A celebratory dessert for the holidays! Grandma’s easy rum cake recipe starts with a box of cake mix for a moist, flavorful, and quick yellow Bundt cake that’s topped with pecans and soaked with a rich, butter-rum glaze. It’s been a favorite for generations!
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If you love easy cake mix recipes, be sure to try this coconut cream poke cake, a pumpkin cake with yellow cake mix, this chocolate chip bundt cake, this apple bundt cake, and a Southern Coca Cola cake with cake mix, too!
This cake was so moist and the rum taste was fantastic. It was delicious the first day but the second day even more delicious…
– Kathleen
Video: How to Make a Rum Cake Recipe with Cake Mix
I have vivid memories of my mom and my grandmother preparing this Christmas cake throughout my childhood. It’s a perfect holiday dessert because you can make it in advance (and it doesn’t need to be refrigerated), it’s easy (since it takes advantage of a boxed cake mix), and it feels festive and celebratory — thanks to plenty of butter rum glaze! It would also be ideal for Thanksgiving or New Year’s Eve.
The Taste
The base of the recipe is a golden yellow cake mix made with vanilla pudding and a touch of Caribbean rum. The cake itself doesn’t have a strong rum flavor at all — instead, it’s just a really moist, fluffy golden Bundt cake with a rich vanilla flavor and a toasty, crunchy pecan topping.
The warm cake soaks up a buttery rum glaze, which gives it that classic rum taste without an overpowering amount of alcohol. While some rum cakes taste very strongly of booze, this cake is made with less alcohol and therefore has a more subtle rum taste. Plus, the amount of alcohol in any given slice is not enough to make anyone drunk. You’ll need to pour some cocktails if that’s what you’re going for!
How to Make this Cake Mix Rum Cake
We’re big fans of store-bought shortcuts to help get easy desserts on the table without too much stress. This simple rum soaked cake looks impressive on a holiday table, but a yellow cake mix and a box of vanilla instant pudding make it a breeze to put together. You’ll find detailed directions in the recipe card below, but here’s the overview:
- Arrange the pecans in an even layer at the bottom of a greased and floured Bundt pan.
- Make the cake batter by combining the cake mix, pudding mix, rum, water, vegetable oil, and eggs. Beat for 2 minutes.
- Pour the cake batter over the nuts in the Bundt pan.
- Bake the cake in a 325 degree F oven for 1 hour.
- This cake gets it’s ultra-moist texture and rich flavor from the special butter rum glaze. You’ll need to prepare the glaze about 5-10 minutes before the cake comes out of the oven so that it’s ready to go when you need to drizzle it over the hot cake. To do so, combine the glaze ingredients in a saucepan and boil for 3 minutes, stirring constantly.
- Poke holes in the bottom of the cake while it’s still in the pan and drizzle about half of the glaze all over the hot cake. After about 10 minutes, flip the cake out onto a wire rack, poke holes in the top, and drizzle with the remaining glaze. Tip: Set the wire rack on top of a foil-lined baking sheet for easy clean-up. Some of the glaze will drip down the side of the cake onto the foil, so it’s much easier if that mess isn’t all over your countertops.
- When the cake is completely cool, slice and serve!
Tips for the Best Rum Cake Recipe
- Grease the Bundt pan really well by coating with butter and then dusting with flour. Alternatively, you can use a cooking spray that’s specifically made for baking. These options will ensure that your cake pops right out of the pan when it’s done!
- The Best Rum for Cake: You can use almost any rum. Just make sure that it tastes good enough to drink! I use a light rum — specifically, Captain Morgan Caribbean Spiced Rum — since that’s what we tend to have on hand. A bolder dark rum will also work for a stronger, richer flavor.
- Glaze the cake while it’s still warm. This way it soaks up as much of the butter rum glaze as possible. It’s also nice to have some of the glaze all over the outside of the cake. It drips down the sides and creates a thin icing “crust.”
