Banana Rum Cake (from cake mix)

This decadent, flavorful banana rum cake is so easy to make, and is certain make any occasion feel more special.

If you love banana cakes and rum cakes, this recipe is sure to become an instant favorite! Nobody would ever guess that it starts with a box of yellow cake mix.

Why we Love It

• Ultra moist and flavorful
• Wonderful balance of banana and rum flavor, along with the crunch of a pecan topping.
• Boozy cakes like today's recipe are fun and festive for the holidays, adult birthdays, and more! (Pina Colada Cake, Margarita Cupcakes, and Black Forest Cake are a few more examples!)
• The rum glaze that is poured over the cake while it is still in the cake pan makes for an incredibly moist texture and amazing richness.
• Easy to make doctored cake mix recipe, (just as with our Easy Rum Cake and Baileys Toffee Pecan Cake)!

Ingredients for Banana Rum Cake

Here's a quick look at the key ingredients for our banana rum cake and glaze! Make sure to see the full list in the recipe card!

Rum: We used white rum not only in the cake batter but also in the glaze that is poured over the freshly baked cake. If you prefer dark rum, that will work with this recipe too! Dark rum has a deeper flavor as it is aged longer.

Chopped Pecans: Add such a nice bit of crunch and flavor to the top of every slice!

Ripe Bananas: We used about 1 ¼ cup of mashed ripe bananas in our cake recipe- the flavor really comes through! Ripe bananas are best as they will have the most flavor.

Yellow Cake Mix- We used Duncan Hines Classic Yellow, Perfectly Moist. This mix is 15.25 oz. You will not be following the directions on the back ;0)

Light Brown Sugar pairs so nicely with the banana and rum flavor. Brown sugar is great in baked goods not only because of the flavor, but also because the molasses in brown sugar adds more moisture as well!

Vanilla Pudding: We've used instant pudding in many of our doctored cake mix recipes (including our Easy Butterscotch Cake, Marble Cake from Cake Mix, and easy Chocolate Mousse Cake). It adds another layer of flavor, adds moisture, and makes for a soft crumb.

All Purpose Flour The additional flour used in this recipe helps to extend the amount of batter for this cake recipe and also gives it a more from-scratch texture.

Butter, Granulated Sugar, Rum, and Water make up the ingredients for the rum glaze. This is what really takes the cake to another level, as it adds richness and flavor to the banana rum cake. You'll noticed the saturated edges in every slice.

How to Make Banana Rum Cake

You can find the full, printable recipe card at the bottom of this post. Here is a quick look at our steps!

• Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F, grease and flour a bundt pan. (Ours has a 12 cup baking capacity.)
• Sprinkle the bottom of the prepared bundt pan with chopped pecans.

• In the mixing bowl, combine the dry ingredients: cake mix, vanilla pudding mix, all purpose flour, light brown sugar, ground cinnamon, baking powder and salt. Whisk to blend.

• Add the eggs, vegetable oil, mashed bananas, milk, rum, and vanilla extract. With an electric mixer (paddle attachment if using a stand mixer) start mixing the ingredients on low speed until blended (about 15-20 seconds.) Then, increase to medium speed and mix for two minutes. Scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl as needed.

• Pour the batter in the bundt pan.

• Bake for 50-55 minutes or until a wooden skewer/toothpick comes out clean or with just a few crumbs attached. Bake times may vary- check the cake as it approaches the 45 minute mark and adjust time accordingly.
• During the last 15 minutes of baking, make the glaze. The glaze is a mixture of melted butter, water, sugar, and rum. Boil for a few minutes and remove from heat.

• When the cake is just out of the oven, leave it in the bundt pan and pour the warm glaze evenly over it.

Allow the banana rum cake to sit and absorb the glaze for 15 minutes.

• After 15 minutes has passed, when the glaze has been absorbed, place your cake plate/pedestal upside down against the cake pan and then flip it all as one so that the cake plate is now right side up with the inverted pan on top.
• Then, remove the bundt pan to reveal the finished cake. We just love the look (and taste!) of the baked-in crushed pecans on top. Heavenly!

Here is a peek at the inside of the cake! When you slice it, you will notice the areas around the edges of the slice that are saturated with the rum syrup.

The outside of the cake is glistening with it as well. It's what takes this banana rum cake to another level!

