My vegan rum cake is super moist and flavorful, made with a vanilla, rum-spiked batter, and drizzled in a buttery rum syrup. A big slice of this is absolutely heavenly with some fresh fruit, vegan ice cream, or all by itself!
If you like rum, you're going to LOVE this vegan rum cake. Actually, though, if you don't like rum, you'll still love this cake. Personally, I'm not a fan of rum at all! But maybe I'm just not a fan of liquor, unless it's cooked into a delicious dessert. That’s exactly how I feel about my vegan butterscotch pudding and my vegan rum balls. Not sure I could down a glass of the alcohol used to flavor those treats, but the desserts themselves? I could put away a whole batch.
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This rum cake is my new favorite boozy dessert. It’s a moist, flavorful bundt cake that’s great on it's own, but once you soak it in a sweet, buttery rum syrup, it becomes absolutely irresistible. It’s perfect for holidays, birthdays, summer cookouts, or any occasion where you want to impress. This cake is always a hit!
Ingredients You'll Need
Below you'll find a list of ingredients in this recipe, with notes and substitutions. Scroll all the way to the bottom of the post to see the full recipe, including the amount of each ingredient.
- Non-dairy milk. Pretty much any type of non-dairy milk that's suitable for drinking will work in this recipe, as long as it's unflavored and unsweetened. Read my guide to dairy-free milks if you need help choosing one.
- Ground flaxseeds. You'll be combining these with some of your non-dairy milk to make a flax egg, one of the best vegan egg substitutes for baking.
- Flour. We're using basic all-purpose flour for this recipe. I haven't tested it with any other varieties, so I can't say if it will work.
- Baking powder.
- Salt.
- Sugar. We're using organic sugar, since conventional sugar is often processed using animal products.
- Brown sugar. Use organic for this ingredient as well.
- Vegetable oil. You can use any neutral oil you normally like to bake with. Canola, corn, or melted coconut oil are all great options.
- Rum. Most rum is vegan, but I always like to check with Barnivore before buying, just to be safe.
- Vanilla extract.
- Almond extract.
- Vegan butter. Most grocery stores have vegan butter in the refrigerated section, usually near the regular butter.
- Water.
How It's Made
Below is a detailed photo tutorial on how to make this dish. Scroll all the way down if you'd like to skip right to the recipe!
Prepare. Start by preheating your oven to 350°F and greasing and flouring a ten-inch bundt cake pan.
Make the flax egg. Whisk some of your non-dairy milk together with the ground flaxseeds. Let the mixture sit for a few minutes, while you prepare the other ingredients.
Combine the dry ingredients. Whisk your flour, baking powder, and salt together in a large mixing bowl. Set this aside for now.
Add the sugars. Use an electric mixer to beat the sugar and brown sugar into the flax egg. Do this for about a minute, until the mixture becomes a bit frothy.
Add wet ingredients. Run the mixer on low and slowly drizzle in the rest of your milk, along with the vegetable oil, rum, vanilla extract, and almond extract.
Add the dry ingredients. Now start beating the dry ingredient mixture into your wet ingredients. Add a bit at a time, beating each addition in fully.
Bake. Pour the batter into your prepared bundt pan, then stick it into the oven. Bake the cake until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
Make the syrup. While the cake bakes, heat the vegan butter in a saucepan with some water, sugar, and rum. Stir until it starts to simmer, then stop stirring and let it cook for five minutes. Stir in the vanilla when it's done.
Soak the cake. As soon as the cake comes out of the oven, use a toothpick or skewer to poke holes all over it. Drizzle about half of your syrup over the cake. Place the cake on a cooling rack and let it cool while the syrup sinks in.
Tip: Don't worry too much if the cake gets a little mangled from all the holes you're poking in in. Remember, this will be the bottom of the cake, so nobody will see it!
Drizzle with more syrup. Once the cake has cooled, invert it onto a plate, then drizzle the rest of the syrup over it.
Tip: If you have trouble getting the cake out of the pan, carefully run a knife around the inner and outer edges. You may need to repeat this a few times before the cake comes out easily.
Your vegan rum cake is ready to enjoy! Slice it up and dig in. This cake is great with fresh fruit, vegan whipped cream, or vegan ice cream, but because it's so moist and flavorful, it doesn't really need anything — it's great on its own!
Leftovers & Storage
Store your vegan rum cake either wrapped tightly in plastic, or in an airtight container such as a cake keeper. It will keep for about three days at room temperature, a week in the fridge, or up to three months in the freezer.
