This caramel rum bundt cake topped with a homemade caramel sauce is soft & buttery with a beautiful rum flavor.

This caramel rum bundt cake is soft, buttery, and sweet with a beautiful rum flavor. It's similar to a pound cake in flavor, but an even better texture thanks to the butter-oil combo. So you still get that buttery flavor, but don't sacrifice that melt-in-your-mouth texture! In order to really optimize on the rum flavor, there's rum baked into the cake AND in the syrup that's brushed onto the warm, freshly baked cake. Once it's topped with my go-to homemade caramel sauce, this cake becomes truly to die for!
Ingredients
- All-Purpose Flour: You'll need about 2 ½ cups of flour for this recipe.
- Granulated Sugar: There is quite a lot of sugar in each component of this recipe, but do not be tempted to alter the quantities. Sugar not only provides sweetness, but also texture to the cake and is the main ingredient in caramel.
- Leavener: To give this cake a dense, tight crumb you'll add just baking powder rather than baking soda.
- Unsalted Butter: You'll need a little more than one stick of unsalted butter for this cake and more for both the syrup and homemade caramel sauce.
- Neutral Oil: Use any neutral oil, such as canola, vegetable, or light tasting extra virgin olive oil.
- Milk: I highly recommend using whole milk for best flavor, but any milk you have on hand should work just fine.
- Yogurt: Similarly, plain whole milk Greek yogurt is best for flavor and texture.
- Eggs: This cake requires 4 whole large eggs.
- Rum: You can use any type of rum you would like, but golden rum is best for baking!
- Heavy Cream: You'll a bit of heavy cream for the caramel sauce.
FAQ
This method is the best way to grease a bundt pan to ensure your cake does not stick to the pan! It has worked for me every single time, no broken bundt cakes here!
1. Melt one tablespoon of butter in a small bowl.
2. Use a pastry brush to spread the butter in all the groves of the pan.
3. Add a tablespoon of flour to the pan and shake it to help it evenly coat the pan.
* After you take the cake out of the oven, let it cool for no more than 5 minutes. Use a knife to loosen it from the sides, then turn it out onto a cooling rack. If you allow it to cool in the pan, it will likely stick.
You can use just about any type of rum, but golden rum is best for baking! The flavor will come through the cake perfectly (not too subtle, not too strong).
Homemade caramel sauce is much easier to make than you think! It can be made in just 3 easy steps.
1. In a small saucepan, whisk together the sugar, salt, cream of tartar, and water.
2. Heat over medium high heat, swirling (not stirring) often to encourage even cooking. When it comes to a boil reduce heat to medium.
3. When the color turns an even medium amber color remove from heat and add the butter one tablespoon at a time, whisking to combine. Whisk in the heavy cream and vanilla. Allow to cool for a few minutes before pouring into a bowl to cool completely.
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Baking in grams
All of the recipes on this blog are carefully developed to create incredibly delicious baked goods that you can easily recreate in your own kitchen with success. The only way this is possible is to standardize the way ingredients are measured - by weight. Volume measurements are extremely inaccurate and leave room for significant errors. Not all measuring cups are made equally, so your one cup of flour will be different from my one cup of flour. By providing precise measurements in grams (aside from minor ingredients, which are given in tsp/tbsp), I can ensure that you can make the recipe accurately and with less cleanup! All you need is this kitchen scale.
If this still isn't enough to convince you, I have provided volume measurements in the recipe card. If you are interested in understanding the conversions, this is the best conversion chart.
But trust me, once you try baking in grams you'll never turn back!
Happy baking! x
Print📖 Recipe
Caramel Rum Bundt Cake
- Prep Time: 1 hour
- Cook Time: 1 hour
- Total Time: 2 hours
- Yield: 1 bundt cake 1x
- Category: cake, bundt cake
- Method: baking
- Cuisine: American
Description
This caramel rum bundt cake topped with a homemade caramel sauce is soft & buttery with a beautiful rum flavor.
Ingredients
For the Rum Bundt Cake:
- 300g all-purpose flour
- 430g granulated sugar
- 2 ½ tsp baking powder
- ½ tsp salt
- 140g unsalted butter (cubed, room temp)
- 125g neutral oil
- 90g whole milk (room temp)
- 90g plain greek yogurt (room temp)
- 4 eggs
- 140g rum
- 2 tsp vanilla
For the Syrup:
- 30g rum
- 28g unsalted butter
- 1 tbsp water
- 50g sugar
- pinch of salt
For the Caramel Sauce:
- 100g granulated sugar
- ¼ tsp salt
- 1 tbsp water
- 42g unsalted butter (room temp)
- 56g heavy cream (lukewarm)
- ½ tsp vanilla
Instructions
For the Rum Bundt Cake:
- Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F (160 degrees C).
- Melt one tablespoon of butter in a small bowl, then use a pastry brush to spread the butter all over the bundt pan. Add a tablespoon of flour to the pan and shake it to evenly coat the inside.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer, add the flour, sugar baking powder, salt, butter, and oil. Mix until fully combined.
- Mix in the milk and yogurt until just combined.
- Then, add in one egg at a time, mixing between each addition.
- Lastly, mix in the rum and vanilla until fully combined.
- Transfer the batter to the prepared bundt pan and bake for about 50-60 minutes or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean.
- Towards the end of the bake time, make the syrup.
- Allow to cool in the pan for just 5 minutes (no more!) then loosen the edges with a knife and immediately turn out onto a cooling rack.
- While still warm, brush the syrup all over the cake.
For the Syrup:
- Combine all ingredients in a small saucepan and bring to a boil.
- Once boiling, turn heat down to low, stop stirring, and simmer for 6 minutes.
- Brush on warm bundt cake.
For the Caramel Sauce:
- In a small saucepan, whisk together the sugar, salt, and water. Heat over medium high heat, swirling (not stirring) often to encourage even cooking. When it comes to a boil reduce heat to medium.
- When the color turns an even medium amber color remove from heat and add the butter one tablespoon at a time, whisking to combine. Whisk in the heavy cream and vanilla.
- Allow to cool for a few minutes before pouring into a bowl to cool completely.
- Drizzle on bundt cake when ready to serve.
Notes
- Golden rum is best for baking, but you can use any type that you have on hand.
- Read my tips above on how to ensure that your bundt cake pops out the pan perfectly!
- Be sure to brush the syrup on the bundt cake while still warm so it will fully absorb.
- Store this cake in an air-tight container at room temperature for up to 3 days.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 slice
- Calories: 574
- Sugar: 49.3 g
- Sodium: 374.9 mg
- Fat: 27.8 g
- Carbohydrates: 69.4 g
- Protein: 5.9 g
- Cholesterol: 106 mg
Keywords: caramel rum bundt cake, caramel rum cake recipe, homemade caramel sauce, boozy rum cake
Did you make this recipe? Let me know how it turned out!