Mini rum cake (recipe).

This rum cake recipe is one of my go-to desserts to make. It always gets a fabulous reception, and there's never any leftovers (and easy to make too!). In fact, I've already shared this recipe once as a bundt cake. The other day, I decided to try making mini versions using muffin tins, so that I could bring some to a few friends, and keep some for myself. I quickly whipped up the batter, portioned it out, put it in the oven, then thought to myself "Wow, this cake is so easy to make!" Then I noticed the box of vanilla pudding that was still sitting on the counter... oops!



Since the cakes were already baking, I figured I might as well finish them. When they were done baking, I boiled up the syrup and poured it over. It's still cake that's doused in butter, rum and sugar, so it can't be too bad, right? Well, it was still tasty, but it didn't have the richness to it that I was craving. It was good, but not amazing, so the next day I whipped up another batch. This time I made sure to put all of the ingredients in. The result was perfect, and my sweet tooth was satisfied!

It's hard to capture the difference in a photo, but this is one from the first batch. It didn't rise as well, and the cake was slightly dry and not as rich.

Here is one from the second batch. Note how well it has risen and fluffy it is (more space to soak up that glorious butter rum syrup!).

Mini Rum Cakes
Makes 18 muffin sized cakes

Ingredients
Cake
1 package Duncan Hines butter recipe cake mix
1 package 4 oz vanilla instant pudding mix (5 oz is okay too)
1/2 cup light rum
1/2 cup water
1/2 cup cooking oil
4 eggs
1 cup chocolate chips (optional)


Glaze
1 cup sugar
1 stick butter
1 cup rum

Instructions
1) Preheat oven to 325 degrees f. Grease and flour muffin tins.

2) Mix together cake mix, pudding mix, rum, water, oil, and eggs. Pour batter into prepped tins. Bake at 325 for approximately twenty-five minutes.

3) To make the glaze: combine the sugar, butter, and rum in a saucepan. Heat and boil for 3 minutes. Set aside the glaze until the cake is ready.

4) When cakes are finished baking, allow to cool several minutes, then remove from tins. Transfer cakes into a wide dish with edges (such as a casserole dish). While the cakes are hot, poke holes in the top with a toothpick, then spoon the glaze over them slowly (I like to do half of the glaze, wait a minute, then add the rest). After several hours, the cakes will absorb all of the glaze (you can flip them over after about an hour, so that they absorb the glaze more evenly).

I used some of the batter to make this 8" round cake too. I sprinkled some chocolate chips on top to give it something extra. This took about 28 minutes to bake.

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