Looking for an unique Father’s Day gift? Make him a rum cake with Appleton Estate 12 Year Rum. Appleton Estate has been creating Jamaican Rum since 1749. The rums are handcrafted from start to finish and adhere to Scottish-English law, which means that all the rums contained in the blend must reflect, at a minimum, the specific age noted on the bottle. They produce blends ranging from 12 years to 30 years, each blended and held in a small oak cask until ready to be bottled. The twelve year old rum is designed to have a soft elegant character flavor of orange peel, vanilla, toasted oak and a hint of almond.

While I do not drink, I love to use rum in different recipes. I am including our family favorite Rum Cake recipe which we have on special occasions. I did sample the rum for a taste test for my review. Usually I find rum is too bitter for my taste. When I read it was perfect for “sipping neat”, I laughed. Instead I did find this one was smooth and had a mellow flavor. This is much better than the rum I usually purchase to make my cakes. I could tell this was quality rum. I’m looking forward to this Father’s Day and our special cake. Here is my recipe for those of you who would like to try it.

Golden Rum CakeIngredients:
1 cup chopped walnuts or pecans (I use pecans)
1 (18.25 ounce) package yellow cake mix ( I use the pudding in the mix kind, if available)
1 (3.4 ounce) package instant vanilla pudding mix
4 eggs
1/2 cup water
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1/2 cup dark rum
1/2 cup butter
1/4 cup water
1 cup white sugar
1/2 cup dark rum

Directions
Preheat oven to 325 degrees F (165 degrees C). Grease and flour a 10 inch Bundt pan. Sprinkle chopped nuts evenly over the bottom of the pan.
In a large bowl, combine cake mix and pudding mix. Mix in the eggs, 1/2 cup water, oil and 1/2 cup rum. Blend well. Pour batter over chopped nuts in the pan.
Bake in the preheated oven for 60 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the cake comes out clean. Let sit for 10 minutes in the pan, then turn out onto serving plate. Brush glaze over top and sides. Allow cake to absorb glaze and repeat until all glaze is used.
To make the glaze: in a saucepan, combine butter, 1/4 cup water and 1 cup sugar. Bring to a boil over medium heat and continue to boil for 5 minutes, stirring constantly. Remove from heat and stir in 1/2 cup rum.

Be sure to check out the Appleton Estates website for recipes too. I plan to try the Porcini Risotto next.