Preheat the oven to 325°F/163°C. Grease and flour a 12 cup Bundt pan or a 10-inch tube pan. Sprinkle the pecans over the bottom of the pan. Place the pan on a baking sheet.
1 Cup Chopped Pecans
Sift together into a large bowl of a stand mixer the cake flour, white sugar, instant pudding, and baking powder.
3 Cups Cake Flour, 2 Cups White Granulated Sugar, 1 Package Jell-O Instant French Vanilla Pudding, 1 Tablespoon Baking Powder
Add the butter, eggs, vanilla extract, cold water, and rum all at once and beat on very low speed until the dry ingredients are moistened. Then increase the speed to medium-high and beat the batter until it is well mixed and smooth, about 5 minutes.
1 Cup Salted Butter, 4 Large Eggs, 2 Teaspoons Vanilla Extract, ½ Cup Cold Water, ½ Cup Dark Spiced Rum
Spoon the batter over the chopped pecans in the prepared pan and smooth the top.
Bake the cake for 60 to 70 minutes or until a tester inserted in the cake comes out clean. Remove the cake from the oven and let it cool for 30 minutes. While the cake is cooling make the Rum Butter Glaze.
While the cake is still in the pan poke long holes in the cake with a long thin skewer. A cake tester works great for this job. Slowly pour ¾ cup of the rum butter glaze over the cake and let the cake cool completely cool.
Invert the cake onto a serving plate. Poke long holes in the top through the pecans and through the sides of the cake. Drizzle and spoon the rum glaze evenly over the top and sides of the cake in stages, letting the cake absorb the glaze before adding more. Brush any glaze that has pooled under the cake up and over the sides. Use all the glaze until the cake has entirely absorbed the glaze.
Make the Rum Butter Glaze:
In a small saucepan melt the butter over low heat.
½ Cup Salted Butter
Stir in the water and sugar. Bring to a boil and simmer for 5 minutes, stirring constantly. Remove the pan from the heat and stir in the dark rum very slowly. The syrup will bubble up and could overflow if you pour too fast.
¼ Cup Water, 1 Cup White Granulated Sugar, ½ Cup Dark Rum
Notes
My Top TipsAll of the ingredients must be at room temperature and it is very important that the butter is soft. This allows it to be beaten into the batter easily.Pour, spoon, and spread the batter into the pan carefully so as not to disturb the chopped pecans. Run a knife carefully through the batter to remove air pockets and to make sure the batter fully fills the pan.The Rum Butter Glaze needs to be warm and liquid for the glaze to easily soak into the cake. If the glaze cools before you can use it, the butter will separate. Simply warm the glaze in the microwave in 30-second bursts until the butter is melted again and whisk the glaze to mix it in thoroughly.EquipmentAlthough not required, a stand mixer cuts down the work time of mixing the cake batter. Mixing the batter by hand may take up to 15 minutes while the stand mixer does the same work in 5.Make-Ahead & StorageThis cake just gets better and better with time! So feel free to make it a full day before serving and store the cake in a covered container at room temperature for up to 5 days.In Loving Memory of Danny Robinson, a kind and gentle soul who always loved my rum cake.