A combination of sponge cake, vanilla and chocolate pastry creams, rum syrup, whipped cream frosting, and nuts makes this Italian rum cake out of this world!
And so, here is my complete guide to making this amazing cake.
Table of Contents
Jump to:
- Table of Contents
- What is Italian rum cake?
- Overview of the process
- What is sponge cake?
- How to make the sponge cake (and top tips)
- Top tips for making sponge cake
- Making the pastry creams (vanilla and chocolate)
- Making the stabilized whipped cream frosting
- Making the rum syrup (and substitute)
- Assembling and decorating the cake
- Variations of this cake
- Make ahead tips and storage
- Italian Rum Cake
Italian birthday cake (Italian rum cake)
This amazing cake is better than most cakes you may find these days at the local bakery. My opinion of course. But, hopefully you may agree!
This cake is one of my weaknesses. If I let myself, I could probably eat the WHOLE thing. No kidding. Last day on earth? Yes, I’ll take a piece of Italian rum cake as part of my last meal. Heck, maybe even make it the entire meal!
Growing up, Italian rum cake was a must-have for every birthday celebration. We didn’t do chocolate cake, sheet cake, or any other cake. My family and most other Italian American families in the neighborhood had this kind of cake to celebrate birthdays.
Italian rum cake will always remind me of my old neighborhood in Philly; my mother; my Italian roots; my childhood….bittersweet memories for sure. I’m so glad that I’ve found a way to make it just as I like it because it seems to be harder and harder to find a good Italian rum cake!
I’ve heard that Wegman’s has an Italian rum cake now! People, make this cake – it will be better than Wegman’s – I promise (apologies to Wegmans – I really love Wegman’s!!)
What is Italian rum cake?
If you’re not familiar with this cake, let me introduce you (because I think you’ll really LOVE it)!
Italian rum cake is typically made of the following major components: (1) three layers of sponge cake that are soaked with a sweetened rum-flavored syrup, (2) then filled with layers of decadent vanilla and chocolate pastry cream (3) iced with a bakery style frosting, or stabilized whipped cream frosting and (4) then coated on sides with lots of crushed nuts (peanuts seemed popular in Philly OR sliced almonds in other areas of the Northeastern USA) on the outside.
So you have a combination of cake, vanilla and chocolate cream, frosting, booze, and nuts! Winning!
Overview of the process
Don’t be intimidated by the instructions – I have found that the real key is to make the cake in small steps over time.
Making the components over two or three days allows for easier assembly the morning of or night/day before the event/celebration. Of course, if you have a good helper, it can be made much quicker!
I suggest making the sponge cake first (and then freezing depending on when you want to assemble and serve the cake (see Make ahead tips and storage)
Then one or 2 days before you want to serve, make the pastry creams and the frosting and rum syrup.
The cake can be served a few hours after assembly but it is best served the following day to allow it to set.
What is sponge cake?
So what is a sponge cake anyway? A sponge cake is a type of foam cake, which is lighter and springier than a butter cake. According to Rose Levy Berembaum’s book, The Cake Bible, a sponge cake is similar to a genoise cake (which is another type of foam cake) but sponge cake has no added fat aside from the egg yolks.
Because sponge cakes don’t have a lot of fat, they are typically drizzled with syrup, in this case, a rum syrup!
The volume in your sponge cake depends on how the eggs are beaten, their temperature and the order in which the ingredients are added to your cake batter.
For more in depth reading about the different types of cakes, the reader is highly encouraged to see “Understanding Cakes” chapter of The Cake Bible. Is it an excellent book (although this recipe is not from Rose’s book, it is most definitely is a true sponge cake, just as Rose Levy Beranbaum describes according to the ratio of ingredients).
How to make the sponge cake (and top tips)
- Combine flour with salt in a small bowl and set aside.
- In a standing mixer, whip the egg whites on medium-low speed until foamy (not stiff) and then add the cream of tartar and continue mixing until the whites become opaque (the egg whites should not have ANY yolk at all in them or they will not whip up well – this is crucial for the cake to rise well).
- Add ½ cup sugar slowly to the side of the bowl and increase the speed of the mixer until soft but not stiff peaks form. Scrape the contents to another bowl and set aside.
