Just the idea of a cake that’s centered around the main ingredients of butter and rum sends me swooning. I mean, these are two fantastic ingredients, am I right? This Butter Cake with Rum Glaze tastes like buttery rich heaven with a kick of something special. The perfect marriage of flavors, if you ask me!
Butter, oh how we love you
If you’ve never had a butter cake before, you’re in for a treat. The two sticks of butter gives this cake a richness and flavor that can’t be beat. The texture of this cake is also to die for. The best way to describe it is that it’s sorta like a vanilla pound cake. Dense and oh-so-buttery with a hint of vanilla. But then, there’s that rum glaze that takes it over the top.
Rum Glaze
Most butter cake recipes are accompanied by a butter sauce. This one is, too, however, I kicked it up a couple of notches by adding in some rum instead of the usual water. The trick to this butter cake is to poke holes all over the exterior then pour that rum glaze over top. And, once the rum soaks in to the cake, you do it again! And again after that! After the rum saturates the cake, a beautiful glazy crust forms on the outside of the cake. This adds a wonderful textural element to the outside of the cake, while the rich, buttery interior has now been soaked with rum. Not sure it gets better than that, my friends!
Tips for Making This Recipe
- Be sure to generously butter and flour your pan before pouring in the cake batter. This will help ensure the cake comes out of that pan in one piece without any sticking. I like to take a pat of room temperature butter, place a folded piece of paper towel over one side and smear the butter all over every nook and cranny of the pan. Be generous here. You don’t want gobs of butter all over your pan, but you do want an even layer of butter over every inch of that pan. Then, take a tablespoon of flour and sprinkle it around the pan. Tilt the pan to a 45 degree angle over the sink and gently tap the sides of the pan with one hand while rotating the pan around with your other hand. This will ensure the flour covers all the butter. Tip the pan upside down over the sink to tap out any excess flour
- Bake this cake on the middle rack in your oven. You may want to rotate the pan halfway through the baking time to ensure the cake bakes evenly, especially if your oven has hot spots or does not bake consistently
- When you are ready to pour the rum glaze over the cake, be sure to poke many holes in the cake using a toothpick. Don’t be afraid of ruining the cake or of poking too many holes. The idea is to allow as much of that rum glaze to soak into the cake as possible. For the final step, again poke holes into the sides of the cake (including the hole in the middle) and use a pastry brush to brush on the remaining glaze
Butter Cake with Rum Glaze
The idea of a cake centered around butter and rum sends me swooning. This Butter Cake with Rum Glaze tastes like heaven with a kick of something special.
- Prep Time: 20 minutes
- Cook Time: 1 hour
- Total Time: 1 hour 20 minutes
- Yield: 16 slices 1x
- Category: Bundt Cake
- Method: Bake
- Cuisine: American
Ingredients
For the Cake:
- 3 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
- 2 cups granulated sugar
- 4 large eggs, room temperature
- 2 teaspoons vanilla
- 1 cup buttermilk
For the Rum Glaze:
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- ½ cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, cubed
- ¼ cup rum
- 3 teaspoons vanilla
Instructions
Prepare: Preheat oven to 350° F. Butter generously and flour a 10-inch tube pan or bundt pan. Set aside
Make Cake Batter: In a medium bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Set aside. In the bowl of a stand mixer, cream together butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat in vanilla. Alternating with the buttermilk, add the flour mixture to the butter/sugar mixture in 3 additions, beating well after each addition
Bake: Pour batter into prepared pan. Bake 55-70 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Cool 10 minutes. Run a knife around edges and center tube of pan. Invert cake onto a wire rack set over waxed paper
Make Rum Glaze: In a small saucepan, whisk together the sugar, butter and rum. Cook over medium heat just until butter is melted and sugar is dissolved fully. Remove from the heat; stir in vanilla
Glaze the Cake: With a toothpick, poke holes in the top of the warm cake. Pour or spoon 1/4 cup of the glaze over the cake. Let stand until glaze is absorbed. Repeat twice. Poke holes into the sides of the cake and brush remaining glaze over the sides. Cool completely before slicing
Notes
Store cooled cake at room temperature for up to 4 days
Cake may be frozen prior to glazing. Wrap cooled cake tightly in plastic wrap and store in freezer for up to 3 months. Warm gently in the oven at low temperature until cake is thawed and warm to the touch. Proceed with glazing the cake
Recipe adapted from TasteOfHome.com
Keywords: butter cake, rum glaze, rum sauce, gooey gooey butter cake, old fashioned butter cake, traditional butter cake, how to make butter cake, butter cake recipe, easy butter cake recipe, Kentucky butter cake recipe
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Thank you so much for visiting me at kickassbaker! I'm Kim. I'm a working mom and home baker who's constantly in search of a life in balance. Come join me in baking up some sweet treats mixed in with the occasional healthy and savory recipe. Thanks for joining me on my journey called everyday life!
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