When I was diagnosed with celiac disease, there were a few foods I genuinely feared I would never again be able to eat, gluten free. One favorite I thought I might never enjoy was a gluten free Holiday Rum Cake.
My mother made this heavenly confection at this time every year, cut it into halves or quarters, wrapped them in colorful cellophane with a pretty bow, and delivered them to friends and neighbors as holiday gifts. It didn’t take long for people (not just me!) to eagerly anticipate this holiday tradition and begin to politely inquire when they could expect their holiday rum cake delivery!
As I’m sure you would agree, a delicious tradition such as this one needed to be carried on … gluten free.
Unfortunately, it took me quite a few holidays before I got the recipe just right (the original recipe called for such things as a “pudding-in-the-mix commercial cake mix” — making it a bit harder to convert for my gluten free holiday rum cake), but now I happily share this gluten free Holiday Rum Cake recipe with you all since I can’t be there to knock on your door with a a cellophane-wrapped edible gift!
This pound cake-like cake is dense in all the right pound cake-y ways, and it’s also a lot like a poke cake in that the rum glaze is infused throughout in pockets of deliciousness you can see and of course taste (and covet!).
If you’re really in the Christmas spirit, use Pistachio Instant Pudding (Jell-O® brand is currently gluten-free and dairy-free) instead of vanilla in this recipe, and use pistachios instead of pecans – the lovely green hue and subtle pistachio flavor are quite nice in this pound cake!
For the traditional vanilla recipe, I like using Dr. Oetker® Vanilla Pudding Mix, as it’s gluten-free, dairy-free, organic and Non-GMO as well. While the glaze is optional, it’s super tasty, and really is the icing on this cake!
This gluten free holiday Rum Cake makes the perfect friends and neighbors gift when baked in small tins or loaf pans for the holidays, as well. It’s become one of our favorite things to deliver to our neighbors in the year of COVID: the perfect ring-and-run treat to show you care, deliciously!
Check out more gluten free gift ideas in my holiday gift guide!
With the release of my new gfJules Cake Mix, I’ve had a few customers ask if they can use my cake mix instead of my gfJules Flour to make this cake even easier to whip up. I’m happy to say that I’ve experimented with the recipe and with a few modifications, my gfJules Best Gluten Free Cake Mix also makes the Best Gluten Free Rum Cake! See the recipe below for notes!
Gluten Free Holiday Rum Cake Recipe
This gluten free Holiday Rum Cake is simply divine! Part pound cake, part poke cake, it's hard to wait for the holidays to make this treat!
Ingredients
From-Scratch Cake Recipe:
- 3/4 cup light rum (may substitute equal amount of another clear liquid like apple juice, but will change flavor)
- 1/2 cup mild cooking oil of choice (e.g. safflower, sunflower, avocado, non-GMO canola, vegetable, etc.)
- 4 eggs (or substitute)*
- 2 tsp. pure vanilla extract
- 2 2/3 cup (360 grams) gfJules® Gluten Free All Purpose Flour
- 2 tsp. baking powder
- 1 1/4 cup granulated cane sugar
- dash salt
- 1 package gluten-free vanilla or pistachio pudding dry mix (e.g. Jell-O® Brand = 3.4 oz or Dr. Oetker® = 3.8 oz – either works; both are currently Gluten-Free & Dairy-Free)
- 1 cup chopped pecans or pistachios (optional)
From gfJules® Best Gluten Free Cake Mix Recipe:
- 1 cup light rum (may substitute equal amount of another clear liquid like apple juice, but will change flavor)
- 1/2 cup mild cooking oil of choice (e.g. safflower, sunflower, avocado, non-GMO canola, vegetable, etc.)
- 4 eggs (or substitute)*
- 2 Tbs. white vinegar
- 1 gfJules® Best Gluten Free Cake Mix
- 1/4 cup (50 grams) gluten-free vanilla or pistachio pudding dry mix (e.g. Jell-O® Brand or Dr. Oetker® – either works; both are currently Gluten-Free & Dairy-Free)
- 1 cup chopped pecans or pistachios (optional)
Glaze:
- 1 cup granulated cane sugar
- 1/4 cup light rum (or other liqueur)
- 1/4 cup water
Instructions
Cake:
Preheat oven to 325° F or 300° F convection.
Combine all liquids in a large mixing bowl and beat until combined; sift in dry ingredients and beat for 2 minutes on medium speed – expect the batter to be very thick and taffy-like.
For cake: Oil and dust a bundt pan with gfJules® All Purpose Flour. Sprinkle with chopped nuts, if using. Scoop batter out on top of the nuts and smooth with a rubber spatula. Bake for 55-60 minutes, removing from oven when a cake tester inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean but not wet.
For cupcakes: Oil at least 18 muffin cups with gfJules® All Purpose Flour (or you may use paper cupcake liners). Fill the muffin cups only 1/2– 2/3 full of cake batter. Bake for 20-30 minutes – test with a cake tester or toothpick to ensure that it is clean when removed from the baking cakes.
