This gluten free rum cake is so delicious and decadent! This is the perfect festive dessert for those who follow a paleo, grain-free or dairy-free diet – though you’d never know! Everyone will enjoy a slice of this tasty rum cake!
This golden rum cake makes it perfectly acceptable to enjoy booze for breakfast… or for dessert! This boozy treat is made with a coconut sugar caramel and it’s topped with a sweet rum glaze.
Rum cake makes a regular appearance on holiday dessert menus. My recipe is grain-free, dairy-free and Paleo-ish (hey, I used Bacardi Gold, which is gluten-free!). It’ll definitely have a spot on my Paleo Thanksgiving and Christmas menus this year.
I used to be a shot girl. And, what I mean by that is… when I would drink, I would only do shots. Why? Because I never really cared for the taste of alcohol (and um, shots [er, more like a single shot] were effective…). Unfortunately, I’m dangerously close to being past the acceptable age where one can get away with only doing shots. While I’ve recently had to learn how to “sip” on drinks, I’ve never had a problem enjoying the flavor that alcohol adds to food and to baked goods.
In fact, I cook with wine far more often than I drink it. How many people can say that? When it comes to sweet things (like Christmas cake and egg nog), my alcohol of choice is rum. And today, I’m sharing a recipe that uses a decent amount of the stuff in the form of this delicious, golden rum cake.
Many rum cakes require you to soak dried fruit in rum (like my boozy Christmas cake); this particular bundt cake is made sans fruit, making it the perfect cake to throw together at the last minute. There’s no planning or prep work involved.
For extra rum-flavor, while the cake cools in the pan, poke the bottom several times with a fork and pour a tablespoon or two of rum on top. The coconut flour will absorb the liquid.
The glaze on top clings onto the cake pretty well. It’s made with coconut butter, maple syrup, grassfed butter and rum. If you’re not a fan of coconut butter – just make an extra batch of the rum caramel. That will also taste great on this cake!
Ingredients
Rum Caramel:
- 1 cup rum divided
- 1 cup coconut sugar
- 4 tablespoons butter ghee or coconut oil
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
For the cake:
- 2 ½ cups almond flour
- 1 cup coconut flour
- 2 teaspoons baking soda
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 8 eggs room temperature
- ¼ cup maple syrup
For the glaze:
- ¼ cup coconut butter
- 3 tablespoons maple syrup
- 2 tablespoons butter ghee or coconut oil
- 1 tablespoon rum
Instructions
To make the Rum Caramel:
- In a saucepan over low heat, add ¼ cup of rum and the coconut sugar. Stir occasionally for about 5 minutes, until the sauce begins to bubble.
- Add the remaining ¾ cup of rum, butter and vanilla extract to the pan. Raise the heat to medium and cook for 10 minutes, stirring frequently.
- Turn off the heat and allow the sauce to cool on the stove.
To make the Cake:
- Preheat the oven to 325º F.
- Grease bundt pan well and set aside (I used a 10 inch bundt pan).
- In a stand mixer, add the almond flour, coconut flour, baking soda and salt and mix until well combined.
- Add the eggs, maple syrup and the completely cooled caramel sauce to the stand mixer and mix well.
- Spoon the batter into the well greased bundt pan.
- Bake at 325º F for 45 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.
- Let the cake cool undisturbed for 45 minutes to 1 hour in the bundt pan on a cooling rack.
- Once cool, invert the cake onto a plate or cake stand.
- Frost the cake with the rum glaze (directions below).
To make the glaze:
- If the coconut butter is hard, you may need to submerge the jar in hot water first. Stir thoroughly before using.
- Combine all of the ingredients in a small saucepan on low heat and mix until well combined.
- Spoon the thick glaze on top of the cooled bundt cake.
Colette says
Cannot wait to try this! I don’t care what recipe you decide to try, Ashley’s are the absolute BEST in the paleo, keto, Indian cuisine, whatever. You just can’t go wrong with anything she comes up with. Thank you thank you Ashley!!!!!
Ashley - My Heart Beets says
Awe that is so nice of you to say, thank you Colette 🙂 Hope you are well.