- Using the same bowl, which is now empty, add the egg yolks and whip at high speed for 3 to 5 minutes until lightened in color and the mixture “ribbons” when the beaters are raised
- Slowly add the remaining sugar (ie, ½ cup), cold water, and vanilla into the egg yolks and mix until combined on low speed
- Sift the flour onto the egg yolk mixture in two additions, and stir gently with large spatula to combine.
- Gently but thoroughly fold in the whipped egg whites
- Transfer mixture to prepared pans, smooth tops if needed, and bake for about 20 minutes until cooked through. (the beauty of this cake is that even if your cake is slightly over baked the rum syrup, applied later, will moisten it very well!)
Top tips for making sponge cake
- Separate eggs while cold (this makes it easier to keep yolks and egg whites separate
- Ensure that your egg whites do not contain any traces of yolk (it helps to use separate bowls to inspect each new egg you separate before adding them to the other egg whites, otherwise you may taint the whole batch)
- Egg whites that have yolk in them will not whip well (egg white volume is vital to obtain optimal cake volume)
- Let the eggs come to room temperature after separating them. This helps to ensure that ingredients blend well.
- Gently but thoroughly fold the egg whites into the batter
- Weigh ingredients (grams or ounces) instead of measuring by volume (cups)
- Work quickly once egg whites are beaten so they don’t deflate
- Bake the cake immediately after the batter is mixed.
Making the pastry creams (vanilla and chocolate)
The process to make the vanilla and the chocolate pastry creams is quite similar and so to save time and space, only the chocolate version is shown.
Keep in mind that you’ll repeat this process again and omit the cocoa powder and add vanilla extra instead for your second filling.
The ingredients (chocolate pastry cream):
- Note that the heavy cream gets whipped separately and is added to the cream AFTER the pastry cream has been cooked and cooled. I do this just before I”m getting ready to assemble the cake.
- In a small bowl, add egg yolks and cornstarch. Whisk to blend and set aside
- In a medium saucepan, add milk, sugar, salt, and vanilla or chocolate (depending on if you are making the chocolate or the vanilla cream); heat until small bubbles form (scalded) and remove from heat.
- Temper eggs by adding small amounts (about ½ cup/4 ounces) of the hot milk mixture, a little at a time, while whisking very QUICKLY to prevent the eggs from curdling.
- After all of the milk mixture has been added into the eggs/cornstarch, return everything to the saucepan and cook over medium heat and stir constantly until thickened.
- The mixture can thickens quickly (depending on the heat)!! Stir fast and furious with whisk!
- Keep stirring until you see that it has stopped thickening or the thickening has slowed down.
- Cool the pastry cream and refrigerate until ready to use (this is when you do the last step below, adding the whipped cream).
- When ready to assemble the cake, whip heavy cream until soft peaks form (overbeating will cause it to turn to butter) and then fold together with cooled pastry cream (rewhip the pastry cream first if it has been refrigerated and/or it has firmed up a lot).
Making the stabilized whipped cream frosting
The Frosting Ingredients:
- Add gelatin and water to small sauce pan and heat on low until gelatin is dissolved; do not let the gelatin set
- In the meantime, begin to whip the cream and sugar until slightly thickened on medium speed
- Add the gelatin mixture in a slow stream and continue whipping
- Increase the mixer to very high and whip until firm.
Making the rum syrup (and substitute)
This is probably the easiest step: simply mix sugar, extract (or rum) and water in small saucepan and heat gently until sugar is dissolved and then cool.
You can apply to the sponge cakes with a large spoon or using a squeeze bottle if you have one.
I like to line up the cakes and apply the syrup while the parchment paper is still on bottom of cakes – makes it easier to move the cakes.
Rum extract substitution: you can use 2 tablespoons of dark rum OR 5 tablespoons of light rum for every 1 tablespoon of rum extract.
Assembling and decorating the cake
- Place a layer of sponge cake on cake plate or cake board if you have one.
- Soak cake layer with ⅓ of the rum syrup. (alternatively you can soak the layers all at once before starting to assemble cake).
- Top with all of the vanilla pastry cream.
- Place another layer of sponge on top of vanilla pastry cream.
- Soak cake layer with ⅓ of the rum syrup.
- Top with all of the chocolate pastry cream.
- Place the final layer of sponge cake on top of the chocolate pastry cream.
- Soak cake layer with the rest of the rum syrup.
- Apply frosting to top and sides of cake.
