well, when I started brainstorming ideas to figure out exactly what kind to make, the idea to combine an almond flavored liquor (amaretto) with chocolate seemed like the perfect combination. And honestly, amaretto is my favorite liquor. So, I got to work and made the cake before I left. While I was putting the glaze on the cake, orginally it seemed like there was too much glaze…but as the days went on, I could tell that it in fact needed every drop of that glaze in order to completely soak through the cake to keep that almond flavor in the cake along with keeping it moist. My girls and I have thoroughly enjoyed this cake, along with smothering it with chocolate syrup and ice cream.
For the Cake:
1 cup slivered almonds (optional)
1 box Duncan Hines dark chocolate fudge cake mix
1 small box instant chocolate pudding mix
4 eggs
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1/4 cup almond liquor (amaretto)
1/4 cup water
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease a bundt pan, sprinkle almonds in bottom of pan. Combine remaining ingredients and beat with electric mixer at medium speed for 2-4 minutes, until well blended. Pour into pan over almonds, bake for 45-50 minutes, or until toothpick inserted comes out clean. Poke holes in cake while still in pan, pour half of glaze over cake. Cool in pan for 10-12 minutes, then turn out of pan. While cake is still warm, brush remaining glaze over cake until glaze is gone (it will absorb into the cake and keep it moist).
For the Rum Glaze:
1 stick butter
1/4 cup water
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup almond liquor (amaretto)
Melt butter in small saucepan. Add water and sugar, stir until sugar is dissolved. Remove from heat, stir in amaretto.
Not a big fan of amaretto? No problem! Use your favorite liquor instead!
