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!
Hi – where does one find light Rum? I have only every used Bacardi Amber Rum in our traditional rum cake recipe? Thanks!!
HI Angela, you should be able to find it in any liquor store, but you can always just use the rum you have on hand. Enjoy!
~jules
Jules, I’ve made this delicious rum cake several times but never used the pecans. I had a momentary lapse of sanity this last time. I was so proud of myself for finally remembering to buy pecans so I could try that option. I readied the bundt pan, pecans on the bottom……mixed the batter and spooned it into the bundt pan. Then I saw it….the lonely unopened box of pudding I FORGOT to add. So I pulled it all out of the pan and put it back into the mixer. Naturally all those pecans stuck to the batter. I pondered (for about a tenth of a second) picking out the pecans. But then I just figured I’d mix it all together. Long story a bit shorter, the cake worked beautifully despite my error and the happy accident of mixing the pecans INTO the batter resulted in a very tasty cake indeed!!!!
LOL it happens to us all, Deb! I’m so glad you just went with it! I’ve often thought that those pecans would be good mixed in. Now I know! 🙂
~jules
Hi Jules
I’m so excited to see this recipe, it is the exact recipe my mom has made for years with a yellow cake mix. We tried it once with a gluten free yellow cake mix but it wasn’t quite right.
My family loves it and especially my brother-in-law whose son shares my celiac. Now I can make Ken’s favorite rum cake (as my family calls it) for the whole family.
One question, I commonly bake from an America’s Test Kitchen cookbook so I keep a bin of their flour blend in the fridge, but it doesn’t contain the xanthum gum. Can you suggest how much to add to your recipe?
Thanks for your great blog!
Jules,
Would love to try this recipe! Is the instant pudding supposed to be added to the mix dry or prepared as the package directions with milk added.
Thank you.
.
Hi Maria, just add the pudding mix as a dry ingredient WITHOUT following the pudding package directions. Enjoy!
~jules
I made this cake according to the recipe, baked it in an angelfood cake pan, and it turned out lovely.
We are vegan, so I would like to know if the chia seed or flaxseed and water egg substitute would be successful in making this cake?
Hi Rose, this recipe calls for 4 eggs and I generally discourage making substitutions for any recipes over 2 eggs. That being said, I know from your bread baking that you are an adventurous egg substituter, so have a look at my egg-free vegan substitution article and pick a couple substitutes to mix together to total 4 eggs. With the addition of the pudding in this recipe, there is added structure, so I bet it will work out to use egg substitutes, but I do recommend using a mixture of more than one sub when there are more than 2 eggs needing to be replaced. Let me know what you decide to do and how it turns out!
~jules
I have read your article and I wonder if a vegan mayonnaise made with tofu or cashews would work as well as the commercial varieties (minus the spices & garlic, of course). Thank you.
The vegan mayos that are out now should work just as well as regular mayo – let me know how it goes in this recipe. You’ve got me curious now, but I don’t have time to experiment with this recipe any time soon!!! 🙂
~jules
Thanks, Jules! I was missing my mom’s rum cake too. I was going to give a shot at converting it myself but you saved the day. 😉 Happy, blessed new year to you!
That is wonderful to hear, Jill Ann! I’m so glad to have saved you the effort – it took me quite a while to convert this particular recipe to gluten-free. Enjoy having rum cake back in your life and I hope you have a blessed new year, as well!
~jules
Hi Jules, I have an unopened bottle of Chocolate Rum from the Caribbean I’ve been waiting to use in a baked good (because I don’t imbibe), and this looks like the perfect recipe for it!! Would this taste well using a flavor like that–and if so, what pudding would you recommend–vanilla, or pistachio? I’ll have to make it on a day off work, so it might not be immediate, but this looks to be the winner recipe!!
Wow Karen, chocolate rum?! Sounds divine, and you’re right, perfect for this recipe! I would go with vanilla pudding if you’re using chocolate rum, although I’m sure the pistachio would still be yummy (the pudding doesn’t have a strong nut taste). Use whichever nuts you prefer for the topping. I can’t wait to hear how it turns out!!!
~jules
Hi Jules,
I just discovered your website, so first let me say, “Thank you!”. I started eating gluten free about two years ago and it has changed my life tremendously! I love to bake and have been learning to bake GF, so I’m always looking for recipes. I couldn’t believe you have a rum cake recipe and can’t wait to try it. I do have a little problem, however, and it could be my computer, but I only have the first step of the method for making the cake and the step for the rum glaze. I’m not seeing what temp to bake it at or how long or what kind of pan. Would you mind to email me the whole recipe? I would love to make this cake for my family for the holidays. Thank you and God bless for creating this website!
Happy Holidays!
Sheila O.
Hi Sheila, so glad you found my website and recipes! I can’t wait to hear how you love this one — it’s a family favorite for sure! I’m sorry about the recipe being cut off. We converted my website over to a new format recently and some of the text and photos were lost in the transition. I’ve replaced the missing pieces of this recipe for you now — thanks for letting me know!
Happy holidays!!
~jules
Thanks Jules! I can’t wait to try it. I made your lemon pound cake, oatmeal cream pies and chocolate chip cookie bars for Thanksgiving and they were a hit (especially the cake!). You have rekindled my love for baking and my family is particularly grateful! God bless you and have a glorious Christmas season! :o)
Music to my ears, Sheila! So glad you dove right in and tried several recipes … and enjoyed sweet success! I hope you also have a wonderful and blessed Christmas season!
~jules
I made this tonight and it did not raise at all. I used a KitchenAid stand mixer, and it was very thick, baked it for the recommended time. I have not successfully made anything from scratch since being diagnosed..I must be doing something wrong.??
Hi Denise – did you use my Jules flour or make any other substitutions?
I used your flour and made no substitutions…
Hi Denise, there must be something else going on – why don’t you send us an email to [email protected] and we can walk through the recipes you’re trying to see what might be happening. We’ll figure it out – don’t give up!
I too made it tonight. I used my Kithcen aid mixer. I used the wire whip and it looks more like bread with a crusty crust.
Omg! Delish! My husband can’t wait to eat it for breakfast. I did use a dark rum but not sure it really matters. Best new recipe added to my list. Thank you thank you thank. Happy holidays!
Dark rum is soooooo good in this recipe, Tracey! So glad you have a great new recipe to add to your repertoire!
How do you make this without eggs or corn, which my husband developed a reaction to in addition to gluten?
Hi Norma, do you have my book, Free for All Cooking? It has all the info you’ll need to make your own flour mixture without corn and loads of information on substituting for eggs. I think it will really help your baking!
I forgot to mention, once I used a sugar free pudding mix by mistake and it definately affects the texture of the cake!! I wouldn’t recommend it!!
Good tip, Roselyn!!
I make regular rum cakes for my friends and they LOVE them. I will NOW make one for me!!! however , I always have added a stick of butter when making the glaze and only boil it one minute. I also use spiced rum. It is a Very moist cake.
is it possible to mix a double batch or should each cake be mixed separately?
Hi Pat, it’s theoretically possible, but this cake batter is SO THICK that it might kill your mixer to make a double!