- Add nuts to the sides of cake and decorate top as you please!
Variations of this cake
- Nuts: I’ve seen a few versions of this cake online but with almonds instead of the peanuts. In Philadelphia, most if not all of the rum cakes that I’ve seen have the peanuts – I do wonder what area uses the almonds? It’s easy enough to substitute, but here in Philly, we’ve gotta have the peanuts. Feel free to use whatever nuts you’d like.
- Filling: Traditional filling for italian rum cake has been 1 layer of vanilla pastry cream and 1 layer of chocolate pastry cream. Of course, you can make it all vanilla or all chocolate. One reader mentioned they have had the cake with a layer of chocolate and a layer of raspberry filling..sounds delicious! I think it’d be fun to make a version with cannoli cream as filling one day! I’d probably skip the rum syrup and just drizzle with a sweetened vanilla syrup.
- Frosting: Finally, when I first started making this cake, I used a “bakery style frosting” whose recipe now appears in the recipe card notes section. I now use a stabilized whipped cream frosting, which is lighter in comparison Readers have also mentioned using a cream cheese frosting, which I think is more of a homestyle version.
- Rum syrup: If you are making the cake for children, consider using a vanilla sugar syrup (by simply leaving out the rum and adding a tablespoon of vanilla extract instead) instead of the rum syrup.
- Cake layers: Sponge cake is very traditional (and delicious) but if you want to use a butter cake base instead, feel free.
Make ahead tips and storage
Because this cake contains so many components, it can be time consuming to make. A suggested time table might be (just to give you an idea; this is super flexible of course):
- Make the sponge cake a few days to week/month before needed and freeze it.
- Make the pastry cream the morning before needed and refrigerate.
- Make the the rum syrup and frosting and assemble the cake the night before the celebration.
Storage: Frosting and fillings, about 5 days in the refrigerator. Cake layers can be frozen up to 3 months (wrap well in plastic wrap and place in freezer bags).
Store the Italian rum cake in the refrigerator until you are ready to serve it. Leftovers should also be stored in the refrigerator.
Some may ask if Italian rum cake can be frozen. I have successfully frozen leftover pieces of cake when I want to save some for a future date. The slices of cake freeze well and taste great! I wrap slices in plastic wrap and then place in a freezer bag. I have not attempted to freeze a whole cake.
More Cakes To Try:
More Italian Baking To Try:
Italian Rum Cake
Equipment
- 8-inch round cake pans (three total)
- parchment paper to line bottom of cake pans
- standing mixer or hand mixer
- cake board (I use 10-inch size) (helpful but not necessary)
Ingredients
Ingredients for the sponge cake:
- 1 cup (1 cup) unbleached all-purpose flour (4.25 ounces King Arthur all-purpose flour or 4.625 Gold Medal); sift onto a sheet of waxed paper and then spoon into measuring cup and level to rim if not weighing
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 6 large eggs (separated into yolks and egg whites) separate when cold. Use when room temperature. Make sure egg whites do not contain any yolk!
- 1 cup (200 g) superfine or regular sugar , divided
- 1 teaspoon cream of tartar
- 3 tablespoons water , cold
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Ingredients for frosting (stabilized whipped cream):
- 3 cups (714 g) heavy cream
- ¾ cup (90 g) powdered sugar
- 3 teaspoons unflavored gelatin
- 4 tbsp cold water
Ingredients for the vanilla pastry cream filling:
- 5 egg yolks
- ½ cup (100 g) sugar
- 4 tablespoon cornstarch
- 1 cup (244 g) milk
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1/16 teaspoon salt
- ¼ cup (59.5 g) heavy cream (whipped) NOTE: this gets mixed in AFTER the pastry cream has been cooked and chilled
Ingredients for the chocolate pastry cream filling:
- 5 egg yolks
- ½ cup (100 g) sugar plus 2 tablespoons
- 4 tablespoon cornstarch
- 1 cup (244 g) milk
- 2 tablespoons cocoa powder
- 1/16 teaspoon salt
- ¼ cup (59.5 g) heavy cream (whipped) NOTE: this gets mixed in AFTER the pastry cream has been cooked and chilled.