Did you make this recipe?
If you enjoyed this recipe, please leave a comment with a 5-star review at the bottom of the post. Thank you!
Watch How to Make It
Rum Cake with Cake Mix
Ingredients
FOR THE RUM CAKE
- 1 cup finely-chopped pecans
- 1 (15.25 oz) box yellow cake mix
- 1 (3.4 oz) box instant vanilla pudding mix
- ¼ cup rum
- ½ cup water
- ½ cup vegetable oil
- 4 large eggs, at room temperature
FOR THE RUM CAKE GLAZE
- ½ cup (1 stick) salted butter
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- ¼ cup rum
- ¼ cup water
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 325°F. Grease and flour a Bundt pan. Sprinkle the pecans in the bottom of the prepared pan. Set aside.
- In a large bowl, combine the cake mix, pudding mix, rum, water, vegetable oil, and eggs. Beat on medium speed for 2 minutes.
- Pour the batter over the nuts in the pan.
- Bake for 1 hour, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
- About 10 minutes before the cake is done, prepare the glaze. In a saucepan, combine the butter, sugar, rum, and water. Boil for 3 minutes, whisking constantly.
- Leave the hot cake in the pan and use a toothpick or wooden skewer to poke holes in the bottom of the cake. Slowly drizzle about half of the glaze over the bottom of the cake, allowing time for the glaze to soak into the holes and be absorbed by the hot cake. Place a wire rack over a foil-lined baking sheet to catch drips. After about 10 minutes in the pan, turn the cake out onto the wire rack (right-side up). Poke holes on the top of the cake. Gradually drizzle remaining glaze over the top of the cake. A lot of the glaze will soak into the cake, and some will also drip down the sides.
- Cool completely, then slice and serve!
Notes
Nutrition
More Easy Bundt Cake Recipes with Cake Mix
Lemon Bundt Cake with Cake Mix
2 hours hrs 55 minutes mins
Chocolate Bundt Cake {Using Cake Mix!}
3 hours hrs 5 minutes mins
Cake Mix Coffee Cake
3 hours hrs 10 minutes mins
This recipe was originally published in November, 2020. It was updated in December, 2024.
While reading the instructions I note that in #7 the instructions say to poke holes in the bottom of the cake and to drizzle the glaze over the bottom of the cake- however the bottom of the cake is still in the pan.
In #8 the instructions say to turn the cake out of the pan onto a wire rack right side up and poke holes into the top of the cake. The cake will end top side down onto the wire rack.
Should these instructions be reversed to say in #7 to remove the cake from the pan so the bottom side is up and in #8 to flip the cake right side up and poke holes into the top of the cake?
Thank you for this recipe. I have a similar recipe not using a mix. This is quicker I will definitely make it.
Hi, Irene! You want to leave the cake in the pan to poke holes in the bottom first, since the bottom of the cake is what’s on top while it’s still in the pan. Then when you invert the cake onto a cooling rack, the top of the cake will be on top. That’s when you’ll be able to glaze the top of the cake.
The cake bakes upside down in a Bundt pan, so maybe that’s what’s confusing you? Hope I’ve helped clarify. 🙂
Should I use a 10 cup or a 12 cup bundt cake pan for this recipe?
How do I adjust the cooking time for making 20 mini Bundt Rum cakes?
Hi, JR! Those sound really fun! I would think that the mini Bundt cakes should bake similar to muffins or cupcakes, so try 350 degrees F for 20-25 minutes. Enjoy!
I’ll definitely share the pics once I’ve done it.
I’m going to use Raisins instead of peacans because I’m allergic to them…
Thank you very much Blair!
That’s great — enjoy! I bet the raisins would be delicious if you soak them in rum before adding them to the cake. Soft, plump and full of flavor. Hope you enjoy!
Hi
Hi
Thank you so much for this wonderful recipe I misplaced it.
