Indulgent Chocolate Rum Cake Recipe

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Decadent Chocolate Rum Cake is a boozy chocolate bundt cake recipe infused with delightful fudgy flavor and aromatic notes of spiced rum. It’s the perfect dessert for the holiday season!

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Moist and Boozy Chocolate Rum Cake

Today, I want to share with you one of my favorite “grown-up” desserts: a homemade chocolate rum cake, sprinkled with powdered sugar and ready to grace your holiday table.

This chocolate rum cake is a delightful twist on my Homemade Rum Cake. It retains the same irresistible moisture and texture of the original recipe, with a flavor that closely resembles my beloved Chocolate Rum Balls.

My recipe combines both oil and butter, as well as sour cream and buttermilk, resulting in a mouthwatering chocolate cake that bakes up irresistibly fluffy with a rich cocoa taste. It strikes the perfect balance between the fudginess of the chocolate and the warmth of the spiced rum. The end result? A decadent and heady dessert that doesn’t overpower your senses—simply delicious.

Can Rum Cake Make You Tipsy?

Well, technically, yes. But let’s just say you would need to indulge in quite a few slices to feel any sort of buzz.

This rum cake contains half a cup of rum baked into the cake itself and an additional half a cup whisked into the glaze. Most of the rum used in the cake evaporates during baking. However, the rum in the glaze spreads throughout the entire cake. So, while the cake has a delightful boozy flavor, you would need to enjoy multiple slices to experience any intoxicating effects.

Rum Cake Ingredients

Here’s a quick overview of the key ingredients you’ll need to create this ultra-moist chocolate rum cake from scratch. For detailed measurements and instructions, please refer to the recipe card.

Oil and Butter: A combination of these two ingredients adds moisture and lightness to the cake’s crumb.
Eggs
Vanilla Extract
Sour Cream: It adds moisture without thinning out the batter, resulting in a fine and tender crumb. If necessary, you can substitute sour cream with Greek or plain yogurt.
All-Purpose Flour
Cocoa Powder: I recommend using Hershey’s Special Dark cocoa powder for its intensely fudgy flavor. Natural cocoa powder works well too.
Baking Soda and Salt
Buttermilk: It enriches the cake and beautifully complements the cocoa flavors. If you don’t have buttermilk on hand, you can make a Homemade Buttermilk Substitute.
Spiced Rum: Choose a good quality dark rum, such as Bacardi Spiced, for the best results. You’ll use it in both the cake and the glaze.

Which Rum is Best for a Cake?

You don’t need top-shelf alcohol for baking, but I usually follow the rule: if it’s good enough to drink, it’s good enough to bake with. When it comes to rum cake, dark rum is essential. My preferred rum is Bacardi Spiced, which imparts a delightful and warming flavor to the cake.

How to Make a Chocolate Rum Cake

You don’t need any fancy equipment or ingredients to achieve a perfect chocolate rum cake. Preheat your oven to 350ºF and generously grease a bundt pan. Dust the inside with a mixture of cocoa powder and flour. Now, let’s dive into making the easy chocolate cake batter:

Combine the wet ingredients: Start by beating together the sugar, oil, butter, eggs, egg yolks, and extracts. Once combined, incorporate the sour cream.
Combine the dry ingredients: In a separate bowl, whisk together the dry ingredients. Then, gradually add them to the wet ingredients, alternating with buttermilk and rum, until well mixed.
Bake: Transfer the rum cake batter to your prepared bundt pan. Bake for 35-40 minutes at 350ºF. Test for doneness using the toothpick test. Once baked, allow the cake to cool in the pan for approximately 30 minutes while you prepare the rum glaze.

Glazing the Cake

The glaze for this recipe is a simple syrup infused with spiced rum and poured over the cake. You can quickly prepare the glaze on your stovetop:

Make the simple syrup: Melt butter in a saucepan and add water and sugar. Bring the mixture to a boil, stirring as it thickens, for about 5 minutes. Remove the pan from heat and stir in the rum.
Invert the cake: Run a knife around the edges of the bundt pan to loosen the sides. Carefully invert the cake onto a plate. It’s okay if the cake is still slightly warm.
Glaze the cake: Pour some rum glaze into the bottom of the bundt pan and return the cake to the pan. Using a fork or toothpick, poke holes throughout the bottom of the cake. Then, generously drench the cake with glaze, ensuring it seeps down the sides. Allow the cake to sit and soak.
Cool: After approximately 30 minutes, your cake is ready to be removed! Invert it again and let it cool completely.

Tips for Success

Here are some helpful hints and baking tips to ensure your chocolate rum cake turns out as the absolute best version:

Prep the pan thoroughly: Generously grease the bundt pan and dust it with a mixture of flour and cocoa powder. This prevents the cake from sticking to the pan.
Stir the simple syrup frequently: Regular stirring prevents the sugar from burning while it boils. If it burns, discard the glaze and start again.
Don’t over-soak the cake: 30 minutes is the ideal soaking time for the cake in the glaze. Longer soaking may cause the cake to stick to the pan. Remember to remove the cake from the pan before soaking to loosen it and further prevent sticking.

Serving a Chocolate Rum Cake

There are several ways to serve and garnish your chocolate rum cake. I enjoy dusting the top of the cake with powdered sugar and pairing it with fresh fruit, such as strawberries, and a dollop of whipped cream.

Of course, you can also indulge in additional toppings like caramel sauce, chocolate sauce, or a scoop of vanilla ice cream. It’s delightful to savor a slice of fudgy cake as dessert with a cup of coffee or tea, or alongside a festive glass of holiday eggnog!

Storing Homemade Chocolate Rum Cake

To preserve the freshness of your chocolate rum cake:

Store it in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 5 days.
Alternatively, refrigerate it for up to 1 week. Personally, I find that leftover rum cake tastes exquisite when enjoyed cold—it becomes even more moist and flavorful!

Can I Freeze Rum Cake?

Absolutely! You can freeze the whole rum cake or individual slices for up to 2 months. Wrap the cake tightly in plastic wrap before freezing. When ready to thaw, simply remove the wrapping and let it defrost in the refrigerator or at room temperature.