RumChata Pound Cake

Prep Time 20 minutes
Cook Time 1 hour
Additional Time 40 minutes
Total Time 2 hours
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This RumChata Pound Cake is a cinnamon and vanilla flavored bundt cake filled with lots of RumChata and topped with a sweet, boozy and buttery RumChata sauce! 

Boozy RumChata Pound Cake Recipe

RumChata Pound Cake is a moist, dense bundt cake recipe that you should definitely keep in mind for the upcoming holidays! It’s essentially a classic vanilla pound cake recipe, but with a delicious RumChata twist!

The end result is a cake that tastes a little bit like a snickerdoodle or maybe Cinnamon Toast Crunch cereal, due to the cinnamon-vanilla flavoring in the liqueur. When served topped with an easy homemade RumChata sauce, you will be in dessert heaven! 

2 plates of rumchata pound cake.

What is RumChata?

RumChata is a liqueur made from rum, cream, vanilla, cinnamon, and more. The name ‘RumChata’ is a combination of the words ‘rum’ and ‘horchata,’ and the liqueur is designed to taste like a mixture of the two.

Can I use a different liqueur?

Absolutely! You can use any of your favorite liquor in this pound cake. I would recommend one of the following to swap things up:

  • Amaretto
  • Spiced Rum
  • Bailey’s Irish Cream
  • Kahlúa
  • Brandy
  • Frangelico
  • Sambuca
Ingredients for rumchata pound cake.

Pound Cake Ingredients

Here are the ingredients you’ll need to make this fabulous RumChata pound cake:

For the Pound Cake:

  • Whole Milk
  • White Vinegar: the vinegar combines with the milk to create an easy buttermilk substitute.
  • All-Purpose Flour
  • Ground Cinnamon
  • Baking Soda
  • Salt
  • Unsalted Butter: about 2 sticks, softened.
  • Granulated Sugar
  • Eggs
  • Vanilla Extract
  • RumChata

Do I have to use vinegar and whole milk? No, you can also use the same amount of buttermilk in place of the vinegar and milk mixture. I like to use vinegar and milk, in place of buttermilk, because I always have milk/vinegar on hand!

For the RumChata Sauce:

  • Unsalted Butter: also soften before using.
  • Packed Brown Sugar
  • Granulated Sugar
  • Half & Half: or half heavy cream and half whole milk
  • RumChata

Kitchen tools needed to make this pound cake:

  • I recommend using a hand mixer or stand mixer to beat your batter and keep it smooth. For budget purposes, a hand mixer will do what you need and save you money!
  • Bundt Cake Pan. This one is my personal favorite, but any 10-cup bundt pan will do!
Pound cake batter in a mixing bowl.

How to Make the Pound Cake

Read through these 4 easy steps to learn how to make this pound cake:

Prepare: Preheat oven to 325° Grease a 10-inch bundt pan with baking spray or butter and flour it. Set aside.

Whisk: In small bowl, whisk together milk and vinegar. Set aside. In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, cinnamon, baking soda and salt. Set aside.

Pound cake batter in a bundt pan.

Mix: In large bowl of stand mixer, cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in eggs one at a time, then stir in vanilla extract until well combined. Beat in flour mixture alternating with milk and RumChata.

Bake: Pour batter into prepared bundt pan. Bake for 55 to 65 minutes, until center is set and a toothpick inserted comes out clean. Allow cake to cool for 30 minutes (in bundt pan) before inverting onto cake plate.

Baked rumchata pound cake.

How to Make the RumChata Sauce

Once you’ve finished the pound cake, here’s what you’ll need to do to make the RumChata Sauce:

Heat: Combine the butter, brown sugar and granulated sugar in a small saucepan. Heat over medium heat, stirring often, until smooth.

Rumchata sauce for pound cake.

Add: Pour in the cream and RumChata and bring to a simmer. Simmer for 7 minutes, stirring often. Remove from heat and let cool for 10 minutes.

Pour and Serve: Serve pound cake warm and drizzle each slice with RumChata Sauce.

Rumchata sauce poured on a slice of cake.

Helpful Tips for the Best Pound Cake

Here are some useful tips in order to get the best results with your pound cake: 

  • Let Cake Cool Completely: Once the cake has come to room temperature it will be less likely to crumble or break when you flip it out of the pan.
  • Grease the Bundt Pan Well: Make sure you really get to every part of the pan so that the process of removing the cake is easier.
  • Don’t Over-Mix the Batter: This creates air pockets which can make the cake dry. 
  • Do Not Over Bake: The most important way to ensure your pound cake is perfectly dense and moist is to ensure you do not over-bake it. Keep an eye on it and check it with a toothpick to make sure it’s baked perfectly.
Slice of pound cake with a fork.

