This soft rum cake has a brown sugar pineapple topping that melts into the cake and into your mouth! This irresistible pineapple cake feels like summer in every bite!

Two years ago my family went on a cruise to the Caribbean. It was a little a real splurge for us, but after the year we all had, I’m so happy we did it!

I don’t think a tropical vacation or any vacation is in the cards for us this year, but that is ok. We will just have to make the best of our time at home. There is no reason we can’t EAT like we are on vacation, right?

Rum cake is a great way to remind us of the tastes and smells of the tropics!

 

 

What Is Rum Cake?

Unlike this rum cake recipe,  this rum cake has fresh pineapple slices that are soaked in brown sugar and rum syrup. This fruity syrup is poured into the bottom of a bundt pan.

Rum infused cake batter is poured over the pineapple mixture and the cake is baked until golden and soft! This tropical cake is sweet and soft; it captures the essence of the islands in each bite!

How To Make A Rum Cake At Home

Start this recipe by coming dark rum and brown sugar in a small saucepan. Heat and stir the mixture and bring it to a low boil. Continue to boil the rum mixture until the syrup is reduced by half. Toss in your fresh, sliced pineapple and stir to coat.

Grease and flour a bundt pan. Pour your pineapples into the bottom of the pan. It will seem like a lot of syrup, but it will bake all over the cake and will become the most amazing topping for this golden cake!

The batter is made with a mixture of butter and shortening creamed together in a large bowl. Flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, buttermilk, eggs, vanilla, and more rum make up the cake batter.

Pour the batter over the pineapple mixture and bake the cake for roughly 1 hour. The cake should be golden and a toothpick inserted will come out clean.

Allow the cake to rest in the pan on a cooling rack for about 10 minutes. You want it to be cool enough for the cake to settle, but you want it warm enough to slide out of the pan.

Place a large serving plate over the top of the bundt pan and quickly invert the cake onto the plate. Allow the cake to cool completely.

Can A Rum Cake Make You Drunk?

This rum cake will NOT make you drunk! The alcohol from the rum mostly bakes off during the baking process. Instead of intoxication, the rum flavor intensifies in flavor and adds depth to both the syrup and the batter.

Can A Rum Cake Be Made Ahead?

Yes, but not too far ahead. Because the pineapple topping becomes soft after baking, the shelf life is not very long. The cake can be made at least one day in advance.

Can Rum Cake Be Frozen?

Once the cake has cooled completely. Wrap the cake in a few layers of plastic wrap and then place in the freezer.

Allow the cake to thaw in the fridge with the plastic wrap removed.

How To Store Pineapple Rum Cake?

Store your rum cake covered in the fridge. The cake will last 2-3 days if properly covered.

Rum Cake Recipe Tips

Pineapples and rum go hand in hand (think pina colada, but you could use mango slices in the recipe as well.

If you want to get really adventurous, make a rum syrup by boiling together equal parts water and sugar until it is thick and syrupy. Remove from heat, stir in rum. Poke holes in the cake with a skewer and drizzle cooled syrup over cake. You will get a double dose of rum!

Experiment with different flavors of rum!

I sometimes get is asked, Is rum cake safe for children? Yes it is. The alcohol will actually actually burn off which leaves you with more of strong rum flavor than straight alcohol.