Cinnamon Vanilla Bean Rum Cake

It's no secret that when it comes to cake, rum cake is one of my favorites!

At its heart, this is a simple vanilla rum cake glammed it up with some spicy and super fragrant Vietnamese cinnamon and a decadent, booze, buttery Cinnamon Butter Rum Syrup to pour over the whole thing.

It takes a little patience to let the syrup soak in, but once it does, the resulting cake is absolutely luscious! Seriously SO worth the wait. (And I am not by nature a patient girl!)

I think this is a fantastic cake for the upcoming holiday season; one that most definitely would NOT be unwelcome on your Thanksgiving or Christmas table.

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Loved this recipe? Here are three other cakes you might like:

• Cranberry Orange Chocolate Chip Loaf Cake
• Whole Orange Bundt Cake with Chocolate Ganache Glaze
• Blackberry Saffron Almond Cake

And let's connect so you can find out the next time I post! Follow me on Twitter, Instagram, or Pinterest, become a fan on Facebook, or sign up to receive my once-a-week e-mail updates.

Thanks so much for reading! 

Cinnamon Vanilla Bean Rum Cake


Ingredients
For the cake:
1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 cup milk
1/4 cup light rum
2 vanilla beans, split lengthwise
3/4 cup butter softened
2 eggs, room temperature
1 egg yolk
3/4 cup granulated sugar
1/4 cup packed brown sugar

For the butter rum syrup:
1/2 cup unsalted butter
1/2 cup water
3/4 cup granulated white sugar
3 cinnamon sticks
1/2 cup rum

Directions

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Grease and flour a 10-inch bundt pan. Whisk together flour and baking powder. Combine milk, rum, and vanilla bean seeds in a separate small bowl.

Beat butter, granulated sugar and brown sugar with an electric mixer about 10 minutes or until light and fluffy. Add eggs and yolk and beat 1 more minute. Add flour mixture and milk mixture to butter mixture, beating on low speed just until combined. Pour batter into the prepared pan.

Bake 45 minutes, or until a tester inserted in center comes out clean.

Remove cake from pan and let cool while you make the syrup.

Make the syrup: In  a large saucepan with high sides, combine butter, water, sugar, salt  and cinnamon sticks. Bring to a rapid boil for one minute, then lower  heat and let simmer until reduced by about 1/3, stirring occasionally  and keeping an eye on it so it doesn't boil over. Remove from heat and  stir in the rum (it will bubble!).
Return the cooled cake to the clean baking pan and pour syrup over the cake. Let it absorb 1-2 hours before turning out and serving.

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Mini Coconut Ice Cream Rum Cakes

It's no secret that, when it comes to cake, my absolute favorite kind ever is rum cake. Nothing compares to the moist, golden cake soaked through with that boozy, buttery syrup.

I'm always looking for an excuse to enjoy it. Best vacation souvenir? Rum cake! What to serve at Christmas dinner? Rum cake! Birthday coming up? Definitely rum cake!

I regularly make my own homemade rum cake from-scratch, but I am also a fan of purchased rum cakes.

Anytime I'm at TJ Maxx, you can usually find me raiding the food aisle for rum cakes. They keep forever and are great to have around for last-minute gifts or cravings.

They are also wonderful for creating other desserts, like trifles, easy tiramisu-style layered desserts, or quick homemade ice cream cakes!

These ice cream cakes were a bit of a summertime inspiration when I realized I could use the little tins the cake came in as a mold for mini ice cream cakes.
 

Seriously...so adorable!
Moist coconut rum cake, layered with ice cream, shredded coconut and topped with your favorite sundae toppings--absolute heaven!

Seriously such a perfect fun-in-the-sun summer dessert, and really simple to make!

You start off with the cake: I chose coconut rum cake for this recipe, but you can really play around--I bet a lime cake would be amazing with a citrus ice cream, or a boozy bourbon cake with butter pecan! Then layer in the ice cream and freeze until solid.

Unmold it just before serving and go wild with the toppings.

The perfect way to end your next summer party!

Mini Coconut Ice Cream Rum Cakes
Yields 2 mini ice cream cakes (multiply as desired!)

