Rum Cake — The Birthday Cake That Started a New Tradition in a New House

Nora turned two on Saturday. We had the family over at 1 PM -- the first party at the new house. Maureen brought a brisket. Sean Sr. brought a toolkit and a card. Meghan and Brian and Aidan came. Patrick and Colleen came, Colleen now forty-one weeks pregnant and officially past her due date, in a state of aggressive patience. The OB will induce Tuesday if the baby has not arrived by then. Colleen is walking six miles a day and eating spicy food and doing squats and reporting no results. The baby is her own boss. This is a lineage trait.

Nora wore a blue dress Maureen bought her. She regarded the party with the interest of a two-year-old who does not fully grasp that it is for her. She was delighted by the balloons. She was delighted by Aidan. She was delighted to be handed the cake-knife (by Maureen, who takes these rituals seriously) and to stand at the table with Sean holding one hand and me holding the other while fourteen adults sang Happy Birthday at different tempos and in different keys.

The cake was the vanilla buttercream I had been planning. Three layers, blue frosting, little white stars I piped on with a bag and my oncology-floor steadiness. Nora ate her slice with her hands, as is her right, and then dismantled it with the methodical curiosity of a scientist. The buttercream went on her face and her dress and the back of her neck. Maureen wanted to clean her up immediately. I said no. Sean agreed with me. We let her exist in the frosting for ten minutes. Then I took her upstairs and put her in the tub.

Family photos in the new living room. Sean Sr. holding Nora. Maureen holding Nora. Meghan holding Nora. Colleen cannot comfortably hold anyone right now, so Colleen got a photo with Nora standing on the couch next to her. Patrick got the official Patrick-plus-all-nieces-and-nephew photo. Aidan is two and a half and doing his own thing. My mother will print all of these and put them in a frame and hang them in her hallway by Easter. She does this every year. Her hallway is floor-to-ceiling Donovans at various ages.

Sean and I cleaned up after everyone left. The dishwasher had been used for the first time. The living room rug had been introduced to cake, grape juice, and a minor amount of red wine. The house had been made mess-able. I was pleased. A house has to be used. It has to be allowed to pick up a little history. We poured wine. We sat on the couch, which was angled slightly different from where it had been on Tuesday because Maureen had moved it on Saturday in service of her view of the party. We did not move it back. Sometimes my mother is right.

Tuesday I went back to the clinic. First full week since the move. I was operating at sixty percent -- I slept well but I was carrying a subtle disorientation that comes with a new kitchen and a new commute. The commute is longer by twelve minutes. The commute is my commute now. I played the radio. I went to work. I cared for my patients. I came home. Home is now a new home.

I’ve been asked a few times what I actually used as the base for Nora’s birthday cake — the one with the blue buttercream and the piped stars. The honest answer is that I built the buttercream around a rum cake base, which sounds surprising until you taste it. The rum bakes off and leaves behind something warm and faintly caramel that pairs better with vanilla frosting than anything I’ve found. It holds up in three layers, it holds up to a two-year-old dismantling it with her hands, and it holds up when fourteen people are singing off-key in your new living room. This is the recipe. It was right for Saturday, and it’ll be right for the next one.

Rum Cake

Prep Time: 20 minutes | Cook Time: 55 minutes | Total Time: 1 hour 15 minutes | Servings: 12

Ingredients

• 1 box (15.25 oz) yellow cake mix
• 1 package (3.4 oz) instant vanilla pudding mix
• 4 large eggs
• 1/2 cup cold water
• 1/2 cup vegetable oil
• 1/2 cup dark rum
• 1 cup chopped pecans (optional, for the pan)
• For the glaze:
• 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter
• 1/4 cup water
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 1/2 cup dark rum

Instructions

1. Preheat and prep. Preheat your oven to 325°F. Grease and flour a 10-inch Bundt pan thoroughly. If using pecans, scatter them evenly across the bottom of the pan.
2. Mix the batter. In a large bowl, combine the cake mix, pudding mix, eggs, cold water, vegetable oil, and rum. Beat with a hand mixer on medium speed for 2 minutes until smooth and well combined.
3. Bake. Pour the batter over the pecans in the prepared pan. Bake for 55 to 60 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean and the top is deep golden brown.
4. Make the glaze. About 10 minutes before the cake finishes baking, melt the butter in a small saucepan over medium heat. Stir in the water and sugar. Bring to a boil, stirring constantly, and boil for 5 minutes. Remove from heat and carefully stir in the rum (it will bubble). Keep warm.
5. Glaze the cake. Remove the cake from the oven. While it is still in the pan, use a skewer or fork to poke holes all over the top of the cake. Pour about half the warm glaze slowly over the cake, allowing it to soak in. Let rest 5 minutes.
6. Invert and finish. Invert the cake onto a serving plate. Slowly spoon the remaining glaze over the top and sides of the cake, letting it absorb gradually. Allow the cake to cool completely before slicing.

Nutrition (per serving)

Calories: 480 | Protein: 4g | Fat: 22g | Carbs: 60g | Fiber: 1g | Sodium: 390mg