Rum Cake – Cause they don’t even serve nuts on the plane anymore

That’s a bold statement.  But I would be willing to enter my Upside Down Pineapple Rum Cake in any taste test.
And I did try.  I have made half a dozen different rum cakes in my quest to avoid processed foods. Unfortunately, none of them have the smoothness, creaminess of this pudding cake with a shot.  You see, in the ingredient list is a box mix of cake, AND a box mix of a pudding.  I am against it.  I prefer to avoid boxes, and to be honest, I believe this is the only recipe I have used this year with a box as the main ingredient… let alone two boxes.
But, here is is…
The cake collects on the bottom (well, the top actually, but then you turn it upside and the top becomes the bottom).  Anyway, the cake on the bottom (in the photograph, and the heavier pudding collects on the bottom (as it cooks, the top when you flip it upside down… understand???) makes a fabulous mixture of textures.
I always make this when we have stateside visitors.
Like these two…
Tradition, there are only half a dozen planes that land each day, but most people arrive on the last one… 8:40 PM.  Takes a bit to collect luggage, and the 10 mile trip up hills, over dales and around the corners takes 30 minutes.  So, our guests arrive tired and hungry (the airlines don’t feed you like they used to … in fact, American now CHARGES $3 for a bag of snacks… not even peanuts… but I digress).
So, tradition, I make one of these on the first night our guests arrive.  But the next morning when we have a slice for breakfast (hic), it does taste better.
And I am going to justify all the calories…

Since you need energy to partake in all the relaxing we do here in paradise.
Being the expert I am now, I have another tip for you… Allow this to relax in the fridge overnight before you serve it.
But I digress from the recipe…
The inspiration comes from a recipe that Marguerite (call her Mags) at Cajun Delight, posted ages and ages ago…
Here is her original recipe…

Cajun Pineapple Rum Cake

This heavenly cake is so simple to make and the flavor is so fabulous that you will have a hard time resisting a second piece, cher! Worth the calories, cher!! Cest bon! Bon appetit!

1/2 cup pineapple rum
1 pkg. yellow cake mix
1 pkg. French vanilla instant pudding and pie filling mix
4 eggs
1/2 cup pineapple juice
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1/2 cup chopped pecans

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Spray a bundt pan with “Baker’s Joy” baking spray. In large bowl, combine first six ingredients. beat at medium speed for two minutes. Stir in nuts, and pour into prepared pan. Bake at 325 degrees for 50 to 60 minutes. Cool and remove to cake plate. Make glaze and drizzle over cake.
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Glaze
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Melt 1/4 cup butter, in saucepan. Add 2tbs. pineapple juice and 1/4 cup sugar. Cook and stir, until sugar is melted. Boil gently for 5 minutes, stirring often. Remove from heat and slowly add 1/4 cup pineapple rum, until blended. Prick top of cake with a fork and drizzle glaze over warm cake. Divine!
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Of course, I made a couple of changes… mainly that I dropped the bundt cake idea.  I do not have a bundt cake pan.  But I sure do like the idea of an upside down pineapple rum cake.  SO, I lined a rounded baking dish with pineapple slices.  I added some brown sugar to bring out the sweetness.

I was unable to find a simple yellow cake mix here.  So, I used a lemon mix and a lemon pudding mix.  I also did not have any pecans, so I left those out.
Other than those changes, I tried a little experiment…
I don’t have a photograph, but instead of putting the dish on the oven rack, I put the dish on a larger baking dish.  the dish had a 1 inch lip, about the same size as what did not brown on the cake below… make sense, can you picture it in your mind?  Remember this is an upside down cake, so when it was baking, the top was the bottom.
Alright, now that I have you completely confused, this method had an unexpected consequence…
The base (top while it was cooking, the part that was above the lip of the second baking dish) browned nicely.  It has a bit of a crunch and is almost all cake.
The top (bottom while it was baking, the part that was below the lip of the second baking dish) was only gently browned, and that was mostly the brown sugar and sugars in the pineapple rings caramelizing.  The “cake” part was much more pudding than cake.  If you look at the photo below, you will see the cake texture around the bottom (which, in an effort to REALLY confuse you is the top of the photo), while the top half (bottom of the photo) is more pudding texture.

I put the cake in the fridge overnight before cutting into it so it would set solid.
So, you now have two ways to get a slice of this cake…
Use the above recipe and make it yourself…
OR come visit the islands, you bring the sunscreen, I’ll bring the Rum Cake!
Dave here from MY YEAR ON THE GRILL. It really is just this easy!  

 … I CAN COOK THAT! 

And so can you!

10 Comments

Jay

Hy ,
Chanced upon ur blog while blog hopping…fascinating space you have. Amazed by d collection of interesting recipes.
Happy to follow u.
Do drop in at my space sometime.

Debbi Does Dinner Healthy

This looks fantastic!! I just skimmed the directions but you said that you used lemon cake and lemon pudding, is this how you always do it? I’m just wondering how it compared with the regular yellow cake. This looks like something I for sure want to try.

Velva

The islands are very becoming of you. The pineapple rum upside down cake looks really good. A perfect treat for enjoying island life.

I am thinking that the six months is fast approaching-does this mean you will have to return home?

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