Italian Rum Cake

Table of Contents

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:

• Italian Strawberry Shortcake
• The Classic Carrot Cake
• White Velvet Cupcakes (Classic White Cake)
• Goober Cake (Peanut Butter and Chocolate Cake)

More Italian Baking To Try:

• Italian Peach Cookies
• Pignoli Cookies (Almond Cookies with Pignoli Nuts)
• Italian Wedding Cookies
• Sfogliatelle
• Lobster Tail Pastry