Rum Cake

This is a FANTASTIC cake. It also lasts forever because the rum has a preservative effect. While the original recipe called for Bacardi, I like to use Sailor Jerry's because it has a lovely spiced flavor with a hint of cherry.

---Cake---
1 cup chopped pecans or walnuts
1 box yellow cake mix
1 (4-serving size) box instant vanilla pudding mix
4 eggs
1/2 cup cold milk
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1/2 cup dark rum

• 
  
• ---Glaze---
• 1/2 cup butter
• 1/4 cup water
• 1 cup sugar (I prefer brown sugar)
• 1/2 cup dark rum

Drop the nuts into the bottom of a greased bundt pan.

Combine all of the cake ingredients, beat it very well, and then pour it into the bundt pan, over the nuts. Bake at 350F for an hour.

While that's cooling, make the glaze:

Melt the butter in a saucepan, add the sugar and water once it's all melted. Stir constantly while the sugar crystallizes into the glaze. This will take about 5 minutes on low/low-med heat. Once the sugar is crystallized (aka gotten pretty smooth) , remove from heat and add the rum- be careful, it will steam. Let that set for a few minutes but it will be runny and very liquidy. This isn't a pretty frosting glaze, JSYK.

My preferred glazing method: Upend the cake out of the bundt pan until the cake is sitting upright and out of the pan. Pour some of the glaze over the cake. Pour more into the now-empty bundt pan. Upend the cake back into the pan and let it soak. Pour more glaze into the now-visible bottom of the pan/cake, let it soak in, then upend the cake out of the pan again and pour any remaining glaze back over the cake.

This cake freezes well, ships well, and is totally awesome.... it was used for my 25th birthday :)