Ingredients
3 4oz rum cakes in tins, or use giant muffin tins as your mold
1 pint coconut ice cream, softened
1/2 cup grated coconut
whipped cream, maraschino cherries, and sprinkles, for garnish

Directions
Remove cakes from plastic wrap and set aside. Rinse and dry the rum cake or muffin tins, then line with heavy duty plastic wrap arranged so that it hangs over the sides of each well.

Cut cakes into smaller pieces and press into bottom of tin to create one even layer, about 1 1/2" thick. You'll need about 1 1/2 cakes per tin, or use slices from a full-size cake to create the layers.

Scoop in about 1/2 cup ice cream, and use a spoon to smooth into an even layer, 1 1/2" thick.

Repeat with other tin, then sprinkle both with grated coconut. Cover and freeze for at least 6 hours, or until very firm.

Insert a butter knife between edge of tin and plastic wrap and gently pull the cake up (don't be afraid to force it--you can always reshape it a bit once it's out of the tin.) Peel away the plastic wrap and arrange on a serving platter.

Top with whipped cream, maraschino cherries, and sprinkles (or any of your favorite toppings!), and serve immediately.

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Boozy Rum Cake Truffles

When testing my from-scratch chocolate rum cake recipe, I had a bit of a bundt pan mishap and the cake ended up getting half-stuck in the pan. The pan itself is a bit old and no amount of greasing or combination of flour + grease seems to help anymore.

It happens, and in this case, I'm actually glad that it did because it led to the creation of these absolutely AMAZING Boozy Rum Cake Truffles.

You'll need a batch of rum cake to make this. You can use my Original From-Scratch Rum Cake recipe or my new Chocolate Rum Cake. You can also use a store-bought rum cake or just make a batch using your own favorite recipe.

Another idea? You can just use any cake--a plain from-scratch chocolate cake or yellow cake, a store-bought poundcake,  an (ahem) box mix cake--and douse it in rum syrup (choose either the plain or chocolate syrups from the recipes linked to above) and then proceed with the truffle recipe. Super easy!

As this cake is already naturally very moist from the soaking syrup, you don't need to add any frosting to get it to form into balls. Simple puree it in the food processor until sticky and use your hands to roll into balls that are then dipped in melted chocolate.

A food processor is key for this recipe, although you can also use a mixer with a paddle attachment.

This would make a fun dessert to serve at a holiday cocktail party. They also keep very well and can be packaged up as an edible Christmas gift idea.

You can also just leave a tray of them in your fridge and let your husband work his way through them. That works, too!

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Boozy Rum Cake Truffles Recipe
The yield depends on the size of your rum cake

Ingredients
1 moist rum cake (such as plain rum cake or chocolate rum cake)
1/4 walnuts (optional)
1 1/2 cups bittersweet chocolate chips
2 teaspoons coconut oil or vegetable shortening (such as Crisco)

Directions
Break the cake up into small chunks and place in your food processor along with the walnuts, if using. Process for 2-3 minutes until a smooth and sticky batter forms.

Line a baking sheet with wax paper. Taking about 2 tablespoons at a time, shape the dough into round balls and set on the baking sheet. Repeat with all the dough.

Place the chocolate chips in a bowl and melt in the microwave in 30 second intervals, stirring each time until smooth. Stir in the coconut oil or shortening to thin the chocolate and make it smooth.

Using two forks, dip each ball into the chocolate and let coat completely. Shake off excess chocolate and transfer to the wax paper-lined sheet to set.

Once all the balls are coated. Place in a cool, dry place to set for one hour. These can also set in the refrigerator. Place in small cupcake or candy wrapper cups or serve as is. Store leftovers, covered loosely in the refrigerator, up to one week.

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Homemade Chocolate Rum Cake Recipe (From Scratch Tortuga Copycat)

Rum Cake has long been my favorite type of Christmas treat. When we were kids, my dad used to pick up a cake from a local health food restaurant to serve with Christmas Eve dinner. I have no idea why the place made totally-not-at-all healthy rum cake, but it did, and it was delicious, and yes...we ate it even though we were kids. (Well, I did--my brother was never a fan.) Incidentally, I was recently working on a project where a little girl mentioned that her favorite type of cake was "rum cake," so I know I'm not the only one.

