It's a Piece of Cake to Bake a Pretty Cake

Cake.



Possibly my favorite food in the world. I love cake. Cakes with frosting must have at least two layers. The thin coat of frosting between two layers of cake is what I imagine Heaven to be like. I am not sure if you will know what I mean because I am getting really specific here, but I like the way the cake sticks to either side of the frosting when the two layers come apart.

Enough about cake with frosting because this cake has something better (yes, better is possible in this situation only): rum. Rum cake is God's love raining down on mankind in the shape of a bundt pan. My aunt Janet has always made the best rum cake every year for Christmas since before I can remember. It is the food I look forward to the most every time our family gets together for Christmas Eve dinner. It is a rich cake with a buttery bittersweet flavor. Sweet pecan bits are baked into the top of the cake to give it a great contrast of texture from the outside to the soft, smooth inside of the cake. It is so easy to make (using cake mix), and it comes out just like my aunt Janet's.



This is one of my favorite desserts in the world. In fact, I would give it a slot in my top 10 (in no particular order):

Stonewood Grill and Tavern Chocolate Bread Pudding
Polar Cup (strawberry or watermelon or lemon) - I always thought this was a huge establishment, but Polar Cup is a hometown thing...you need to find some if you are ever in Tampa, Florida.
Sweet Lady Jane Triple Berry Cake
Yogurtland
Diddy Riese icecream sandwiches
Better than sex cake (chocolate or vanilla - recipes to come later)
Chocolate pecan bourbon pie
Cakies
Almost any kind of frosted cake with multiple layers

And of course, Aunt Janet's Rum Cake:

For Cake:
1 box Duncan Hines golden butter cake mix
1/2 C light rum
1/4 C oil
1 C chopped pecans
1 small box instant vanilla pudding
4 eggs
1/2 C water

For Glaze:
1 C sugar
1 stick butter
1/4 C rum
1/4 C water

Preheat the oveN to 325 degrees F.
In a large bowl, mix all the cake ingredients except for the pecans. Use a beater to combine thoroughly.
Grease a bundt pan, and sprinkle the pecans around the bottom of the pan.
Pour the cake batter in the pan on top of the pecans and bake for 50 minutes.

Start making the glaze when you take the cake out of the oven.
Combine all ingredients for the glaze in a small pot, and bring to a boil for 2-3 minutes.
While the cake is still in the pan, pour the glaze all over the cake (poke holes all over the cake with a fork or a toothpick so that the glaze can seep in).
Once the glaze is absorbed, turn the cake over onto your serving plate.
Allow cake to cool for at least two hours before serving.



The rum flavor in this cake is pretty strong. It is slightly surprising with the first bite; that is how you know it is right!



I will leave you with this video in case you really want to understand the inspiration behind this blog post...and get a great song stuck in your head at the same time.