Rum Cake

I was lucky when I decided to make this, as my husband and a few friends were home to watch the baby. The hardest part of this recipe is buying the bundt pan. The rest is quite simple, and makes a very strong rum cake that is even tastier after it's been frosted and chilled a few hours. This is an incredibly rich, bad-for-you cake, but it's so damned delicious that it won't matter. I only make it once or twice a year anyway. I use Captain Morgan Private Stock rum.

Ingredients:

1 package yellow cake mix
1 (4-serving size) package instant vanilla pudding
1/2 C oil
1/2 C water
1/2 C rum
4 eggs
1/2 C chopped pecans

Glaze:
1 stick butter
1 C sugar
1/4 C rum
1/4 C water

Frosting:
4 oz. cream cheese
1/3 stick butter
2 C powdered sugar
1/2 tsp vanilla
sprinkle of water

Mix cake mix, pudding, oil, water and rum. Add eggs 1 at a time. Grease tube or bundt pan and line with nuts. Pour batter over nuts. Bake at 325°F. for 35-45 minutes.

About 5 minutes before cake is ready to come out of the oven, prepare the glaze in a small pot. After you pull the cake out, use a chopstick (or something similar) to poke holes all over the cake (don't take it out of the pan yet). Pour the glaze over the cake, filling the holes and all around the cake and let it soak in as the cake cools off for about 20 minutes. Then turn the pan upside down over a platter and let rest/cool for another hours or so til it is cool enough to remove the cake from a pan. You may need to use a butter knife to cut the middle part (around the big hole) out to get the cake to fall out of the pan.
My finished cake (half-eaten):

After cake has cooled, make the frosting. It's best if you let the cream cheese and butter set out on the counter for at least an hour to get soft before you try to mix the frosting together. Combine all ingredients and mix well with a spatula, then spread liberally onto the cake. If you aren't serving the cake within 15 minutes, refrigerate the finished product until ready to eat. You can insert toothpicks into the top frosted part to hold up the cellophane wrap if you don't want to mess up the frosting.