• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer
Joy the Baker
Joy the Baker
  • Bread
  • Cookies
  • Cakes
  • Pies
  • Recipes
    • All Recipes
    • Biscuits
    • Muffins
    • Cupcakes
    • Drinks
    • Breakfast
    • Lunch
    • Dinner
    • Fruit
    • Nuts
    • Buttermilk
    • Chocolate
    • Vanilla
    • Holiday
    • Healthy
    • Gluten-Free
    • Vegan
  • Blog
    • Baking 101
    • Tips
    • Beyond the Kitchen
    • Let It Be Sunday!
    • New Orleans

Mocha Rum Cake

July 31, 2008 by Joy the Baker 64 Comments

So sneaky!  This cake is nothing but sneaky.   It may not have the looks of a world class chocolate cake, but please don’t underestimate me when I tell you that this is one of the best chocolate cakes I’ve ever experiences.

If this chocolate cake were your blind date, you might think to yourself, well…. he’s not as tall as guys I usually date, and he’s a little dorky.  But by the end of the night, you’re both laughing hysterically, he’s taken off his glasses to reveal quite a handsome man, and you’re already thinking about the cute pair of flats you’re going to buy so you’re not taller than him.

This is that cake.  It’ll surprise you.  It might seem a little short, and a little dorky, but trust me when I say it’s worth the leap of faith.

With the flavors of chocolate, coffee and rum, this cake tastes like it’s loaded with all the good things in the world.  I topped mine with a simple rum glaze, but if served slightly warm, I think lightly sweetened whipped cream would be divine.

This Mocha Rum Cake is impossibly moist, and dense without being heavy.  Let yourself be surprised by this little gem.

Mocha Rum Cake

adapted from Gourmet, January 1994

Print this Recipe!

cocoa powder for dusting
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
3/4 teaspoon salt
3/4 pound fine-quality bittersweet chocolate (not unsweetened), chopped
3 sticks (1 1/2 cups) unsalted butter, cut into pieces
1 cup dark rum
1 1/3 cups strong brewed coffee
2 1/4 cups granulated sugar
3 large eggs, beaten lightly
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla
confectioners’ sugar for dusting

lightly sweetened whipped cream

Preheat oven to 300°F. Butter a 4 1/2-inch-deep (12-cup) Kugelhupf or bundt pan and dust with cocoa powder, knocking out excess.

In a bowl whisk together flour, baking soda, and salt. In a large metal bowl set over a saucepan of barely simmering water melt chocolate and butter, stirring until smooth. Remove chocolate from heat and stir in rum, coffee, and granulated sugar. With an electric mixer beat in flour, 1/2 cup at a time, scraping down side, and beat in eggs and vanilla until batter is combined well.  The batter may seem very loose.  That’s perfect!  Pour batter into prepared pan.

Bake cake in middle of oven until a tester comes out clean, about 1 hour and 50 minutes. Let cake cool completely in pan on a rack and turn it out onto rack. Cake may be made 3 days in advance and kept wrapped well and chilled.

Dust cake with confectioners’ sugar and serve with whipped cream.

I made a simple rum glaze with 2 cups powdered sugar and 2-3 Tablespoons of rum.

Previous PostNext Post

Filed Under: Cakes, Chocolate, Holiday, Recipes

Previous Post: « Citrus Sables
Next Post: Buttermilk Pie with Blackberry Sauce »

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. cyndi

    August 24, 2008 at 4:26 pm

    I finally got around to making this delectable little creature and am I glad I did! It’s fantastic!! The only change I made was to add about 1/2 tsp of mexican vanilla to the glaze…YUM!!

    If interested, pics will be on my blog sometime tomorrow.

    Joy – Thank you, yet again, for another winner. You really are becoming my ‘go to’ blog for ALL things yummy.

    Reply
  2. -yw-

    August 17, 2008 at 1:03 am

    I made the cake yesterday and it was a real hit! Super moist and the rum showed up nicely, great for anytime of the day! I halved the recipe and baked it in a loaf pan though, skipped the glaze too, as we don’t like our cake too sweet. Thanks for such a delicious post!

    Reply
  3. Mari

    August 7, 2008 at 1:33 am

    I’d like to have that for breakfast or any time really! Rum and cake were made for each other!

    Reply
  4. Kristen

    August 6, 2008 at 3:03 pm

    Ohhhhh yes… and is he single? Because if so, I’m bringing him back to my place ;) Mmmmmm!