Kristi says
I want to make this dessert, wanted to know if you could use spiced rum instead of regular rum?
Ashley - My Heart Beets says
Yes, spiced rum is great 🙂
Erin Clancy says
I love your instant pot recipes- could this cake be done there?
Dorothy says
Perfect!
My Heart Beets says
Thanks Dorothy!
TG says
Thank you for sharing this recipe. Noticed it calls for 8 eggs…quite a lot. Curious if tested with just 4?
Thanks
Matt A says
Hi Ashley, noticed that your recipe calls for almond flour and coconut flour. Has anybody had issues with the cake being gooey? Do we need to add xanthan gum to stabllize?
Thanks
Matt
Taylor says
hi, I don’t have a bundt pan and I was wondering what to do if I was using a bread loaf dish instead. thanks.
My Heart Beets says
Taylor, you can use a loaf pan instead – you’ll just have to adjust the baking time.
Veronica says
I made this rum cake for my birthday this week and it was really good. Thank you for the recipe! I think the rum caramel would also taste great over ice cream, so I may try that next time. I recently found your blog and looking forward to trying more of your recipes, especially the naan bread!
My Heart Beets says
Hi Veronica! Happy belated birthday 🙂 I’m so glad you liked the cake! And, I agree – the rum caramel is awesome over pretty much anything 🙂 Hope you will let me know how any other recipes turn out for you!
Leslie says
good morning! I am have to make the cake in stages. I made the rum caramel last night but it never became thick – should it?
I put in the fridge over night and will pull out this evening and let it get to room temperature before adding to the batter. I cannot wait to finish as the caramel smells wonderful!
Leslie says
I saw the post from Heather and that you told her it should be thick…I have reheated and cooked for an additional 10 minutes and it is not getting thicker. This is the first time I have used Gee and it seems to be staying on top and not merging into the mix. Is this typical?
My Heart Beets says
Leslie, I am SO sorry for the late reply. I’ve changed my website settings so that I don’t miss future comments! Did you end up figuring this out?
Mina says
Also just remembered had to add little bit more rum to thin out the glaze.
Mina says
Hello Ashley I used honey instead of coconut sugar and maple sugar for my son’s 18th birthday. We’re on Gaps diet. It worked really well, slightly dry so next time will use 3/4 cup coconut flour. Now if you can think of replacement for tapioca/arrowroot flour to make your naan, butter chicken will be delicious and so many of your other recipes.
My Heart Beets says
Thanks for sharing, Mina 🙂 As for a naan replacement, I’ve been wondering lately if potato starch will work. I plan to try it soon – if it works, you can expect a blog post on it!
Mina says
Hello Ashley! On Gaps cannot do potato either, so wondering if butternut squash flour or celery root flour. Will have to give it a go.
Heather says
How should the caramel be when it is done? Mine turned into hard candy after 7 minutes. I am assuming this should be a thick sauce?
My Heart Beets says
Hi Heather, it should be a thick sauce – I’m not sure why it turned into candy. Did you cook it over low heat in the beginning?
Heather says
I did but I think maybe my pan was to wide and so the sauce cooked faster than the ten minutes. I did like the cake though. Thanks
Sugar Free Low Carb Recipes says
This cake looks so tasty. I’ve been looking for a new gluten free cake recipe. I may have to give this one a try!
My Heart Beets says
Thanks! Hope you like it 🙂
Ericka says
Just what I needed to replace my favorite holiday rum cake recipe! Question: Was there supposed to be spices in the cake? I don’t see any listed in the ingredients but mentioned in step 6. Thanks!
My Heart Beets says
Hi Ericka! Sorry about the confusion – no spices! I changed it to just say salt 🙂 Let me know what you think when you try it!
Heather Mauck says
Thanks. I was looking for a grain free cake for family. This looks just perfect.
My Heart Beets says
Let me know how it turns out for you, Heather! Enjoy 🙂
Susan says
Wow. This rum cake looks gorgeous!
My Heart Beets says
Thank you, Susan! 🙂