Well I’ve finally done it. I’ve finally turned my Captain Jack Sparrow Cupcakes into the most epic Chocolate Caramel Rum Cake and yes, it’s as good as it looks. There’s just something so sexy about chocolate, caramel, rum, and a pinch of cinnamon.
One bite of this and you’ll hear trumpets sounding and angels singing. It is a perfect cake and y’all know I’m a major cake snob. Wondering what that little something extra is? A pinch of cinnamon in the caramel rum sauce, which makes the rum taste even fancier.
You might recognize this frosting/caramel rum sauce from my famous Bananas Foster Cake. It’s absolutely divine paired with my favorite dark chocolate cake!
I used the last of my beloved Captain Morgan 1671 for this recipe and it was worth it. (If the folks at CM by chance read this, PLEASE bring back 1671!) You’ll want something with a little spice and preferably vanilla notes.
Chocolate Caramel Rum Cake
2 cups sugar
1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 cup dark cocoa powder
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
2 eggs
1 cup 1% milk
1/2 cup vegetable oil
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 cup boiling water
Caramel-rum sauce, recipe follows
Caramel-rum frosting, recipe follows
- Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease two 9″ cake pans and coat with cocoa powder. Make the caramel-rum sauce and allow to cool while you bake the cake.
- Combine sugar, flour, dark cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda and salt in large mixing bowl. Add eggs one at a time and mix until incorporated. Add milk, oil and vanilla all at once and beat on medium speed of mixer about two minutes. Stir in the boiling water. Divide between cake pans.
- Bake 28 to 33 minutes or until wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool 10 minutes; remove from pans to wire racks. Cool completely.
- Frost with caramel-rum frosting and drizzle with caramel-rum sauce.
Caramel-Rum Sauce
1/2 cup unsalted butter
1 1/4 cups brown sugar
2 Tbsp heavy cream
1/2 cup good quality golden or spiced rum
- Melt 1 stick of butter in a sauce pan over medium heat.
- Add dark brown sugar and heavy cream. Cook until sugar has dissolved.
- Remove pan from heat and add 1/2 cup of good dark rum. Now is not the time to use cheap rum because the flavor is important to the quality of the cake. I used Captain Morgan.
- Carefully put the pan back on the heat. The rum will ignite. If it doesn’t, you can light it manually with a lighter. The flame should burn out in a minute or two. Continue cooking for one or two more minutes after the flame has died down to thicken the sauce.
- Pour into a heat-proof bowl and allow to cool.
Note: you can make a half batch of the sauce. You do not need this much sauce for the cake. However, it’s absolutely amazing on ice cream so I love to have a little leftover!
Caramel-Rum Frosting
1/4 cup caramel-rum sauce, cooled
3 cups powdered sugar
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 tsp vanilla
1-2 Tbsp milk
- Cream together powdered sugar and softened butter with an electric mixer.
- Slowly incorporate vanilla, rum-caramel sauce, and milk. Beat until smooth.
- Add additional milk or powdered sugar if needed for desired consistency.
Happy baking,