Variations
- Flavored rum cake. Try experimenting with different types of rum, like spiced, coconut, or fruit-flavored varieties. You can also adjust the flavorings to complement your choice of rum. For example, add warm spices like cinnamon, ginger, or allspice to enhance spiced rum. Or, swap the almond extract for coconut or fruit extracts to match coconut or fruity rums.
- Add dried fruit. Stir some dried fruit like raisins, cherries, or mangoes into the batter. This is a great option if you're using fruit flavored rum in your cake!
- Nutty rum cake. Stir some chopped pecans or walnuts into the batter, or chop them up finely and press them into the surface of the cake after drizzling it with syrup.
Frequently Asked Questions
Most rum is vegan! Yes, it's made from sugar, and cane sugar is often processed using animal bone char. But rum is normally made from sugarcane molasses, which processed differently. Always be on the safe side and check with Barnivore before buying, though!
Make sure you're generously greasing and flouring the pan before adding batter. If you're still having problems with sticking, run a knife along the edges of the cake before inverting it onto a plate. Sometimes you'll need to repeat this, working the knife and gently wiggling it until you feel the cake release.
I haven't tried making a gluten-free version, but if you'd like to give it a shot, I'd recommend replacing the flour with an all-purpose gluten-free flour blend. Again, I haven't tried this, so no guarantees!
Like this recipe? If so, please stop back and leave me a review and rating below if you try it! Also be sure to follow me on Facebook, Pinterest or Instagram, or subscribe to my newsletter for more recipes like this one!
📖 Recipe
Vegan Rum Cake
Equipment
- 1 10-inch bundt pan
Ingredients
For the Cake
- 1 cup unflavored and unsweetened non-dairy milk, divided
- ¼ cup ground flaxseeds
- 3 cups all-purpose flour
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- ¾ teaspoon salt
- 1 cup organic granulated sugar
- ¾ cup organic brown sugar
- â…” cup vegetable oil
- ½ cup rum
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- ½ teaspoon almond extract
For the Syrup
- ½ cup vegan butter
- ¼ cup water
- 1 cup organic granulated sugar
- â…“ cup rum
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Instructions
Make the Cake
- Preheat the oven to 350°F.
- Grease and flour the inside of a 10-inch bundt pan.
- Stir ½ cup of the milk together with the flaxseeds in a large mixing bowl. Set the mixture aside and let it sit for at least 5 minutes, to allow the seeds to gel.
- While the flax mixture sits, whisk the flour, baking powder, and salt together in a separate large mixing bowl. Set this aside for now.
- Add the sugar and brown sugar to the bowl containing the flax mixture, then use an electric mixer at high speed to beat the ingredients together for about 1 minute, until the mixture becomes frothy.
- Turn the mixer speed down to low. While running the mixer, slowly drizzle in the remaining ½ cup of milk, followed by the vegetable oil, rum, vanilla extract, and almond extract.
- Begin beating the flour mixture into the wet ingredients, adding about a third at a time, and beating in each portion completely before adding more.
- Pour the batter into the prepared cake pan.
- Bake the cake for 50 to 60 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into the cake comes out clean of batter.
Make the Syrup
- While the cake bakes, stir the butter, water, sugar, and rum together in a small saucepan and place it over medium heat. Bring the mixture to a boil while stirring frequently.
- Once the mixture begins to boil, turn the heat down so that the mixture is cooking at a low simmer, and stop stirring. Let it simmer for 5 minutes.
- Remove the pot from heat and stir in the vanilla.
Finish the Cake
- Once the cake comes out of the oven, use a skewer or toothpick to poke holes in it, about a half inch apart. Pour about half of the glaze over the cake. If it's not absorbing, poke more holes or make them deeper. You can also just let the cake sit for a few minutes, and it will eventually absorb.
- Place the cake on a cooling rack and let it cool completely.
- Run a knife along the outer and inner edges of the cake to loosen it from the pan. Invert the cake onto a plate, then drizzle it with the remaining syrup.
- Slice and serve.
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Sounds scrumptious! Can’t wait to try!
Will Rum Extract work in place of Rum?
Unfortunately, no. It wouldn't work as a direct substitution, since rum extract will have a much stronger flavor. Try this instead - make my blueberry cake, which is also a bundt cake. Leave out the berries and add a teaspoon or two of rum extract. Here's the recipe: https://www.connoisseurusveg.com/vegan-blueberry-cake/ For the syrup, I think you could simply follow that part of this recipe, leave the rum out, and stir some run extract in at the end. The result won't be quite the same, but I think it should be good!