Rum and the Caribbean go hand in hand. Actually, the Caribbean is believed to be the birthplace of rum. Is it really any wonder that pirates used to love spending time down in the Caribbean? Most rum is still distilled in the tropical islands today, and the drink that they are perhaps most famous for is Malibu Rum. Although rum is a great complement to any Caribbean dish, it's also the chief ingredient of the Caribbean Rum Cake. It's thought that Caribbean Rum Cake actually originated from European settlers who introduced some of their favorite dishes to the islands. Specifically, rum cake probably evolved from what is known as English pudding. The people of the Caribbean islands decided to put their own spin on it, and today we have what is called rum cake. Caribbean Rum Cake is especially popular around Christmas time. A good rum cake is very sweet, dense, moist, and decadent. It will last for quite a while; in fact, it "ages." One of the better rum cake recipes calls for chopped walnuts as well as vanilla pudding. If you see a recipe for rum cake that doesn't mention what kind of rum to use, always go for the dark rum. It's the best default. Most recipes will specify if you should use some other kind of rum. Don't put in more rum than is called for in the recipe. Although it might seem that "more is better!", too much rum could lend an overpowering or even unpleasant taste to the cake.
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