By Golly, Be Jolly!

Author: Rew Van Wyck

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Rew's Holiday Rum Cake

Ingredients

Cake

• 1 yellow cake mix
• 1 large package of instant vanilla pudding
• 4 eggs
• 1/2 cup vegetable oil
• 1/2 cup milk or cream
• 1/2 cup amber or dark rum (Kracken is the preferred choice)
• 1/2 cup crushed pecans or walnuts

Rum Sauce

• 1/4 cup water
• 1/2 cup butter
• 1 cup sugar
• 1/2 cup amber or dark rum (Kracken is the preferred choice)

Instructions

To prepare the cake

1. Set oven to 350 degrees. Grease and flour a large bundt cake pan. Sprinkle bottom of cake pan with nuts. Blend all cake ingredients together with a mixer at high speed for at least 2 minutes. Pour into the cake pan and bake for 1 hour.
2. When cake springs back to touch remove from oven and set on cooling rack. Poke several holes on the top of cake and slowly pour half of the rum sauce on top of cake. Skim the sides with a flat edge knife to allow seepage down the sides of cake pan. Let the cake cool 10 minutes. (no more than 10 or it will be too cool to absorb sauce) Place a large plate (preferably with turned up edges) on top and flip cake. Remove cake carefully from cake pan and repeat poking and saucing.
3. The cake can be eaten shortly after baking. You can add whipping cream and chocolate shavings.
4. You can refrigerate or freeze cake until you need it. Make sure it is well wrapped when doing this.

To prepare sauce

1. While the cake bakes, melt butter into water on low heat and add sugar. Bring to a low boil and stir continuously for 5 minutes. Take off heat and let it cool for 3 to 5 minutes. Add the 1/2 cup rum and set aside. (Sauce may look thin but will thicken)
2. The trick is to add the rum to the sauce just when it is cool enough not to burn off too much alcohol yet still mix together thickly.

An octopus is found on the Kracken Rum label. so of course Rew had to track down an octopus bundt pan. Her holiday cakes are in more of a traditional bundt pan.