Jamaica: Rum Cake

Going through my travel journals recently, I realized I’ve been to Jamaica six times, more than any other country except England (eight and counting). My first two sojourns were childhood family trips and I wasn’t given a vote, not that I was complaining—I got to splash around a pool sporting neon orange water wings, float down a river on a wooden raft, climb a waterfall, and I’m pretty sure there’s a picture somewhere out there of a naked three-year-old me running around on the beach.

As an adult, I first went when the husband and I celebrated our tenth wedding anniversary.  Expecting it to be a one-and-done trip, I found myself making plans for a return visit while on the plane back to America. On our most recent trip, knowing this post was in the offing, I made sure to finally try some Rum Cake. It was ok, but this one, which I made as one of the Desserts From Around the World for our Travel Bucket List Party & Fundraiser, is better. (And rest assured, for all of my adult visits to the island, I’ve resisted the urge to go running around naked on the beach.)

Negril’s Seven Mile Beach

Jamaican Rum Cake

Recipe Adapted From: www.rockrecipes.com

Level of Difficulty: low

Time Consumption: medium

Kitchen Destruction: low

Wow Factor: low (it is just a bundt cake, after all)

Cake Ingredients:

• 2¼ C all purpose flour
• ¼ C corn starch
• 3 tsp baking powder
• ½ tsp salt
• 1¼ C sugar
• ½ cup butter, room temperature
• ¼ C canola oil (or other vegetable oil) 
• ½ C evaporated milk (undiluted, straight from the can)
• 4 eggs
• 1 TBS pure vanilla extract
• 1/3 cup dark rum (gold or amber)

Rum-Butter Syrup Ingredients:

• ¼ C butter
• ½ C sugar
• ¼ C water
• ½ to ¾ C rum (gold or amber)
• ½ tsp pure vanilla extract

Directions for the Cake:

1. Start to prepare the cake by preheating the oven to 325°F. Grease and flour a bundt pan or funnel pan.

Fearful of the cake sticking to the pan, I didn’t skimp on the butter.

2. To the bowl of an electric mixer, add the flour, corn starch, baking powder, salt, sugar, butter and oil.

I forgot the cardinal rule of mixing: fats go on the bottom. Oops.

3. Mix on low speed for just a couple of minutes until the butter and oil are well incorporated and the mixture is crumbly and sandy-looking.

Sandy? Aye, cap’n! It makes me want to dig my toes into the soft sands of Seven Mile Beach. 🏖️

4. Mix in the evaporated milk and then mix in the eggs one at a time. Scrape the sides and bottom of the bowl well after each egg is added.

5. Finally, mix in the rum and vanilla extract until the batter is smooth.

6. Pour the batter into the prepared pan and bake for 55-65 minutes or until a wooden toothpick inserted into the centre comes out clean.

7. Turn the cake out onto a wire rack and cool completely. **Don’t wash the pan yet.**

Behold the power . . .

. . . of heat.

Directions for the Syrup & Assembly:

8. Add the butter, water, and sugar to a small saucepan. Bring to a slow boil and simmer for 7-8 minutes.

Re-behold the power . . .

. . . of heat.

9. Remove from the heat and allow to cool completely before adding in the rum and vanilla extract.

Awaiting the Special Sauce

10. Place the cooled cake back in the (dirty) bundt pan. This traps in any syrup that drips over the edges and then absorbs it into the cake.

11. With a long skewer, poke holes all over the top of the cake, straight through to the bottom of the pan.

12. Slowly spoon all of the rum and butter syrup evenly over the surface of the cake. 

From the Travel Bucket List Party & Fundraiser

Confessions of an Imperfect Baker: Frankly, I wasn’t happy with the syrup penetration of this cake; it didn’t go deep enough. I made the cake again several months later and doubled the butter-rum syrup recipe, including doubling the high end of the rum range (¾ C became 1½ C). The result? Nice and moist but waaaaay too strong, even for the husband’s palate (and that’s sayin’ somethin’). By the next day the sharp rum flavor had softened somewhat due to evaporation, but it was still overpowering. You may have to play around with the rum syrup to find quantities and rum ratios to your liking. Next time, I’ll double the syrup recipe (to increase the moisture) but keep the rum at ¾ C (to decrease the risk of cirrhosis).

One cake.

One love.