    Reply
  5. brilynn

    August 5, 2008 at 11:24 am

    That cake looks gorgeous. With those flavours together you really can’t go wrong!

    Reply
  6. snooky doodle

    August 5, 2008 at 6:32 am

    this looks really moist and delicious. magnificent photos too.

    Reply
  7. Allie

    August 5, 2008 at 6:18 am

    Wow, if this is better than your chocolate-orange bundt cake (currently my favorite non-layer cake), I’ll be very impressed! Think I could substitute Kahlua for the Rum? Thanks!

    Reply
  8. Lori

    August 5, 2008 at 4:14 am

    Wow, look out tortuga! I will try this one, for sure.

    Reply
  9. Jerri

    August 4, 2008 at 8:26 am

    sounds and looks like a delicious cake. great post!

    Reply
  10. Culinarywannabe

    August 4, 2008 at 7:56 am

    Rum cakes is one of my most loved things in the world. Add chocolate and I’m so sold!

    Reply
  11. dawn

    August 3, 2008 at 1:24 pm

    Rum, chocolate, vanilla? Oh yeah, now we’re talking. It looks like it tastes delish. Whenever I make bundt cakes I hate to photograph them because, they are so, well, hard to photograph and not really camera friendly, but they taste sooo divine. But I have to admit your angle of photographing it worked really well.

    Reply
  12. Emiline

    August 3, 2008 at 1:37 pm

    I just bought bottle of dark rum, and was wondering what to do with it. I love coffee, so this looks great.

    Reply
  13. Kevin

    August 3, 2008 at 12:43 pm

    That looks so moist and chocolaty and good!

    Reply
« Older Comments
Newer Comments »
Comments Page 3 of 5
« Previous 1 2 3 4 5 Next »

Trackbacks

  1. Chocolate Tia Maria Cake, inspired by Joy « Student kitchens says:
    November 3, 2008 at 4:17 pm

    […] know why I don’t have her in my links section… That has now been fixed! Anyway…her Mocha Rum cake recipe (adapted from Gourmet) had been dwelling in my bookmarks for a while before I finally mustered […]

    Reply
  2. Bake Off: Sweet Combinations « The People St. Clair Studio says:
    August 6, 2008 at 1:05 am

    […] the holiday’s my Mother makes a delicious rum cake that disappears after a day. When I saw this recipe, I thought what could be better than this sinfully delicious treat?  Who needs a holiday to make […]

    Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

RELATED POSTS IN Cakes

A slice of lemon blueberry gooey butter cake held on a cake slicer.
Lemon Blueberry Gooey Butter Cake

What if I told you there’s a cake that tastes like buttery baked cake AND cake batter at the same time?  These are dreams appropriately named Gooey Butter Cake. I didn’t have nearly enough early exposure to the concept of a Gooey Butter Cake save for all the batches of blondie brownies I under-baked due…

Read More

Slice of Chocolate Guinness Cake on a small pink plate
Chocolate Guinness Loaf Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting

It’s that time of year! Time to dye the rivers emerald green in honor of Ireland’s ride or die, St. Patrick!  While I don’t need my rivers or my food tinted green, if the question is “Would you like an Irish beer?” the answer is a resounding “HECK YES!”.  I had my first Guinness worth…

Read More

Sliced and plated funfetti cake slices.
Funfetti Birthday Bundt Cake

I want the best for you, and that sentiment extends all the way to your birthday cake.  Growing up, my favorite birthday cake was a boxed cake mix – Funfetti Cake. For all the homemade baked wonders my family produced there was literally nothing better than that sweet, slightly metallic tasting, rainbow sheet cake.  Now…

Read More

Primary Sidebar

Fresh baked emails, delivered to your inbox

Jump to Recipe

Receive recipes from Joy the Baker and updates on events at The Bakehouse.

HI! I’M JOY!

Jump to Recipe

Welcome! This has been my little corner of the internet since 2008!

I’m a baker, photographer, cookbook author and teacher.  I live laugh love in New Orleans. 

MORE ABOUT JOY AND THE TEAM

BOOKS + Magazines

Jump to Recipe

JOY THE BAKER 2022 SUMMER MAGAZINE

JOY THE BAKER 2021 HOLIDAY MAGAZINE

JOY THE BAKER 2020 HOLIDAY MAGAZINE

HOMEMADE DECADENCE

OVER EASY: SWEET AND SAVORY RECIPES FOR LEISURELY DAYS COOKBOOK

JOY THE BAKER COOKBOOK

Jump to Recipe

Joy the baker with dyed bandana around neck

HOW TO MAKE DYED BANDANAS

as seen in JtB Magazine!

