Cayman Islands Copycat: Caribbean Style Dark Rum Cake

After returning from a trip to the Caribbean, my sister-in-law and her husband gave us a Tortuga Caribbean Rum Cake, a specialty of the Cayman Islands.  It was vacuum-sealed in plastic, packed inside a hexagonal cardboard box.  How good could a vacuum packed cake really be?  We found out one morning when we had run out of breakfast danishes, and decided to give the rum cake a try...

The Tortuga Rum Cake was to die for!  Moist, sweet, buttery... with a delightful rum flavor.  So I decided this would be my next baking adventure... an attempt to duplicate the Tortuga Caribbean Rum Cake.  I searched and found a similar recipe for a "Bacardi Rum Cake", but it utilized yellow cake mix as the base.  Now, not to knock cake mix - sometimes I like to use it - but I was in the mood to try something a little less "convenient".  So I kept searching, and found a recipe called "Almost Tortuga Rum Cake".  It called for cake flour and a certain brand of rum, and I didn't have any, so I made some substitutions and revisions.  It tastes pretty close to the original, as much as I can remember, and my picky husband even said "this is good" (which is high praise from him):

Caribbean Style Dark Rum Cake: 
1/2 c. walnuts, chopped
1 1/2 c. all purpose flour
1/4 c. cornstarch
1 1/2 c. sugar
4 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. sea salt
1 stick unsalted butter (1/2 c.)
3 T. + 1/2 c. canola oil
3.5 oz box instant vanilla pudding mix
1/2 c. milk
4 eggs
1/2 c. dark rum (I used Bacardi Select)
1 tsp. vanilla

Rum Soaking Glaze:

1 stick unsalted butter (1/2 c.)
1 c. sugar
1/4 c. water
1/2 c. dark rum

1.  Preheat your oven to 325 degrees.  Grease a Bundt pan with butter, and sprinkle the walnuts on the bottom.

2.  In the work bowl of a food processor, add the flour, cornstarch, sugar, baking powder, salt, butter, and 3 T. of canola oil.  Pulse until the mixture comes together as coarse crumbs.
 

3.  Dump the flour mixture into a large bowl, and add the rest of the ingredients.  Whisk until the mixture is thoroughly combined.

4.  Pour the cake batter on top of the walnuts in the prepared Bundt pan.  Bake for 50-60 minutes until done.  Remove the cake from the oven, and set on a rack to cool.

5.  Meanwhile, make the rum glaze.  Gently heat the sugar, water, and butter in a saucepan until bubbly and sugar is dissolved.  Continue to simmer, while stirring, until slightly thickened.  Remove the pan from the heat, and add the rum.

6.  Slowly pour the hot rum glaze over the warm cooling cake, a little bit at a time until fully absorbed (about 5 minutes).

7.  Once cake is completely cool, turn out onto a serving platter.