Butter Pecan Rum Cake

Preheat the oven to 325°F/163°C. Grease and flour a 12 cup Bundt pan or a 10-inch tube pan. Sprinkle the pecans over the bottom of the pan. Place the pan on a baking sheet.

Sift together into a large bowl of a stand mixer the cake flour, white sugar, instant pudding, and baking powder.

Add the butter, eggs, vanilla extract, cold water, and rum all at once and beat on very low speed until the dry ingredients are moistened. Then increase the speed to medium-high and beat the batter until it is well mixed and smooth, about 5 minutes.

Pour, spoon, and spread the batter into the prepared pan carefully, so as not to disturb the chopped pecans. Carefully run a knife through the batter to remove air pockets and to make sure the batter fully fills the pan. Smooth the top.

Bake the cake for 60 to 70 minutes or until a tester inserted in the cake comes out clean. Remove the cake from the oven and let it cool for 30 minutes. While the cake is cooling make the Rum Butter Glaze.

While the cake is still in the pan poke long holes in the cake with a long thin skewer. A cake tester works great for this job. Slowly pour ¾ cup of the rum butter glaze over the cake and let the cake cool completely cool.

Invert the cake onto a serving plate. Poke long holes in the top through the pecans and through the sides of the cake. Drizzle and spoon the rum glaze evenly over the top and sides of the cake in stages, letting the cake absorb the glaze before adding more. Brush any glaze that has pooled under the cake up and over the sides. Use all the glaze until the cake has entirely absorbed the glaze.

In a small saucepan melt the butter over low heat.

Stir in the water and sugar. Bring to a boil and simmer for 5 minutes, stirring constantly. Remove the pan from the heat and stir in the dark rum very slowly. The syrup will bubble up and could overflow if you pour too fast.