Glaze:
Bring ingredients to a boil in a small saucepan. Continue to boil for 5 minutes, stirring constantly. If you like poke cakes, poke holes in the cake with a toothpick and pour hot glaze over the hot cake while still in the pan; otherwise, simply pour the glaze over the cake in the pan. Let stand for 30 minutes, then flip the cake onto a plate.
If the glazed cake is allowed to stay in the pan longer than 30 minutes, the glaze will stick to the pan and make it difficult to remove the cake.
Should this occur, put the pan back into a warm oven to soften the glaze, then run a rubber spatula around the inside of the pan to loosen it before turning out onto a wire rack to cool.
Notes
*To Replace 4 Eggs in this recipe (use all of the below):
- ½ cup dairy or non-dairy yogurt (not Greek style, not fat-free) OR vegan mayo (to total 2 eggs)
PLUS
- 2 recipes of commercial gluten free egg replacer like Ener-G® Egg Replacer (to total 2 eggs)
Pin for later!
I am going to make your rum cake tomorrow and need to buy a bundt pan. I was wondering if this cake fits in a 10 in or 12in bundt pan?? Thanks…sooo excited to make this!
Hi Danielle – I’d go for the 12 inch if there’s a choice, but either should work well. Enjoy the recipe!!!
Thank you! Friends coming over in 2 weeks as their child was sick so didnt make yet. Not sure if I want to wait that long!! Thanks again!
I made this cake and baked it for 50 min. Checked it for doneness and took it out of the oven. I poured the glaze over it and let it sit for about 20 min. When I went back to take it out of the pan, it looked like the cake had shrunk. Did I need to leave it in the oven longer even though when I tested it, it seemed done? The cake wasn’t gooey in the middle, but was really dense.
Hi Renee – I compare the consistency of this cake to a pound cake. Was it like that when you cut into it? Sometimes cakes shrink if you take them out of the oven quickly into a colder room. You could try opening the door of the oven and leaving the cake inside to cool a bit more slowly so it’s not shocked into contracting next time.
Okay, thank you. I’ll try that next time. The cake had a really good taste, but kind of spongie instead of pound cake like. I only have a hand mixer, so had to finish mixing it by hand, as it was too thick for my poor little mixer. Thank you for all your inventive recipes!
Oh ok, Renee, that explains some of it. Yes, the batter is very thick, but the more you can whip it up (a stand mixer is nearly a must to do that here, though), the better the result. Glad you enjoyed the taste, nonetheless!
Hi, Jules!
I first saw this recipe when you posted it to your blog a couple of years back. It has since become a family favorite for us. Thank you so much for sharing!
Today (for Christmas Eve) I am altering it a little. I am substituting half the sugar for real maple syrup and using walnuts instead of pecans. I can’t wait to see how it turns out.
Thanks again for your blog and sharing your recipes with us all!
Elizabeth – we love that recipe too, in fact we just made it again today! SO good!!! I can’t wait to hear how your variation worked!
Can I make this using 2 loaf pans instead?
Yes Susan, but I’m not certain about bake times, so check them closely before taking them out of the oven.
I thought rum was not GF – what is used to make rum? I can make fruitcakes with rum if it is GF – learned something today – Yeah!
Hi Terri – Rum is made from sugar cane byproducts, so it is safe. Distilled alcohol is gluten-free! Cheers!
Jules, I guess I should have asked – do you think dried, candied fruit would change anything about the recipe?? Thanks!
Hi Rene – I don’t think dried fruit would alter the recipe in any measurable way. There isn’t enough moisture in candied fruit to typically throw things off. Let me know what you add and how it turns out!
This is exciting! My sister makes the most DELICIOUS fruitcake every year – yes, I know, such an oxymoron! But truly! She makes about 50 to give out every Christmas and has done so for probably 25 years. What is REALLY is, however, is not the fruitcake texture you are used to but cake consistency with nuts and dried fruit in a bundt shape and soaked in rum! My celiac husband and gluten-intolerant son cannot eat it anymore, and my son is the most devastated. I think I could easily add the dried fruit to this recipe and get a very similar result to her famous rum fruitcake. THANKS, JULES!
It sounds delicious, Rene! Fingers crossed for you that this recipe works for your sister’s famous fruit cake!
YUM! Can’t wait to try; however, how would this do using Truvia & sugar-free Jello pudding? Thank you, Jules, for choosing to help all of us Celiacs! (btw, I think, by process of elimination, I’m having problems with Xanthan Gum. Heard of this problem before? of any help for it?) Thanks again!
Thank you, Tricia – you are so sweet! The sugar-free jello pudding should be fine. Regarding the Truvia, I haven’t tried it as a substitute for 1 cup of sugar in baking before. I have tried blown Stevia and Baking Splenda. Either of those should work, but you’ll have to let me know how it goes if you make it with the Truvia!
