Cat Santamauro ‘brought the crowd to its knees’, says Rick Nichols of The Inky, with this recipe. Like a really bad magician, she gives up her secrets after the jump.

Cherry Rum Cake

This is a twist on the traditional favorite you’ll find on any Caribbean vacation. A friend once described rum cake as “exotic and intoxicating”. While I personally have never eaten enough of it to get drunk, I still like the description. 

Rum cake is usually made with walnuts, but I like the warmth of the pecans but if you prefer walnuts, go crazy. This cake is best served the next day because it give the Rum Syrup time to really soak in, but if you can’t wait there is no wrong way to eat this.

Cake

Ingredients:

• 2 cups cake flour
• 1 cup sugar
• ½ cup brown sugar
• 4 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup butter, softened.
• 2/3 cup vegetable oil
• ½ cup spiced rum
• 1 package instant vanilla pudding mix
• ½ cup milk
• 4 eggs
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 lb cherries (Note: Have them thawed if you are using frozen. You can even use cherry pie filling just rinse away all the syrup in a colander.)
• ½ finely chopped pecans

Rum Butter Glaze

Ingredients

• ½ cup butter
• ¼ cup water
• 1 cup sugar
• ½ cup rum

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 325.
2. Grease the pan you are using.
3. Cream butter and sugars till smooth.
4. Add flour, baking powder, pudding mix, and salt. Mix until mixture resembles coarse crumbs.
5. Add milk, eggs, rum, oil, and vanilla. Mix until smooth.
6. Sprinkle the bottom with nuts, then add the cherries, and finally add the batter.
7. Bake (instructions below)
8. When the cake has been removed from the oven prepare the syrup by heating the butter, rum, water, and sugar in a small sauce pan till sugar is totally dissolved.
9. Remove the cake from the pan and slowly pour the syrup over giving it time to absorb until all the syrup is gone.

Baking Instructions:

The lovely thing about this recipe is you can make it in any size pan. This particular recipe makes a bunt cake. Or a 9×9 sheet. In the photo I halved the recipe and used a 1 quart round pan. For parties I have made mini cupcakes which are wonderful. They all take different times. Your best bet is to check every 10 mins. until the toothpick comes out clean.

Baking Time:
Mini cupcakes take about 20 min
9×9 pans take about 45 min
Full bunt pans take at least 60 min

Times are approximate. Every oven cooks differently, so check it often.

– Cat Santamauro

catFood is one girl’s mission to teach people the art of simple food with big flavor. She loves cheese, crafts, and her Kitchen-Aid mixer. She can often be found around fresh produce and curing the common cold with Matzo Ball Soup.