Jump to Recipe
joy the baker on facebook joy the baker on twitter pinterest-social instagram-socialbloglovin-social

JOY @ WILLIAMS SONOMA

Jump to Recipe

SHOP THE CAKE LINE OF CAKE MIXES!

DRAKE ON CAKE

Jump to Recipe

Passionate from miles away since 2015.

Check it out on Instagram

Drake on cake instagram.

 

FAVORITE FRUIT RECIPES

fresh baked blueberry cobbler on a plate with vanilla ice cream on top.

The Secrets To My Favorite Blueberry Cobbler

Strawberry pie filling inside of unbaked crust with crumble top.

My Best Strawberry Crumble Pie Recipe

A slice of lemon blueberry gooey butter cake held on a cake slicer.

Lemon Blueberry Gooey Butter Cake

POPULAR CAKES

A slice of lemon blueberry gooey butter cake held on a cake slicer.

Lemon Blueberry Gooey Butter Cake

Slice of Chocolate Guinness Cake on a small pink plate

Chocolate Guinness Loaf Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting

Sliced and plated funfetti cake slices.

Funfetti Birthday Bundt Cake

Footer

Instagram

joythebaker

I’m calling it, friends. IT’S SUMMER and to ce I’m calling it, friends. IT’S SUMMER and to celebrate you’re going to need the latest issue of Joy the Baker Magazine. ⁣
⁣
This issue is packed with road-trip inspiration, summer’s best burgers, backyard margaritas, no-churn ice cream and cakes that bake without an oven. ⁣
⁣
We get crafty, we get campy, there’s so much ice dye… this one’s more than food - it’s our summer bucket list in magazine form. ⁣
⁣
Pick up your copy wherever magazines are sold across the US and Canada or buy a copy online using the link in my profile. ⁣(🙌 free shipping!) 
⁣
Also, look at this cover shot by @emferretti! The whole magazine is that mouthwatering. 👏☀️🍓
I spent part of this fine weekend cleaning this ve I spent part of this fine weekend cleaning this very hardworking pantry. It’ll never be rainbow organized or picture perfect but I’ll tell ya, a few sets of @rubbermaid containers, @ballcanning jars and brown packing tape with a @sharpie marker make this a high functioning space for recipe testing and life living. 
⁣
Swipe to see my supervisor 🦁 inspecting my work. ⁣
⁣
#organized #pantryorganization #joythebaker #weekendwork
Not gonna lie, peanut butter was my main food grou Not gonna lie, peanut butter was my main food group this week - either smeared on fruit or baked as cookies. ⁣
⁣
If you feel me on this, my top 10 peanut butter recipes will serve you well. 👏 Find the link in the bio, like we do. ⁣
⁣
#peanutbutter #cookies #cobbler #joythebaker
I either need a pep talk or chocolate cake though I either need a pep talk or chocolate cake though I think I actually need both - stat.⁣
⁣
This particular cake is gluten and dairy free though you’d never know it based on its tender chocolate crumb and swoopy coconut based frosting. ⁣
⁣
I’ll leave the 🍫 recipe linked in the bio. Please leave any pep talk thoughts in the comments below (lol I’m not even kidding). xo
Mmkay you can take one pie and one sweater to the Mmkay you can take one pie and one sweater to the deserted island. I suppose I’m set! 🤪
⁣
My Very Best 🍓 🍓 Crumble Pie recipe linked in the profile and the sweater is an old gem from Forever21 and sure it’s getting a little tighter every year it’s weird how sweaters shrink sitting in drawers waiting for strawberry season. ⁣
⁣
#strawberrypie #joythebaker #mothersday #bakedfromscratch
In this week’s Sunday post I talk about learning In this week’s Sunday post I talk about learning how to ride a motorcycle, making my summer bucket list dreams come true, and easing out that clutch. ⁣
⁣
Am I roadworthy? Not quite yet, but I am super proud of myself. ⁣
⁣
Your Sunday reads, linked in the profile.
Load More... Follow on Instagram

Copyright © 2022 · Joy the Baker
All rights reserved. Violators will be whupped and sent to bed with no dessert · Privacy Policy

Scroll Up