Serving Suggestions

Now that you’ve got a nice, big slice of RumChata cake, what should you serve with it? Here are a couple of recommendations from yours truly:

  • A Cup of Coffee: A glass of milk will do the job too!
  • Ice Cream: Vanilla ice cream would go perfectly with this cake and RumChata sauce drizzled on top. It’s definitely not necessary and this cake and sauce is rich enough on their own, but ice cream is always fun anyways!
  • Fruit: Some fresh sliced strawberries would also be a great addition! 
  • RumChata: This is only recommend for the biggest RumChata fans! Add a glass of RumChata on the side and you’ve got yourself a festive dessert indeed!

Can I make this pound cake ahead? What about the sauce?

This is a wonderful make ahead dessert! You can make both the pound cake AND the sauce ahead of time and they taste just as fresh the next day!

You can store the baked bundt cake in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 48 hours and it will taste as fresh as the first day.

You can also prep the homemade RumChata sauce and keep it stored for up to 5 days in an airtight container in the fridge. Then reheat it on the stove top or microwave, stirring often.

Rumchata pound cake without sauce.

How to Store Leftovers

You can keep any leftovers in an airtight container at room temperature, as long as you haven’t drizzled the sauce on the whole cake yet.

If you already drizzled the sauce on the cake, eat as much as you can because it doesn’t store very well. You can store it in the refrigerator, but the texture of the cake will become very soggy.

This is why I highly recommend pouring the RumChata sauce on top of each slice as it’s served and not pouring it over the whole cake. This will make sure it’s fresh and delicious, even if you serve it a few days later!

Can You Freeze RumChata Pound Cake?

This cake freezes quite well! Store it in an airtight container, separate from the RumChata sauce, and freeze it for up to a couple of months. When you’re ready to take it out again, let it thaw in the fridge overnight, and then enjoy!

Slices of pound cake on a plate.

I am so excited for all my fellow RumChata fans to try this epic pound cake recipe. It’s absolutely one of my new favorite recipes featuring those wonderfully warm flavors of cinnamon and vanilla found in RumChata.

When you try this recipe, please share your review and photos in the comments below. I love to see how recipes turn out for you!

Slice of pound cake with rumchata sauce.
4.4 from 60 votes
Print Pin Recipe
Yield: 14 servings

RumChata Pound Cake

This RumChata Pound Cake is a cinnamon and vanilla flavored bundt cake filled with RumChata and topped with a sweet and boozy RumChata sauce!
Prep Time20 minutes
Cook Time1 hour
Additional Time40 minutes
Total Time2 hours

Ingredients

For the Pound Cake:

  • 1 cup whole milk
  • 1 tablespoon white vinegar
  • 3 cups all-purpose flour
  • 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
  • ½ teaspoon baking soda
  • ½ teaspoon salt
  • 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
  • 2 ¾ cup granulated sugar
  • 4 large eggs
  • 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
  • ¼ cup RumChata

For the RumChata Sauce:

  • ½ cup (1 stick) unsalted butter
  • ½ cup packed brown sugar
  • ½ cup granulated sugar
  • cup half & half, or heavy cream
  • 3 tablespoons RumChata

Instructions 

  • Preheat oven to 325°F. Grease a 10-inch bundt pan with baking spray or butter and flour it. Set aside.
  • In small bowl, whisk together milk and vinegar. Set aside. In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, cinnamon, baking soda and salt. Set aside.
    Top view of bowls of wet and dry ingredients for Rumchata Pound Cake
  • In large bowl of stand mixer, cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in eggs one at a time, then stir in vanilla extract until well combined. Beat in flour mixture alternating with milk and RumChata.
    Rumchata Pound Cake batter in a stand mixer bowl
  • Pour batter into prepared bundt pan. Bake for 55 to 65 minutes, until center is set and a toothpick inserted comes out clean. Allow cake to cool for 30 minutes (in bundt pan) before inverting onto cake plate.
  • Amaretto Sauce: Combine the butter, brown sugar and granulated sugar in a small saucepan. Heat over medium heat, stirring often, until smooth. Add the cream and RumChata and bring to a low simmer. Simmer for 7 minutes, stirring often. Remove from heat and let cool for 10 minutes.
    Amaretto sauce for Rumchata Pound Cake in a bowl with whisk
  • Serve pound cake warm and drizzle each slice with RumChata Sauce.
    A slice of Rumchata Pound Cake on a plate drizzled with amaretto sauce

