“HOLY F**K THIS IS AMAZING!!!” Layer Rum Cake Recipe with Rum Glaze and Cream Cheese Frosting

“HOLY F**K THIS IS AMAZING!!!” is the unanimous response from everyone who tried my latest iteration of rum cake.  It’s dense and moist and boozey and not too sweet.  So, you know, perfect! 

*Note to readers and bloggers alike: The preceding sentence is the appropriate length for a recipe blog post.  You don’t give a sh*t about my life and I don’t feel like telling you about my childhood memories of desserts. 

**I forgot to take photos so this is the ONE picture of the cake I took… and it wasn’t even done!  I frosted the sides and, well, the blueberries are superimposed.  

Without further ado…

The Best Damn Layer Rum Cake with Rum Glaze & Cream Cheese Frosting Recipe!

Ingredients

Cake

• 1 box yellow cake mix (“moist deluxe” or something like that)
• 1-ounce box instant vanilla pudding mix, divided (3.4 oz for cake, remainder is for the cream cheese frosting)
• 4 large eggs
• 1/2 cup water (or Captain Morgan Spiced Rum if you’re psycho like me)
• 1/2 cup liquid coconut oil (or vegetable oil if you can’t get it)
• 1/2 cup dark rum (I used Gosling’s Dark Rum)
• 2 to 3 teaspoons vanilla or coconut extract (I used vanilla)

Rum Glaze

• 3/4 cup unsalted butter (1 1/2 sticks)
• 1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
• 1/4 cup water
• 1/4 teaspoon fine sea salt, or to taste
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/2 cup rum (I used ¼ cup Gosling’s Dark Rum + ¼ cup Captain Morgan Spiced Rum)
• Optional: Fresh blueberries!  Coat them in cooled glaze and place them on/around the cake for decoration

‘Concrete’ Cream Cheese Frosting

• ½ cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened
• 8 oz (1 brick) full-fat cream cheese, softened
• 1+ teaspoon vanilla extract
• ¼ teaspoon fine sea salt
• Remaining 1.7oz pudding mix not used in cake
• ½ – 1 cup powdered sugar to taste

Directions

1. Add all the cake ingredients into a mixing bowl together and mix until just combined.
2. Pour the batter in 2 8-9” round greased-and-sugared cake pans and follow the baking instructions on the box.  Generally, this should be a temperature of 325F and roughly 45 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.
3. When the cake has 10-15 minutes left to bake, prepare the glaze.  Use a high-sided saucepan and start be melting the butter over medium heat.  Add the sugar and water and bring it to a boil, whisking constantly until it is combined.  Remove from heat and add the vanilla extract and rum while whisking – it will bubble and froth like a rabid dog for a moment while the alcohol burns off, so exercise caution!  Return the pan to heat for a minute or so, add the salt, and whisk.  It should be nice and thick.  Remove from heat and let it cool.
4. Once the cake is cooled, turn out the first layer on your platter.  Stab it repeatedly, with a skewer or fork or knife or whatever poking implement you prefer.  Make sure you make a lot of deep holes, but not so many that the cake becomes an unrecognizable mess.  It should keep its shape!
5. Liberally coat the first layer in rum glaze, pressing it in a bit with a spatula or spoon.  Cover the whole top and sides.  Let it cool.
6. Mix the cream cheese frosting up in a mixer.  It will be THICK, hence the ‘concrete’ designation.  Slather some on top of the first layer of cooled cake – enough to create a recognizable layer, but not so much the top slides off.
7. Plop the second layer on top of the first and repeat the process.  Stab it, glaze it, then frost it.  You should have enough frosting to work it all over the sides.
8. Decorate it as you wish!  I like the little gold sugar sprinkles and some blueberries tossed in glaze because it looks classy.
9. Pour the remaining rum glaze in a vessel so that the boozehounds at the table can pour more over their cake.
10. Serve this insanely decadent cake with vanilla ice cream, or coconut if you can find it.
11. The flavors marry over time, so the longer this cake sits, the tastier it gets!  It can be stored at room-temperature for about 3 days.
12. ENJOY!!!

Love,
Raina