I first posted my original recipe for Rum Cake from Scratch back in March of 2011. Since then, it's definitely become one of the most popular ones on this site for people looking for a way to recreate that moist, boozy Tortuga-style rum cake without all the funky additions of box mixes.  I decided to revisit it this year with a From Scratch Chocolate Rum Cake Version for your holiday (or any day) pleasure.

The chocolate flavor in this cake comes from a combination of both cocoa powder (use the regular unsweetened, not dutch process kind) and melted chocolate chips. Together they give the cake a rich chocolate flavor and lovely dark color. I also added cocoa to the soaking syrup at the end, for additional deliciousness.
 

I baked some of my batter in tiny little bundt cake molds, for individual treats, and it works just as well either way. They actually came out looking like rum cake donuts. Christmas breakfast idea, perhaps? I've included baking times for both, below.

The first time I made this cake, I had a bundt cake disaster and it wouldn't come out of the mold (happens to the best of us!), so I decided to use that cake to make Chocolate Rum Cake Truffles and I daresay they're even BETTER than the cake itself.

A Few Notes Based on Previous Questions:
    •    Cornstarch is also known as "cornflour" in the UK and other countries.
    •    1 cup DIY pudding mix is equivalent to 1 standard 3.4oz package of boxed mix
    •    Use regular "unsweetened cocoa powder" (such as Hershey's), not Dutch Process
    •    Yes, you can replace Kahlua, for a Kahlua cake.
    •    A spiced rum such as Bacardi Oakheart, Captain Morgan, or Sailor Jerry would be wonderful here.
    •    Dark rum is preferred, but you CAN use white rum if that's what you have.
    •    You can use equal amounts of brewed coffee instead of the rum for a non-alcoholic version.

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Homemade Chocolate Rum Cake Recipe (Totally from scratch! No box mixes.)

Ingredients
1/2 cups walnuts, crushed
1 1/2 cups granulated white sugar
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, softened
3 tablespoons + 1/2 cup vegetable oil, divided
1 3/4 cup all purpose flour
1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder (not dutch process)
4 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1 cup DIY vanilla pudding mix (click for my easy homemade pudding mix recipe; if you prefer, you can use 1 box of packaged instant vanilla or chocolate pudding mix OR substitute 1/3 cup dry milk powder + 1/3 cup cornstarch + 1/3 additional cup sugar and increase vanilla extract by 1 teaspoon)
3/4 cup whole milk
1/4 cup bittersweet chocolate chips
3/4 cup dark rum (substitute half or all Kahlua for a Kahlua Rume Cake!)
1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract
4 large eggs

For the syrup
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter
1/2 cup water
3/4 cup granulated white sugar
1 teaspoon Kosher salt
1/4 cup cocoa powder
1/2 cup dark rum OR Kahlua

Directions
Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Grease and flour bunt pan, and drop crushed walnuts into the bottom of the pan. Set aside.

In the base of a mixer, cream the sugar and butter for 3 minutes. Mix in the 3 tablespoons oil, flour, cocoa, baking powder, salt, and pudding mix.

In a small saucepan, combine the whole milk and chocolate chips and stir over low heat until the chocolate is melted. Set aside and let cool slightly. In a separate bowl, whisk together the remaining 1/2 cup oil, rum, vanilla, and eggs. Stir in the cooled chocolate milk mixture.

Add the wet ingredients to the dry mix and mix until smooth with no lumps. The batter should be very thin and pour easily. Pour batter into the prepared bundt pan and bake 5- to 60 minutes, or until a tester inserted in the cake comes up clean. Let cool in pan for 10 minutes, then invert onto a rack. Let cool for 20-30 minutes.

While the cake cools, prepare the rum syrup. In a large saucepan with high sides, combine the butter, water, granulated sugar, salt, and cocoa powder. Cook over medium heat until the butter completely melts and the sugar dissolves. Let reduce slightly, keeping an eye on it so it doesn’t boil over. Remove from the heat and stir in the rum (it will bubble).

Wash and dry the bundt pan, then place over the cool cake and invert the cake back into the pan. Pour the hot rum syrup all over the cake and let soak for 8 hours (overnight). In morning, invert the cake back onto a serving platter. Keeps covered for 1 week at room temperature.

Variation: This can also be made in mini bundt pans; bake at the same temp about 17-20 minutes, depending on how mini your pans are.

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