Video

Nutrition

Serving: 1 slice, Calories: 547kcal, Carbohydrates: 76g, Protein: 6g, Fat: 24g, Saturated Fat: 14g, Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g, Monounsaturated Fat: 6g, Trans Fat: 1g, Cholesterol: 112mg, Sodium: 159mg, Potassium: 102mg, Fiber: 1g, Sugar: 55g, Vitamin A: 761IU, Vitamin C: 0.1mg, Calcium: 56mg, Iron: 2mg

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Recipe Rating




25 Responses
    1. A woman holding a camera standing in front of some shelves.
      Jessica

      You can always soak it with rum for even more rum flavor. Poke a bunch of holes on top of the warm cake before it is taken out the bundt cake mold. Then pour a little rum on top to soak in!

  1. Jeanne

    4 stars
    The cake is very tasty! It turned out great. The sauce is another story. I followed the recipe to a T and it turned into a carmelized mess. Not sure why, considering the recipe was very clear. The sauce is just not workable. But the cake itself is very good. I might make just a light glaze using Rumchatta.

    1. A woman holding a camera standing in front of some shelves.
      Jessica

      I am really sorry to hear that happened! This is one of my favorite rum sauces (I use it on many different desserts with different types of alcohol)…so I feel like something must have gone wrong. It should be at a low simmer (low boil – just bubbling), did you possibly have the heat higher than that? If you had the heat too high, that would explain why it “caramelized” and became thicker.

    1. A woman holding a camera standing in front of some shelves.
      Jessica

      Hi Ruth! This was baked using a 10-inch bundt pan. I purchased it off amazon, but I just checked and they no longer have it listed. Any 10-inch (12 cup) bundt pan will work!

  2. Helen

    5 stars
    I made this last year and used Godiva White chocolate cream liqueur and the doctors office crew raved over it. I actually went for appointment today and they were disappointed I didn’t bring them a cake this year so I guess I am making cakes for next week to just drop off , lol
    I may try some different crème liqueurs this year for them.

    1. A woman holding a camera standing in front of some shelves.
      Jessica

      Hi Kimmie, I’m sorry, but I am not a gluten free baker and my knowledge is limited. I would recommend using a gluten free pound cake recipe and then replacing some of the liquid in the recipe with rumchata. I think you would have a better chance of success!

      1. Kimmie

        Thanks so much! I’ll let you know how my gluten-free version goes. We have one guest for a party who has celiac disease so I’m making this for her! I’m using King Arthur gluten-free flour as a substitute for all-purpose flour and no other alterations, so fingers crossed….✌️❤️

    1. A woman holding a camera standing in front of some shelves.
      Jessica

      Hi Debbie! Pound cakes are traditionally made with no rising agents, I like to add a little baking soda to have mine raise a little, but it won’t be fluffy like a traditional cake. A good pound cake should be dense!

    1. A woman holding a camera standing in front of some shelves.
      Jessica

      I’m honestly not aware of any rum/cream alcohol that is similar in taste to RumChata. However, you could use this recipe to make a Bailey’s Irish cream pound cake!

  3. Lila Morton

    I made this one time before and I didn’t put the cake in the refrigerator but I was wondering if I should?

    1. A woman holding a camera standing in front of some shelves.
      Jessica

      Nope! You do not need to store it in the fridge, but the sauce I do store in the fridge. You will need to microwave the sauce before serving it once it has been chilled.

  4. Toni

    This rumchata cake was absolutely delicious..me an my son in law both said it taste like cinnamon toast crunch cereal..but that rumchata sauce is what kicked it up a notch..yea im keeping this recipe

    1. A woman holding a camera standing in front of some shelves.
      Jessica

      Yes, store it in the fridge! And it will last for about a week, just reheat it in the microwave or on the stove top before serving again!

  5. lynne

    RumChata cake was very good. What brand of bundt pan did you use. I checked the link but it looks different, I like the little indention around top for sauce to flow into,

    1. A woman holding a camera standing in front of some shelves.
      Jessica

      Hi Lynne! It’s an old bundt pan that was my moms and I sadly don’t know the maker as it has worn off over the years.

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Jessica
For the past 15 years, Jorge & Jessica have loved getting to share their families' favorite recipes with all of you. They live in Florida with their 3 kids.