Almost Tortuga Rum Cake
A scratch copycat version of the famous cake sold in The Bahamas.
Servings 12
Cost 5
Ingredients
Dry Mix Ingredients
- 2 cups cake flour (8 oz/230 grams)
- 1 ½ cups granulated sugar (300 grams)
- 4 teaspoons baking powder
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ½ cup unsalted butter, cut into bits (114 grams)
- 3 tablespoons vegetable oil
- 1 box vanilla instant pudding mix (3.5 oz box or 4 serving size)
Wet Ingredients & Nuts
- ½ cup vegetable oil (melted coconut oil works, too)
- ½ cup milk (120 ml)
- 4 large eggs
- ½ cup whaler vanilla rum Hawaiian-style rum
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ½ cup finely chopped walnuts
Soaking Glaze
- ½ cup butter, unsalted or salted (I used unsalted) (114 grams)
- ¼ cup water
- 1 cup granulated sugar (200 grams)
- ½ cup whaler vanilla rum Hawaiian-style rum
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 325 degrees F. Grease and flour a standard size Bundt pan or spray generously with a good flour-added baking spray.
- Mix the cake flour, sugar, baking powder and salt in bowl of a stand mixer. Add chunks of softened butter and 3 tablespoons of the vegetable oil. Continue mixing on medium low speed until mixture looks like fine gravel. Add the pudding mix and stir well.
- Once you have your dry mixture ready, it's time to add the "wet" ingredients.
- Add milk, eggs, remaining oil, rum and vanilla. Continue beating with the paddle, raising speed to medium. Beat until well mixed, scraping bowl often. Batter should be very smooth.
- Sprinkle the chopped nuts across the bottom of the pan. Pour batter over nuts and bake for 55 minutes or until a cake tester comes out clean and cake springs back.
- Prepare Rum Soaking Glaze. Combine butter, water and sugar in a small saucepan and bring to a boil. Reduce to a simmer and cook until sugar is dissolved and syrup is well combined and a little thicker.
- Remove from the heat and stir in the rum.
- While cake is still cooling upside down in the pan, pour some of the hot syrup on top of the cake (I poke holes all over it with a toothpick, allowing it time to soak in. This may take a few minutes as there will be a lot of syrup) continue to add syrup until all of the syrup is added. Allow cake to cool completely in pan before turning out onto serving platter.