This season is all about homemade happiness. As soon as December starts, I start getting excited to begin the festive baking. Everyone at home looks forward to this time of the year because they know I’ll be whipping up something special almost every day.
I bake everything from cookies to tarts and pies. I love shortbread cookies, apple pies, and cupcakes this time of the year but my favourite thing to bake and eat has to be the Rum Cake! It defines this season for me and all its warm flavours make me feel fuzzy and happy.
Rum cake is extra special because it’s loaded will all kinds of raisins, dried berries, dates, apricots, and dry fruits. What makes it even more delicious is the Captain Morgan Original Rum. I can’t imagine whipping up this festive special cake without Captain Morgan Original Rum. It’s intensely deep and rich taste is what elevates the flavours and takes this cake to another level.
Rum cake was first made in the Bahamas where people had started using alcohol to preserve food. They also slowly started finding ways to incorporate rum in their recipes. Initially, rum was infused into traditional English figgy puddings which is thought to be the precursor to rum cake as we know it today.
Nothing makes me happier than chopping loads and loads of dried cranberries, apricots, dates, raisins, walnuts and cashews and then soaking them in a special mixture. I make this mixture using orange juice, butter and Captain Morgan Original Rum.
RUM CAKE FOR CHRISTMAS
Recipe type: festive
Cuisine: dessert
Ingredients
For fruits:
- 2 cups mixed dried fruits and nuts, roughly chopped
- 1 + ½ cup (360mL) orange juice
- ½ cup (113g) butter
- 150 mL Captain Morgan Original Rum
For cake batter :
- 2 cups (240g) flour
- 1 tsp (4g) baking powder
- 1 tsp (4g) cinnamon powder
- ½ tsp (2g) ginger powder
- ¼ tsp (1g) grated nutmeg
- 1 tbsp (6g) fresh orange zest
- 1 cup (226g) butter, softened
- 1 cup (200g) castor sugar
- ⅓ cup (67g) brown sugar
- 4 eggs
Instructions
- Place the roughly chopped fruits and nuts in a bowl.
- In a saucepan set over medium heat, bring the orange juice to a boil. Add butter and let it melt.
- Set if off the heat and add Captain Morgan Original Rum. Mix well.
- Pour the rum mixture over the fruits. Cling wrap it and let it sit overnight.
- Next day, preheat the oven to 180C and line a 9” cake pan with parchment paper.
- In a medium down, whisk flour, cinnamon, ginger powder, nutmeg and orange zest.
- In another bowl, beat both sugars and butter until the mixture is light and fluffy.
- Add eggs, one at a time and beat well after each addition.
- Combine the wet and dry ingredients.
- Mix in the rum soaked fruits along with the liquid.
- Pour the batter into the prepared pan and bake at 180C for 40-50 minutes
How to make this eggless?
I would suggest looking up ‘flax egg’. You can use flax meal and water to substitute egg in most recipes. Had worked well for me in the past with baked goods.
Hi, this looks interesting. Could you suggest what all should we mix in dried fruits?
Hello Shivesh, thankyou for sharing this recipe. Do I use the readymade tropicana orange juice or is the fresh orange juice ? Definitely looking at trying this cake for Christmas.
Can I use orange juice that comes in Tropicana boxes?
Can we use oil instead of butter?
Hi
How can we make eggless version of this cake and can it be made with wheat flour?
Hi if we don’t use butter while soaking can we use same quantity while baking the cake
Hi can I soak the fruits for about a week’s time in the fridge?
I goofed up the rum Christmas cake :(… Whereas Eggless turned out to be amazing
Followed step by step instructions, dunno what went wrong
Please share the substitute for 4 eggs. I would like to make the exact cake but without eggs.
Hello,
This is one amazing recipe. The cake is super moist and so tasty. Thankyou for posting this recipe.
Regards
Anjana
Hi, I’m making the rum cake recipe
My cake is wet inside is there a way to save it???
Hi,
Can we use ready-made orange juice like Tropicana or Real fruit juice?
What is the weight of the cake?
Hi ,
The rum christmas cake remained soft and runny at centre .
I baked it for an extra 15 minutes , but it still remained soggy in the middle .
I followed the recipe very carefully .
Where would I have gone wrong ?
I used Tropicana orange juice , not freshly squeezed juice .
Hi Shivesh..
I’m using your recipe to bake this festive season and really need to make a good impression as the cakes will be distributed to friends and family for Christmas.
Please read my comment and respond as I need to fix few things.
1. Used Tropicana orange juice instead of freshly squeezed juice. It overpowered the rum flavour however it still tasted good. Can I reduce the juice quantity and increase the rum to have a stronger rum flavour?
2. The overnight soaked dried fruits and rum had a thick layer of froth formed the next day, which I mixed and still used. Is that froth good or bad?
3. I had to bake the cake for 50+20 mins extra for it to be perfectly done. However, it turned out dense from the inside. How shall I fix it?
Did I over mix it or it needs more baking powder?
Please suggest URGENTLY.. Your response will be highly valuable.