Rum Raisin Pound Cake

This Rum Raisin Pound Cake features a buttery cake studded with raisins and chopped walnuts. For extra flavor, a warm rum sauce gets poured over the cake before serving.

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We had some friends over a couple of weeks back, and the topic of favorite ice cream flavor came up. Mine is cookies ‘n cream. Laura chimed in with pistachio. Someone else jumped in with butter pecan. Then one of our good friends said rum raisin.

*Hold up* – Did you just say your favorite flavor of ice cream is rum raisin!? Are you 87 years old!? Where does one even find rum raisin ice cream? We all had a good laugh about that, but it did get me thinking. Lots of ice cream flavors can be translated into dessert flavors. I started thinking about that rum raisin combination. Hmmm…

Rum Raisin Pound Cake

Armed with a bottle of spiced rum and a container of raisins, I hit the kitchen with the goal of creating a Rum Raisin Pound Cake. To be fair, I thought this would be a tasty dessert, but I didn’t expect it to be something I loved. After all, I don’t exactly get cravings for rum raisin ice cream. Wow, was I wrong!

This Rum Raisin Pound Cake is absolutely delicious! I used a bit of brown sugar in the pound cake itself, and the deeper flavors of brown sugar paired very well with the rum. And I soaked the raisins in hot rum while I made the cake batter. Soaking the raisins is a trick I picked up way back when I made this Irish Soda Bread. The hot rum transformed the raisins from chewy little nuggets into plump, juicy raisins.

Years ago, I made this Toasted Coconut Rum Cake and I poured a rum syrup over the top of that one before serving. That cake is still one of the more popular recipes on this blog, so I decided to use that same rum syrup on this Rum Raisin Pound Cake, too. Good decision! That buttered rum sauce combined with the flavors of the pound cake itself turned out to be magical. This recipe is definitely a keeper!

Ingredients

• Spiced Rum. I used Captain Morgan, but any spiced rum or dark rum will work in this recipe. If you want to avoid alcohol, apple juice would be a good substitute.
• Raisins. I used ‘standard’ dark raisins, but golden raisins would be another option here.
• Unsalted Butter.
• Granulated Sugar and Brown Sugar. Substituting half of the granulated sugar with brown sugar brings a deeper almost caramel like flavor to this pound cake once it bakes.
• Eggs.
• Sweetened Condensed Milk. Using a can of sweetened condensed milk in a pound cake adds moisture, flavor and creaminess to the cake itself.
• Whole Milk. Adds more moisture and creates a softer cake crumb.
• Vanilla Extract. Adds flavor.
• All-Purpose Flour.
• Walnuts. The nuts are optional, but I like the crunch of the walnuts combined with the chewy texture of the raisins.

I’ll admit that I was surprised at how good this Rum Raisin Pound Cake turned out. I expected it to be tasty, but I found myself just walking by nibbling on the edges of this cake again…and again…and again.

How to Store Leftover Pound Cake

Leftover slices of this pound cake should be stored in an airtight container for 4-5 days. If you don’t think you’ll eat it all within that time, I recommend slicing the cake and wrapping each slice in plastic wrap. The slices can be placed in a freezer bag and frozen for up to 4 months. Just let the slices thaw at room temperature before serving. Heating the cake up slightly in the microwave or toaster oven is highly recommended – it’s hard to beat a warm slice of pound cake!

This cake makes for a great dessert any time of the year, but it’s especially delicious as a holiday treat. The vanilla and brown sugar flavors in the pound cake pair well with the rum, and the walnuts and raisins add both flavor and texture. I hope you enjoy this cake as much as we do – Happy Baking!

Did you bake this Rum Raisin Pound Cake recipe at home? Leave a comment, or snap a photo and tag me on Instagram (@Spicedblog) – I’d love to see your version!

Rum Raisin Pound Cake

This Rum Raisin Pound Cake features a buttery cake studded with raisins and chopped walnuts. For extra flavor, a warm rum sauce gets poured over the cake before serving.

5 from 5 votes

Print Pin Rate

Prep Time: 20 minutes minutes

Cook Time: 1 hour hour 40 minutes minutes

Total Time: 2 hours hours

Servings: 16 servings

Calories: 674kcal

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Ingredients

For the Rum Cake

• ½ cup spiced rum such as Captain Morgan
• 1 cup raisins
• 1¼ cups unsalted butter room temperature
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 1 cup brown sugar
• 6 large eggs room temperature
• 1 14-oz. can sweetened condensed milk
• ½ cup whole milk
• 1 Tbsp vanilla extract
• 4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1½ cups chopped walnuts

For the Rum Syrup

• 6 Tbsp unsalted butter
• ¾ cup brown sugar
• ⅓ cup water
• ¼ cup spiced rum
• ½ tsp vanilla extract
• ½ cup chopped walnuts

Instructions

For the Rum Cake

• Using a small saucepan, add rum and place over medium heat.
• Once rum begins to simmer around the edges of the pan, remove from heat and add raisins. Stir until well combined and set aside.
• Preheat oven to 300°F.
• Spray a 12-cup bundt pan or tube pan with nonstick cooking spray. Set pan aside.
• Using a countertop mixer fitted with paddle attachment, cream butter and both sugars together for 3-4 minutes on medium speed, or until fluffy and light in color. (Tip: Don’t forget to scrape down sides and bottom of the bowl with a rubber spatula.)
• Add eggs 2 at a time, mixing well after each addition.
• Add condensed milk, whole milk and vanilla extract; mix until well combined.
• Add flour; mix on low speed until well combined.
• Fold the rum-raisin mixture and chopped walnuts into the batter until well combined.
• Transfer batter into the prepared pan.
• Bake for 75 minutes. Tent top of cake with foil (to prevent burning) and continue baking for 20-25 more minutes, or until a toothpick or wooden skewer inserted into center of cake comes out mostly clean.
• Let cake cool in pan for 15 minutes before inverting onto a wire rack.

For the Rum Syrup

• While cake is cooling, place the butter, brown sugar, water and spiced rum in a medium saucepan.
• Place over medium-high heat until mixture begins to boil. Allow mixture to boil for 5 minutes, stirring frequently. Remove mixture from heat and stir in vanilla and chopped walnuts.
• Let syrup cool slightly and then spoon over cake before serving.

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