I used the rum from traders Joe
WHALER’S
Be well
Oh, good! Glad to share it again, Ruth. 🙂
Hi Blair, I just made (09/05/21) this absolutely delicious rum cake. I surprised my husband with it and he took one look and immediately wanted a slice. This cake was so moist and the rum taste was fantastic. It was delicious the first day but the second day even more delicious. I used a dark rum (Bumbu) and can’t wait to make it again. Thanks so much for this fantastic recipe.
Thank you, Kathleen! I’m so happy to hear that. What a great treat to share with your husband. 🙂
i make this rumcake asas mothers but my mom always poked lots of holes while in the pan and poured the WHOLE icing over the cake straight out of the oven i thought the glaze was going to run all over but it sat there & began soaking in, this cake so moist and yummy i use this same recipe it is hers exactly. Just soak the glaze different is all and but add more rum to the glaze still wont make you drunk with the added rum lol… try it it is awesome Thanks Barb Auten Whitney Texas
Yes, that will work, too! Thank you, Barbara. 🙂
What a great person you are to share such a wonderful recipe. It made my family think that I can really bake even though I told them it was your recipe. They were surprised that I got it right.(lol)
Thank you so much, Mattie! We’re happy to hear it turned out well for you.
I’ve never heard of her or her book, but thank you for letting me know. My mom and grandmother have been making this cake for as long as I can remember.
This recipe has been around forever. In fact, Bacardi Rum included this recipe in their recipe pamphlets in the early 1980’s. Your comment was unnecessary and accusatory.
I’ll second the fact that Bacardi published a nearly identical recipe. I have used the Bacardi recipe for at least 30yrs ( it calls for yellow cake mix with pudding in the mix, but since I couldn’t find that, I was googling to see if I could just add pudding mix without adjusting anything else and voila! this popped up) it’s a great recipe and I was thrilled to find this variation. Thanks for publishing what was probably the result of Blair’s mom being in the same boat as I was!
We’re so glad you found it, Randi! We’re happy to have you here and hope you enjoy!
Should I use a 10 cup or a 12 cup bundt cake pan for this recipe?
Hi, Janet! I typically use a 12-cup pan, but I bet a 10-cup pan would also work.
Loved this simple but very tasty recipe. Great served plain but I added a scoop of vanilla ice cream drizzled with more Meyers rum and it really was a big hit. So good.
Sounds delicious! Thank you for trying it out, Cheryl. We’re so glad you enjoyed the recipe!
Darn good Rum cake. Just made #2 share with neighbors. One of them has a still and furnished the Rum. Easy to follow and turns out great. Thanks for sharing.
Oh how cool! Thank you, Walter. We’re so glad you enjoyed it!
Thank you for sharing your wonderful family recipe, Blair! Came out so delicious + super moist! A new fam fave! My husband requested Rum cake for his b-day which I’d heard was tricky but this was such a breeze. Smells divine in the oven. I used Betty Crocker Super Moist Yellow Cake mix – which got the highest online reviews. And since it was such a big hit, when I made it again, still used the inexpensive (Captain Morgan Spiced) Rum for the glaze but 1/4 cup Kahlúa in the cake instead of Rum and this was so delicious as well.
I’m so glad that it was a hit, Arnell. Thank you for letting me know!
Excellent. My mom has very little appetite at 92, but she wanted more it was so delicious!
Easy too make
That makes me so happy to hear. Thank you, Mary!
I love you using this cake recipe but I never use the rum. Sometimes I’ll put coconut flavoring and coconut in it and sometimes just plain with pecans and next time I’m going to try devil’s food but I love making cake and a bundt pan and I thank you so much for this recipe I might even do strawberry cake with real berries in it! Thanks again
Thanks, Angela Louise! I agree — this is a really flexible recipe that works in so many different flavor combos. Feel free to poke around my website — I have many different options (from chocolate to lemon, orange juice to chocolate chip). Thanks for your note!