Preheat oven to 350 degrees F., rack in the middle position.

1 box chocolate cake mix (the size that makes a 9-inch by 13-inch cake) (DO NOT use cake mix with pudding in it because your cake will stick to the pan. I used Devil’s Food Cake Mix when I tested this.)

1 box chocolate instant pudding mix (NOT sugar-free—the size that makes 4 half-cup servings)

½ cup vegetable oil

1 cup sour cream

cup rum (I used Appleton’s Rum)

2 teaspoons rum extract (If your store doesn’t have this, you can use vanilla extract instead)

4 large eggs

6-ounce package semi-sweet chocolate chips (approximately 1 cup)

Spray a Bundt pan with Pam or another nonstick cooking spray. Make sure to spray the little tube in the middle so the cake won’t stick to that.

Place the dry chocolate cake mix and the dry chocolate pudding mix in the bowl of an electric mixer. Beat them together on low speed until they’re combined.

Add the vegetable oil, sour cream, rum, and rum extract. Beat on LOW speed until thoroughly mixed.

Mix in the eggs, one at a time on MEDIUM speed, beating after each addition. When you’re through, this batter should be nice and fluffy. If it’s not, turn the mixer up to HIGH and beat for 2 additional minutes.

Take the bowl out of the mixer and add the chocolate chips by hand. Don’t over-stir. You want to keep as much air as possible in the batter.

Spoon the batter into the prepared Bundt pan. Smooth the top with a rubber spatula.

Bake the cake at 350 degrees F. for 50 minutes or until a cake tester or a thin wooden skewer inserted in the center of the ring comes out clean. (Mine took 53 minutes.)

Cool the Rummy Tum Tum Cake for 20 minutes on a cold stovetop burner or a wire rack.

After 20 minutes, loosen the edges of the cake with a knife. Don’t forget to run the knife around the tube in the center of the Bundt pan to loosen that, as well.

Invert a cake plate on top of the Bundt pan, flip the Bundt pan and the cake plate over, and unmold the cake. Let it cool completely on the plate before frosting it with Rummy Tum Tum Chocolate Frosting.

Hannah’s Note: If you would prefer not to use alcohol in this cake, simply substitute cup light cream for the rum. It’s yummy that way, too.

RUMMY TUM TUM CHOCOLATE FROSTING

½ cup (1 stick, ¼ pound, 4 ounces) salted butter

1 cup white (granulated) sugar

cup rum (I used Appleton’s Rum)

½ cup chocolate chips

1 teaspoon rum extract (or vanilla extract if you can’t find rum extract)

½ to 1 cup powdered (confectioner’s) sugar (I used a total of ¾ cup)

Place the butter, sugar, and rum into a medium-size saucepan. Bring the mixture to a boil, stirring constantly. Turn down the heat to medium and cook for two minutes.

Add the half-cup chocolate chips, stir them in, and remove the saucepan from the heat.

Stir in the rum extract.

Let the frosting cool to room temperature. If it hasn’t thickened enough, add enough powdered sugar to bring it to spreading consistency. (I started with ½ cup powdered sugar, but had to add another ¼ cup to make my frosting the right consistency.)

Frost the cake and don’t forget the inside of the little crater in the middle. That’s an added bonus for frosting lovers.

Put the whole cake into the refrigerator so that the frosting hardens completely. Cover it loosely with foil if you intend to refrigerate it for more than 2 hours.

Hannah’s Note: If you would prefer not to use alcohol in this frosting, simply substitute cup light cream for the rum.