Oh, and Tricia, regarding the xanthan gum, I have heard of some people feeling like they had a sensitivity to it. Xanthan gum is actually in a lot of foodstuffs, so if you find that you are sensitive, you need to read those labels! Especially things like dressings and sauces often contain it. There are different sources for xanthan gum (some are made from corn, some are not), so you could try to find an alternative source and see if it’s still troubling you. To substitute for xanthan gum, guar gum often works but it can upset some peoples’ tummies too. I would drill down and see if it’s really the xanthan gum that’s causing you trouble and then go from there – it’s a tiny ingredient in a lot of foods, so be sure it’s not something else before you tackle substituting for it.
DO YOU USE INSTANT PUDDING OR REGULAR PUDDING-OR DOES IT MATTER.
THANKS
Hi Kathy – I’ve actually used both, but I know my mother always used instant. Enjoy the recipe!
Hi Jules, would it be worth the effort to try and replace the eggs in this recipe? I don’t usually attempt it with recipes that call for more than two eggs, but I wonder if Ener-G egg replacer, and a mixture of gelatin and something else would work?
Hi Margo, I haven’t tried it in this recipe, but to substitute for the 4 eggs, I would first try adding 4 Tbs. arrowroot powder to the dry ingredients AND 4 Tbs. applesauce to liquids. Let me know how it turns out!
How much of the alcohol will be used up in the cooking? Would I dare give the cake to a person whose car is equipped with a breathalyzer?
Wow LaDora, I’ve never gotten that question before! I wouldn’t want to make a representation about this, but it’s always been my understanding that the alcohol evaporates from baked goods. Might be best to err on the side of caution, though, and pick another recipe!
You could use Rum Extract. It imparts the same flavor with no true alchol after baking. Just use water for most of the liquid or even Almond Milk.
Great tip, Claire!
This sounds like a great recipe except that I would use virgin coconut oil instead of the canola (80% of canola oil is GMO). I would also make sure to use pastured eggs.
As for a different glaze, I’d have to play around with it. I actually think the cake without the glaze would be quite delicious. I would use the sugar in the raw in place of granulated sugar.
Good call on the virgin coconut oil, Suzanne!
You can purchase expeller pressed canola oil at Wholefoods and in the organic sections of food stores. That eliminates the GMO issue. Another alternative is light olive oil! I use that in all my baking.
Made this cake for Thanksgiving and it was awesome! Family could not believe it was gluten free.
Carolyn, that’s fantastic! I love this recipe – so glad your family does now too!!!
I made this on Christmas Eve, and it looks like it came out perfect!!! I only hope it tastes as good as the one I sampled in your class in Columbia, MD. I do have a ?. Were part of the pistachios supposed to go in the dough, and then part in the topping. That wasn’t quite clear to me. For example 1/4 c. in the topping 3/4 c. in the cake. So looking forward to tasting on Christmas! I also made tons of cookies that you taught us in your class. I was so motivated after taking the class. Thank you!
Hi Kim, I’m so glad the class motivated you to get to baking!!! About the rum cake, I don’t put any of the nuts in the cake, just as a topping, so obviously, you could reduce the amount or cut them altogether. Hope you had a great holiday!
I’m SO excited to try this recipe. Thanks for sharing it!
Sounds super yummy! Does anyone have thoughts on what to replace the nut topping with?
brown sugar crumble topping would work very well – more like a coffee cake crumble.
Oh yum, Ami! That is such a great idea for a coffee cake — I think I might have to surprise my mother with this for after Christmas breakfast!
What kind of cake pan do you use for the rumcake?
I use a bundt pan with non-stick finish, but you could use a tube pan instead. It’s just important in recipes contemplating the use of a pan with a tube in the center (i.e. bundt or tube pan) that you use that type of pan, or the cake may not cook thoroughly in the center.
Hi Jules ~ can’t wait to try this one. A co-worker’s father makes a great rum cake and I’ve never been able to try it. Now I can make my own!!
Question for you ~ I thought I had a recipe for gluten free pecan cups and now I cannot find it. Do you have one??? thanks!
Karen
Hi Karen, I don’t know that I am familiar with that pecan cups recipe – do you have a non-gluten-free recipe for it? If you do, send it to [email protected] and they/I will help you convert it to gluten-free! You could also post the question on the Gluten Free Cookie Swap or my Facebook page and see if any of those people (there are thousands!) have one to share!
Karen-
I do have a recipe for Pecan Tossies (like little mini pecan pies) if that is what you are looking for. Email me at [email protected] if you are interested! I was going to put them on the cookie swap, but I haven’t gotten photos of them yet.
I just tried this recipe the other day… and it turned out great!!! It wouldnt really flip over after baking, I used a bread pan and it rose to much to flip. But, it was delicious and moist. No one could guess that it was gluten free!! Great recipe!
I cant wait to try this for my hubbys Christmas party on Saturday:)