Recipe FAQs

More Banana Cakes

If you love banana cake recipes, you are in the right place- we have many! In addition to today's new favorite recipe, make sure to try our Banana Pudding Cake, Hummingbird Cake, Banana Cream Cake, and easy Banana Bundt Cake!

Thanks so much for stopping by! Make sure to check out our full collection of hundreds of cake recipes, which includes cake recipes from scratch as well as cake mix recipes!

We also have a huge collection of cake decorating tutorials if you are interested in cake design! You'll find everything from How to Make a Cake and How to Frost a Cake to elegant cakes, themed birthday cake ideas, and more!

Banana Rum Cake

BY Melissa and Bebe

This decadent Banana Rum Cake is so rich and delicious. It has the perfect balance of banana and rum flavor!

Prep Time: 15 minutes mins

Cook Time: 50 minutes mins

Course: Dessert

Servings: 15

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Ingredients

• ▢ 1 box Yellow Cake Mix (We used Duncan Hines Classic Yellow Perfect Moist 15.25 oz)- I like to sift the mix.
• ▢ 1 (3.4oz) small box Vanilla Instant Pudding (Do not prepare the pudding)
• ▢ ½ cup All purpose flour (61g)
• ▢ ¾ cup light brown sugar (162g) packed into measuring cup
• ▢ 1 teaspoon 4g baking powder
• ▢ ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon (1.5g)
• ▢ ½ teaspoon salt (3g)
• ▢ 1 ½ teaspoon vanilla extract (6g)
• ▢ ¾ cup vegetable oil (160g or 5.5 oz)
• ▢ 3 eggs
• ▢ 1¼ cup mashed bananas (305g) This is about 3 medium bananas.
• ▢ 4 oz milk
• ▢ 4 oz rum (Dark or White Rum is good. We used White Rum.)
• ▢ ½ cup Pecans, chopped  (52g)

For the Rum Glaze

• ▢ 1 cup Sugar (200g)
• ▢ 1 stick Unsalted butter (113g)
• ▢ ¼ cup Water (61g)
• ▢ ¼ cup Rum (61g)

Instructions

• Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F, grease and flour a bundt pan- See Notes about size
• Sprinkle the bottom of the prepared pan with the chopped pecans.
• In the mixing bowl, combine the dry ingredients: cake mix, vanilla pudding mix, flour, light brown sugar, cinnamon, baking powder and salt. Whisk to blend.
• Then, add the eggs, vegetable oil, mashed bananas, milk, rum, and vanilla extract. With an electric mixer (paddle attachment if using a stand mixer) start mixing the ingredients on low speed until blended (about 15-20 seconds.) Then, increase to medium speed and mix for two minutes. Scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl as needed. The batter will be runny.
• Pour or scoop the batter in the bundt pan and bake for 50-55 minutes or until a wooden skewer/toothpick comes out clean or with just a few crumbs attached. Bake times may vary- check the cake as it approaches the 45 minute mark and adjust time accordingly.
• During the last 15 minutes of baking, make the glaze.

Glaze Instructions

• In a saucepan, stir the glaze ingredients (sugar, butter, water, rum) over low heat until butter has melted. Raise the heat to medium heat, stirring constantly until it begins to boil. (Be careful-It may boil over if you are not stirring.) Boil for 3 minutes and remove from heat.
• This glaze will be poured over the cake just after the baked cake is pulled from the oven and still in the pan. Pour the warm glaze over the cake (still in pan) and let it sit for 15 minutes.
• After 15 minutes has passed, when the glaze has been absorbed, place your cake plate/pedestal upside down against the cake pan and then flip it all as one so that the cake plate is now right side up with the inverted pan on top. Remove the can pan to reveal the cake.

Notes

Bundt Pan: This cake recipe makes about 7 cups of batter. We used a 15 cup bundt pan (which has about a 12 cup baking capacity). 

If you are using a smaller size of bundt pan, your cake may take a bit longer to bake as the batter will be deeper in the pan. The general rule of thumb is not to fill it beyond the ¾ full mark. (Usually if you have about 1 ¼ inches or more from the top of the batter to the top edge of the filled pan, you are good.)

This cake can sit out (in an airtight container or a cake dome for 2-3 days, or longer in the refrigerator.) If you refrigerate, remove it a couple of hours before serving to allow plenty of time for it to warm and soften.

 

 

 

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