Learn how to make this flourless Jamaican rum cake. It is sweet moist, buttery, contains no gluten thanks to the use of almond flour and shredded coconut. This recipe uses rum essence making it alcohol free and suitable to people who like the taste of rum without feeling intoxicated.

Are you a fan of cakes, cookies other sweet treats or desserts? Then you will certainly marvel over this extremely moist rum cake that ticks all the right boxes - gluten free, flourless, Caribbean and a coconut flare! What more could you ask for?

Rum cake vs black cake

Rum cake is not to be mistaken for black cake because they both are NOT interchangeable. Black cake is very dark, it's more dense and heavy due to the foundation of the cake being made from pureed fruit. Rum cake isn't dense and has a lighter hue to it and isn't made from pureed fruit. Both cakes contain alcohol with black cake being made from fruit that has been soaked in alcohol for months/weeks or even years ago.

The gluten free twist

As you know my niche is gluten free so this rum cake is made without gluten. I specifically used almond flour for this recipe because it yields such a light and fluffy texture. I love using almond flour in many of recipes such these Gluten Free Pumpkin Muffins and this Gluten Free Orange Pound Cake. Those are just 2 examples of almond flour recipes that myself and my audience love which is why I had to do a Jamaican themed cake using almond flour. What I like about almond flour is that it is a stand alone ingredient that's naturally grain free. This works well for anyone who is paleo or gluten free and it is such an easy pseudo flour to work with. The only down side to almond flour is that it needs a bit more liquid because the batter tends to thicken and absorb a bit more than conventional flour. Aside from that there's not really any "cons" if you were to say that a high ratio of liquid was a disadvantage.

Reasons to make this rum cake

No soaking is required
It is a great alternative to black cake
Very easy to make and straight forward
Great for people who like the taste of rum without the booziness
Alcohol free
Flourless and grain free

Making the cake

The cake is very straight forward in spite of it having a lot of ingredients. The dry ingredients are placed in one bowl and the wet ones in a jug or another bowl. I mixed everything by hand rotating between a hand whisk and a large spoon, you don't need an electric whisk or a stand mixer unless you just want to be fancy. The essence that I used is an extra dark rum which is a really good replica of Jamaican rum. For this recipe, I would recommend using dark rum as opposed to white rum because I think it compliments the recipe a lot better. The great thing about using rum essence is that you get that taste of rum without feeling boozy or intoxicated and you only need a small amount, I use no more than 2 tablespoons for the entire recipe. You could easily bring this cake to a special occasion and fool people so they don't know it's alcohol free.

My rum cake also contains shredded coconut and mixed fruit, this is something that my family like, so I make it for them that way and wanted to share it with you too. The wet ingredients are gradually folded into the dry ingredients bowl to make a smooth batter, along with the mixed fruit and then poured into a greased (I used spray release too) bundt pan. You will want a bundt pan that is around 24cm (9.6 inches) or of a similar dimension that can hold all of the cake batter. While the cake is baking, it's in your best interest to prepare the glaze/syrup so you don't have to do it and waste more time after the cake has baked in the oven. It is a really simple glaze made from sugar, water, butter and rum essence that's spooned over the cake once it has been removed from the pan (while it is warm so it absorbs well).

The steps

Preheat the oven to 180C/356F.
Grease the inside of a bundt pan and set aside.
In a medium sized bowl, add the almond flour, shredded coconut, baking powder, coconut sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg and pink salt.
Stir to evenly combine the dry ingredients together and set aside.
In a medium sized jug, add the eggs, olive oil, dark rum essence and the vanilla.
Use a hand whisk to whisk the wet ingredients.

Slowly pour the wet ingredients to the bowl with the dry ingredients while whisking until a smooth batter is formed.
Stir in the mixed fruit until thoroughly combined into the batter.
Pour the batter into the bundt pan.
Bake the cake for the first 20 minutes at (180C/356F) after the given time loosely cover the top of the cake with a piece of foil (this will prevent it from browning too quickly).

Continue to bake the cake for 40 minutes or insert a toothpick/skewer until it comes out clean.
Once baked, remove the cake from the oven and place the cake (still in the pan) on a cooling rack.
While the cake cools down, get the rum syrup ready by melting the butter on medium heat in a small saucepan.
Pour in the water, sugar and stir until combined.

Steps13-16 basting the cake with the rum syrup

Continue to simmer for 7-8 minutes.
Remove the saucepan from the stove and stir in the rum essence.
Invert the cake onto a plate or serving platter, if the cake doesn't release from the bundt pan immediately, gently tap the pan a few times until the cake comes out.
Poke a few holes about 1cm apart using a toothpick or skewer at the top of the cake.
Use a pastry brush to evenly glaze the top and sides of the cake. Repeat a few times to apply a thicker coat. Then carefully and very slowly pour/spoon the remaining syrup onto the cake.