Ingredients for the rum syrup:
- 1 cup water
- ½ cup (100 g) sugar
- 1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon rum extract
Ingredients to assemble the cake:
- 2 cups (473.18 g) crushed peanuts OR sliced almonds , lightly salted
- 8 inch cake board (optional)
Instructions
How to make the sponge cake:
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees and position rack in center of oven
- Grease inside of cake pans with butter and flour/cakespray and for added measure, line bottom of pans with parchment paper
- Combine flour with salt in a small bowl and set aside.
- In a standing mixer, whip the egg whites on medium-low speed until foamy (not stiff) and then add the cream of tartar and continue mixing until the whites become opaque
- Add ½ cup sugar slowly to the side of the bowl and increase the speed of the mixer until soft but not stiff peaks form. Scrape the contents to another bowl and set aside
- Using the same bowl, which is now empty, add the egg yolks and whip at high speed for 3 to 5 minutes until lightened in color and the mixture "ribbons" when the beaters are raised
- Slowly add the remaining sugar (ie, ½ cup), cold water, and vanilla into the egg yolks and mix until combined on low speed
- Sift the flour onto the egg yolks in two additions, and stir gently with large spatula to combine.
- Gently but thoroughly fold in the whipped egg whites
- Transfer mixture to prepared pans and bake for about 20 to 30 minutes until cooked through; using 3 pans, I only needed 20 minutes.
- Remove from oven, cool, and then run knife carefully around rim to loosen and invert to wire rack. After fully cooled, wrap and refrigerate or freeze.
How to make the pastry cream:
- Note that the heavy cream gets whipped separately and is added to the finished pastry cream AFTER it has been cooked and cooled. I do this just before I'm getting ready to assemble the cake.
- In a small bowl, add egg yolks and cornstarch. Whisk to blend and set aside
- In a medium saucepan, add milk, sugar, salt, and vanilla OR chocolate (depending on if you are making the chocolate or the vanilla cream [you will repeat all of these steps to make the other flavor)Heat until small bubbles form (scalded) and remove from heat.
- Temper eggs by adding small amounts (about ½ cup/4 ounces) of the hot milk mixture, a little at a time, while whisking very QUICKLY to prevent the eggs from curdling.
- After all of the milk mixture has been added into the eggs/cornstarch, return everything to the saucepan and cook over medium heat and stir constantly until thickened. The mixture thickens quickly (depending on how hight heat is)!! Stir fast and furious with whisk!Continue to heat and stir until it has stopped thickening.
- Cool the pastry cream and refrigerate until ready to use (this is when you do the last step below, adding the whipped cream). TIP: when folding in the whipped cream during next step, rewhip the pastry cream if it has been refrigerated to reduce the chance of lumpiness.
- When ready to assemble the cake, whip heavy cream until soft peaks form (overbeating will cause it to turn to butter) and then fold together with cooled pastry cream (rewhip the pastry cream first if it has been refrigerated and/or it has firmed up a lot).
- Repeat all these steps for other flavor (chocolate or vanilla).
How to make stabilized whipped cream
- Add gelatin and water to a small saucepan and heat gently just until the gelatin dissolves. Do not let the mixture set. If the gelatin cools too much you will have lumps or threads of gelatin in your whipped cream.
- Whip the cream and sugar using a standing mixer until the mixture is slightly thickened.
- Add the gelatin mixture slowly and then increase speed to high and continue whipping until the frosting is firm.
How to make the rum syrup:
- Combine all ingredients in a saucepan and heat over medium-high heat until sugar dissolves and then cool or store in refrigerator.
How to assemble the cake:
- Using a teaspoon or small squeeze bottle, distribute the rum syrup evenly over each of the three cake layers.
- Place one cake layer on the bottom of an 8- or 10-inch cake board or cake dish (you may spread some frosting between the dish and bottom layer to prevent the cake from shifting)
- Spread all of the vanilla pastry cream on top on the bottom layer and then top with another layer of sponge cake. Spread all of the chocolate pastry cream on top of middle layer and then top with final layer of sponge cake
- Frost cake, and add generous amount of crushed peanuts or sliced almonds to the sides of the cake. (if you have refrigerated the frosting (made ahead) you may have to rewhip it.
- Decorate the top if desired and refrigerate until serving.
