Cruzan Double Chocolate Rum Cake

Total Time: 1 hr 15 mins Preparation Time: 10 mins Cook Time: 1 hr 5 mins

Ingredients

• Servings: 12
• 1 (18 1/2 ounce) box chocolate cake mix, dry
• 1 (3 3/4 ounce) box instant chocolate pudding mix (not sugar-free, dry)
• 1/8 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 3/4 cup whole milk
• 1/2 cup vegetable oil, plus
• 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
• 1/4 cup cruzan dark rum
• 4 large eggs, beaten
• 1 teaspoon almond extract
• 3/4 lb semi-sweet chocolate bit
• 3/4 cup chopped nuts (walnuts, pecans, hazelnuts, or a combination) (optional)
• 1/2 cup butter (1 stick)
• 1/4 cup water
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 1/2 cup cruzan dark rum
• 1 teaspoon almond extract

Recipe

• 1 preheat oven to 350°f grease and flour a 10" tube pan, a 12-cup bundt pan, or two mini-bundt pans (mine has 6 wells which each hold 1 cup).
• 2 whisk together dry cake mix, dry pudding mix and cinnamon. in another bowl, whisk together milk, oil, rum, eggs, and almond extract. pour wet ingredients into dry and whisk together until just incorporated; do not over mix. fold in chocolate bits and optional nuts. pour into pan, or divide evenly into mini-bundt wells.
• 3 bake large cakes 55-65 minutes, mini-bundts 35-45 minutes, until a toothpick inserted halfway across comes out clean. cool in pan 10 minutes, then remove to a rack until completely cool.
• 4 meanwhile, combine butter and water in a small saucepan. heat over medium heat until butter melts. add sugar and bring to a boil, stirring often. boil 5 minutes. off heat, add rum and almond extract and stir to combine.
• 5 poke top of cake with a skewer at frequent intervals. spoon glaze over cake; repeat if moister cake is desired.