Bahamian Rum Cake

Remember Butter Rum Lifesavers?  They were my absolute favorite, so when Caleb suggested I make a rum cake to bring over to his parents' for Sunday dinner, I was in.  Most of the sauce recipes I found, however, did not go along with the Butter Rum flavor I was hoping to create.  The combination I ended up with was JUST right.  I could have eaten the entire pan of sauce with a spoon.  This is a cake that gets better as it sits a little while, so I would recommend making it either the night before, or the morning of the day you will be serving it.  It's not much to look at (I may try putting toasted pecans in the pan before pouring in the cake batter next time--I will update here how it goes), but saving some sauce for serving, or even dusting with powdered sugar will help "pretty it up" a bit :)  The flavor is more than worth it!


Cake:
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1 cup butter, at room temperature
2 cups sugar
3 eggs, at room temperature
2 egg yolks, at room temperature
1 Tbs vanilla extract
3 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp baking powder
3/4 tsp salt
3/4 cup light coconut milk
3 Tbs rum, optional

Preheat oven to 350*.  Generously grease and flour a Bundt pan.
Mix butter and sugar together in high-speed mixer bowl on med-high until light and fluffy, about 5 minutes.  Scrape down bowl occasionally.  While it is mixing, combine flour, soda, powder, and salt in a small bowl.  Add eggs, one at a time, to butter mixture, mixing well after each addition.  Repeat with egg yolks and vanilla.  Combine milk and rum, if using.  With the mixer on low, alternately add the flour and milk mixtures, beating just until combined after each, starting and finishing with the flour mixture. 
Pour into prepared Bundt pan and smooth with rubber scraper.  Bake for 45-50 minutes, until golden and the cracks appear dry. 

 Sauce:
1/2 cup butter
1/2 cup light coconut milk
1 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup rum or rum flavoring to taste

While the cake is baking, prepare the sauce.  Combine butter, milk, and brown sugar in a 2 quart sauce pan over med-high heat.  Whisk together and bring to boiling.  Cook and stir for 5 minutes.  Remove from heat.  Add the rum or flavoring and stir to combine (note, if you use rum, it will steam, so stand back).  Let cool until ready to use.

When cake is cooled, turn out onto a serving plate.  Pour almost half of the sauce into the Bundt pan, and replace cake into pan.  Drizzle all but 3-4 Tbs of remaining sauce over the cake and allow sauce to soak into cake (30-60 minutes).  You could also use a skewer to poke holes every few inches before pouring sauce over cake.  Turn back out onto serving plate.  Drizzle with remaining sauce just before serving. 

Source: cake recipe adapted from Annie's Eats, originally from David Lebowitz