Every Christmas my grandmother made her famous rum cake. The thing I most remember about it, other than how incredibly good it was, was the process of getting the rum. We lived in a dry county, meaning there was nowhere to buy alcohol. Driving to the next county was the reasonable solution, but my grandmother always had her brother-in-law bring her rum from a few hundred miles away. I’m sure somehow that made all the sense in the world. Anyway, we can readily procure our own rum, so that point of interest is now moot.
That still leaves us with an incredible cake. It is moist and sweet and just, well, wonderful. It has the added bonus of being so very simple. I’m not sure of the origin of the recipe, as my grandmother’s recipe box mostly contains scraps of paper with recipes scribbled on them. In any case, it is a permanent part of my recipe collection. I just call it Memaw’s Rum Cake.
Recently, I made one of these delicious cakes for a Christmas gift. With Quinn’s help (he is an engineer after all), we boxed it up very, very securely and sent it on its way to a friend in Virginia. It thankfully arrived safe and sound. I’m not sure how long it survived once it got there, since we were told that it more than occasionally “called to him.” It’s nice to share family traditions with others, no matter how quickly they are gobbled up.
15 responses so far ↓
1 Jen the bread freak // Dec 23, 2006 at 12:05 am
Mmmmmmm. My mom makes this cake, it is soooo good! If only she didn’t live across the country from us! Thanks for giving me the memory of the taste
2 Kristen // Dec 23, 2006 at 9:52 am
Rum cake always reminds me of my honeymoon. We tried the pre-packaged version though and fell in love with it. I’m sure your Memaw’s recipe would be so much better though!
Wonderful pic’s.
3 Patricia Scarpin // Dec 23, 2006 at 10:41 am
Jennifer, talk about an easy and quick recipe!
Good to know it’s OK to be shipped.
4 Claire // Dec 23, 2006 at 1:11 pm
My grandmother used to make an applesauce cake that uses a cup of whiskey. I don’t like it b/c I don’t like the taste of alcohol. When my mom got the whiskey last time she walked into the store and told the guy that she needed a “cup of whiskey!” Then when she walked out of the store she was “discretely” holding the bottle in a brown paper bag down by her side, “non-chalantly” walking to the car with a “normal” expression on her face. It was SO funny!
5 kickpleat // Dec 23, 2006 at 1:53 pm
my mother in law makes the same cake and even though i’m normally a snob when it comes to package mixes, i LOVE that cake! as for a “dry county”, i’ve never heard of such craziness!! happy holidays.
6 Nicole // Dec 23, 2006 at 3:11 pm
I love the stories that come along with family recipes! You have a very lucky friend
7 Nan // Dec 23, 2006 at 6:55 pm
Jennifer, what you didn’t tell about getting the rum is that our dear Memaw would never have been caught in a liquor store to begin with. She was a Southern Lady afterall!
8 brilynn // Dec 23, 2006 at 8:53 pm
Anytime you want to box up another rum cake and send it this way instead, you’re more than welcome!
9 Abby // Dec 23, 2006 at 9:07 pm
Recipes with legend are always the best.
I made your cinnamon roll cookies yesterday and they’re fantastic. I’m so glad I found your wonderful blog.
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!
10 Wonderful Rum Cake! -- Johnny’s Brain // Dec 26, 2006 at 11:26 am
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11 Lizzie // Jan 1, 2007 at 5:35 am
I also bake at least 1/2 doz. cakes from this recipe every December. But with at least one of them the glaze does not want to “soak” into the cake or the top is unattractive from attempting to punch holes. It is as if there are too many nuts. But everyone loves this cake so I keep baking them year after year.
12 Christy // Jan 9, 2007 at 12:01 am
The rum cake seems to be a tradition in every family. Just dont do like me and lose the recipe
13 NauDee // Apr 1, 2007 at 6:12 pm
Just wanted to let ya know I made and took this cake to a BBQ and everyone LOVED it!
Thanks so much for posting it
14 the caked crusader // Sep 6, 2007 at 6:37 am
I have to confess that I don’t know what yellow cake mix is. Does anyone know what the equivalent is in the uk or where you can get it?
Can you make it yourself?
Thanks
15 jennifer // Sep 6, 2007 at 1:27 pm
Well, caked crusader, that’s a good question. I did some searching and found this to be the consensus. If you try it, let me know how it works.
2 1/4 cup flour, sifted
1/4 tsp. salt
2 1/2 tsp. baking powder
1 1/3 cup sugar
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