Cocktail Umbrella Not Included

I made this cake for my mother in-laws' birthday. In MARCH. Yeah, I know! We're gonna get past that fact and move on straight to this cake. Ever heard of Planters Punch? I never had until I found this recipe in Bundt Classics. There are a ton of really great recipes in this book all made for Bundt pans. Some of the recipes start off with a cake mix and others are from scratch. There are sweet cakes, savory recipes and glazes in this spiral bound book. There aren't many pictures but if you ever come across it, I highly recommend you check it out.

Okay back to this cake. It starts off with a cake mix and then you add some tropical flavors to it, like pineapple, orange rum and grenadine to add a nice rosy color. I'm assuming those are the flavors that are in Planters Punch as well. You just dump everything in the bowl, mix it up and it's in the oven in no time. One of the things that I liked about this cake was that it baked so completely level- meaning it didn't make a hump in the pan as it baked. I don't know why that thrilled me, but it did. It's the little things :-)

As I mentioned this cake starts off with a boxed mix, but it didn't taste like it at all. It had a wonderful tender crumb, was moist and had such a pleasant peachy color. I don't know how to describe the flavor as not one flavor stood out over the other. It was just good! I actually put a little too much glaze on this cake (is there really such a thing as too much glaze?) but my MIL scraped it all up and put it on her piece. I think that meant she liked it. If you're into into fruity umbrella drinks, you definitely need to try this cake!

Planters Punch Cake adapted from Bundt Classics

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• 1 (18.25 oz.) package yellow cake mix
• 1/2 cup pineapple juice
• 1/2 orange juice
• 1/4 cup light rum (I used coconut rum)
• 1/4 teaspoon rum extract
• 3 tablespoons grenadine syrup
• 1/3 cup butter, softened
• 2 eggs

Heat oven to 325 degrees F. Grease and flour a 10 or 12 cup Bundt pan.

In a large mixing bowl, mix all the cake ingredients. Mix on medium speed for 2 minutes. Spoon into prepared pan.

Bake for 50-55 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in center of cake comes out clean. Cool 10 minutes then remove from pan. Place on rack and cool completely. If desired, drizzle with Vanilla Glaze (recipe below).

Vanilla-Rum Glaze from Monica H

• 1 cup sifted powdered sugar
• 2 Tbsp. butter, softened
• 1/4 tsp. vanilla extract
• 1/4 tsp. rum extract
• 1-2 Tbsp. milk

In a medium bowl, mix sugar and butter. Add vanilla and rum extract. Gradually add milk until desired consistency is achieved. Mix until smooth.

For a thinner consistency, add more milk. For a thicker glaze, add more sugar.

Apply glaze to cake and let it set before serving.