Combine all the ingredients in a large bowl. Mix at medium speed for two minutes. Do not overbeat! Pour into one large greased and floured bundt pan or two smaller bundt pans. Place in a 350-degree oven. A large bundt cake will take approximately 50-60 minutes. Seven-inch bundt cakes will take 35-45 minutes.

Halfway through baking, I put a square of foil over the cake to keep it from over-browning.

Place the cake, still in the pan, on a wire rack until completely cooled. Invert onto a cake plate. Prick the cake all over.

Rum Glaze:

1/2 cup butter
1/4 cup water
3/4 cup sugar
1/2 cup dark rum

Melt butter in saucepan. Add water and sugar. Boil for 5 minutes then add the rum. Drizzle the glaze over the cake, letting it soak in through all those holes. This cake gets better the longer it sits. In fact, you can let it sit in your refrigerator for weeks and it is just better.

This cake makes a great gift, especially since it can be made ahead! Now, if you want the original short-cut “cake mix” version from the newspaper, here it is:

1 package yellow cake mix
1 3.4-ounce package (dry) instant vanilla pudding
4 eggs
1/2 cup water
1/3 cup oil
1/2 cup dark rum

Follow all the above instructions for mixing, baking, and glazing.

But I really hope you try my homemade Drunken Rum Cake because it’s just better!