Notes and tips

Store any leftovers, wrapped in an airtight container.
The quantity of rum essence may differ depending on the brand that you use so do a taste test.
Feel free to use what rum essence you want. I use a combination of Extra Dark Jamaican Rum Essence by Prestige and CleanCo Non Alcoholic Rum Alternative.
Make sure to thoroughly grease the grooves and cervices of your bundt pan to avoid any sticking and make sure it is a very good/reliable non stick pan.
The amount of time the cake will take to bake may vary, mine took 40 minutes but yours may differ.
For best results, after dowsing the cake with liquid allow to cool completely then wrap in saran/cling film to preserve the moisture for up to 3 days (I haven't gone past 3 days with testing the cake).

More sweet treats and desserts recipes to try

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Comments

Annette

February 27, 2024 at 11:23 am

Can I make this anytime of year or is this strictly a Christmas cake?

- Charla
  
  March 10, 2024 at 3:54 pm
  
  Hey Annette, you can make this cake anytime of year.
  
Khy

September 17, 2023 at 4:06 pm

Love your recipes. Do you have a fish dumplings soup? Thank you for being awesome. 😏Khy

- Charla
  
  September 17, 2023 at 4:17 pm
  
  Hello Khy, thank you for your support. Unfortunately I don't have that recipe on my website just yet.
  
Meggan

September 02, 2023 at 2:03 pm

Can you use all purpose flour and regular sugar and regular salt if you don’t have any of those other ingredients

- Charla
  
  September 02, 2023 at 2:30 pm
  
  Hi Meggan, I think the cake would be too moist since almond flour is more absorbent and this recipe calls for 5 eggs to compensate for that. So sorry! The almond flour isn't replaceable on this occasion 🙁
  
Kaye Owens

August 25, 2023 at 5:41 pm

Charla
This run cake sounds delicious. My question is what kind of mixed fruit are you using? Canned like fruit cocktail in fruit juice and do you drain it?
Or candied fruit like pineapple and cherries that are used in Christmas fruitcake?
Thanks,
Kaye

- Charla
  
  August 25, 2023 at 7:25 pm
  
  Hi Kaye , I used dried mixed fruit (a combination of mixed peel, raisins, currants and sultanas)
  
Gigi

December 02, 2022 at 6:44 pm

Could I use rum extract to make this divine cake? If so, how much in lieu of the ‘dark rum essence’? I adore your blog!

- Charla
  
  December 02, 2022 at 7:00 pm
  
  Hi Gigi, thank you so much for reaching out to me. The rum essence that I use is quite strong so I would suggest doubling the amount of extract, so 2 tablespoon of rum extract should suffice.
  
Kathy

April 30, 2022 at 5:26 pm

What can be substituted for coconut milk powder?

Thank you.

- Charla
  
  May 01, 2022 at 9:16 pm
  
  You can just use more shredded coconut in place of the the coconut milk powder. Another thing you could do is mill some shredded coconut in a coffee/spice grinder to get a fine consistency. I hope that helps!
  
Lulu

December 03, 2019 at 4:54 pm

Thank you! It sounds wonderful, but if it contains butter then it's not dairy-free as butter comes from dairy! I'm going to substitute vegan butter or margarine and see how it comes out.

- Charla
  
  December 03, 2019 at 5:14 pm
  
  Hi Lulu, thanks for commenting. The recipe had a typo as I forgot to state "dairy free" when referring to the butter. I use Pure or Vitalite dairy free butter for all of my recipes and have no problems. This recipe should turn out fine for you!
  
  - Lulu
    
    December 03, 2019 at 5:36 pm
    
    Thank you, Charla! Look forward to trying out the recipe!
    
Charles

August 17, 2019 at 2:35 am

can one use almond flour instead?

- Charla
  
  August 17, 2019 at 11:37 am
  
  Yes. this recipe should work with almond flour aswell.
  
Jen

May 12, 2019 at 3:39 pm

I took this to a Caribbean themed potluck. No one could believe it was gluten and dairy free. It was a hit!

I noticed that baking powder is missing in the directions. I added it with the flour.

- Charla
  
  May 12, 2019 at 4:15 pm
  
  That's Amazing Jen, so glad you enjoyed the recipe!! I have updated the instructions to reflect the missing baking powder, well spotted 😉
  
- Maria
  
  February 01, 2024 at 10:43 pm
  
  Can I use coconut sugar instead of regular sugar?
  
  - Charla
    
    February 02, 2024 at 7:31 am
    
    Hi Maria, Absolutely! I rotate between coconut sugar and raw cane sugar for many of my recipes. You might need to use increase the quantity by 1 cup or 1 1/4 cup instead of 3/4cup because coconut sugar isn't as sweet.
    
April

December 14, 2018 at 11:28 pm

The cornmeal pudding pone was a HIT with my Jamaican family and best Trini friend. I know they'll love this too :). Such a thoughtful and creative recipe.

- Charla
  
  December 15, 2018 at 5:43 pm
  
  Thanks April. I hope they will love this recipe too