Notes
- 28 ounces of powdered sugar (7 cups)
- 1 cup butter, room temperature
- 1 cup shortening
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- milk to thin frosting if needed
Add powdered sugar slowly, 1 cup at a time
Mix on medium-to-low speed to prevent air bubbles from forming
Add vanilla extract and mix to combine
Nutrition
Sources: Pastry cream adapted from Good Things by David; Sponge cake from Baking911; Bakery Frosting from My Madison Bistro
Caitlin says
I’m making this for a party tomorrow night. When I made the vanilla cream (before whipped cream addition) it’s really thick. Once it cooled enough to put a lid on and in the fridge it’s really really thick. Like no stirring hard. Did I do something wrong or is that what it’s like until you add the whipped cream? I was hoping to assemble this evening and wanted to make sure I had it right with enough time to remake if necessary.
Marie says
Nope, hard to say without seeing it but I will say it is pretty thick – the reason is we need something super thick as it will loosen up when you fold in the whipped cream. Otherwise, the cream would spill out and be too thin…
Caitlin says
I must of done something wrong. My chocolate was super lumpy. Tastes good but weird texture. And I also had trouble with the whipped icing. I have strands of gelatin in it. 🙁 Very frustrated as I bake a lot and had so much trouble with this.
Marie says
Ohhh, no I’m so sorry! I will add that the gelatin can not get too too cool or it will cause lumps in the whipped cream. That has happened to me and if it wasn’t clear, I’ll be sure to add that bit of caution. The lumpy cream I think could have been remedied by whipping it a bit more OR by letting the cream come to room temp before incorporating the whipped cream… Thanks so much for the feedback – it really does help to know the challenges as I can then add notes to the recipe.
Daniela says
Good recipe! I’m also a (first generation) Italian American, but I grew up in the Bronx. Our family loved rum cake- mostly for birthdays. The peanuts must definitely be a Philly thing because this is the first time I’ve ever seen it as an option. My entire family is from Italy, and we still go back regularly. Almonds, hazelnuts, pine nuts, pistachios are all very popular but peanuts just aren’t a thing there. Most Italian cakes are decorated with sliced almonds. I’m kind of glad about this because although I love peanuts my daughter is severely allergic. Thanks for the recipe!
Marie says
Yes agree 100% and my guess is that is why the Italians who came to philadelphia loved to use them (if that makes sense)? When my cousin from Italy came here several years ago he made sure to bring back (to Italy) a few jars of peanut butter because as you said it is definitely not a thing there but they do love it! Thanks for your comment and so glad you enjoyed the cake ❤️
Elisabeth says
Thanks for your post- had my first exp. with this cake as a child; Mother had brought a slice home from Sicilian friend’s dau. wedding. The vanilla creme had fine chopped pistachios, chocolate had fine chopped cherries & coated w sliced almonds on side atop frosting
Have looked most of adult life seeking this recipe. Began to think memory was off when search came to naught. So glad I was correct about the pistachios in the vanilla creme being traditional!
Maria says
Isgro’s in South Philly was my family’s go to Italian rum cake bakery when I was a child. It was a staple at every birthday celebration. I’m too far away to buy them there now and so I am thrilled to find this recipe! Thank you!
Marie says
It’s my favorite cake recipe and I hope it becomes your favorite too!
Deborah Oliver says
This is my 1st time making a sponge by scratch. I just baked off the cakes and they are very flat. I noticed there is no baking powder of soda in the recipe. Are they suppose to be flat?
Marie says
No, but that’s happened to me as well and usually when layered the cake turns out ok. I’ve just updated this post with lots of info on getting more volume in your sponge cake – what I find most important is making sure the egg whites whip up to soft peaks (make sure no egg yolk is mixed in) and gently but thoroughly folding with the yolk mixture which should also be well mixed. Sponge cakes are leavened by the eggs so it’s important to get that volume
Carmelita DiPretoro says
So I offered to make an Italian rum cake for my friend’s mother’s birthday, even though I’ve never made one. I grew up in Philadelphia eating this cake at every holiday and was thrilled to find your food blog and this recipe. At first I couldn’t believe how similar our stories were. Actually, I was only a few sentences in when I remembered that the last time we got together for lunch you mentioned you had a food blog. How fortuitous that I happen to find it, LOL! The instructions seem very clear and I’m feeling pretty confident I can do this. I’ll be making this over the next couple days. Wish me luck!
Marie says
So did I:) …we need to meet for coffee or you can come over and we can make the cake together 😘 Marie (Elena)
Carmelita DiPretoro says
I love that idea!!