Mami’s Bizcocho de Ron (Mami’s Rum Cake)

Reprinted with permission from Coconuts and Collards: Recipes and Stories from Puerto Rico to the Deep South (University Press of Florida, 2018).

Yield: 6-10 servings

canola oil cooking spray
1 cup finely chopped walnuts
1 box butter-flavor cake mix
1 3 1/4-ounce box instant vanilla pudding mix
unsalted butter as needed
eggs as needed
1/4 cup white rum
Rum Syrup (recipe included)

Heat oven to 350 degrees. Grease a Bundt pan with cooking spray and sprinkle in walnuts. In stand mixer fitted with paddle attachment or large bowl using a handheld electric mixer, combine cake mix and pudding mix, then add butter and eggs as directed by instructions on cake mix box. Add rum. Beat at medium speed for 4 minutes.
Pour batter into prepared Bundt pan and level it with a spatula. Bake for 33 to 35 minutes, until cake is pale golden in color, slightly risen, and a toothpick or cake skewer comes out clean when poked in cake’s center. Remove from oven and place on a wire rack to cool slightly. Meanwhile, make Rum Syrup. Using same toothpick or skewer you used to test for doneness, while cake is still warm poke holes throughout. Pour hot glaze on top; don’t worry if cake doesn’t absorb glaze immediately. It takes at least 10 minutes.
Cover pan with aluminum foil and allow to soak for at least 3 hours or overnight. Invert onto a plate, then slice and serve.

Rum Syrup
1/4 cup (4 tablespoons) unsalted butter
1 cup light brown sugar
1/2 cup white rum
1/4 cup water
For the Rum Syrup

​In a small saucepan, combine all glaze ingredients and bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer for 5 to 7 minutes, until sugar is fully dissolved and glaze thickens just slightly.