Rum Cake

First things first. The recipe.

I've tweaked this thing to perfection. And it went quickly at the buffet table. So, it's good. Very good. If you've tried any of my cake recipes before, you know I always start with a box. Today's cake mixes are very good so there's no reason to knock yourself out doing the whole thing from scratch. I made it in a 13 x 9 pan because sheet cakes are easier to serve at a buffet, but it really works best as an 8 or 9 inch layer cake. Here's the ingredients list:1 package yellow cake mix (I like Duncan Hines)
1/3 cup vegetable oil
3 eggs
1 13.5 oz can of first press coconut milk
1 8 oz can of crushed pineapple in juice, undrained
1/4 cup dark brown sugar
2 tablespoons dark rum
2 tablespoons water
1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
1 4.2 oz package vanilla instant pudding and pie filling
1 1/2 cups milk
2 cups thawed, frozen whipped topping
2 tablespoons dark rum
1/4 cup toasted coconut

1. Preheat oven to 350 F. For cake, spray round cake pans with nonstick cooking spray. Combine cake mix, oil, egg, coconut milk and pineapple with juice. Mix thoroughly. Divide batter between pans, spreading evenly. Bake 28-32 minutes. Cool in pans 5 minutes. Loosen cakes; invert onto cooling rack and cool at least 10 minutes.
2. For syrup, bring brown sugar, dark rum, water and spice blend to a boil in a 1 quart saucepan over medium-high heat, whisking until sugar dissolves; cook 1 minute more or until syrup reduces to 1/4 cup. Remove from heat. For filling, whisk pudding mix and milk and refrigerate five minutes until pudding starts to thicken. Fold in whipped topping and rum. To toast coconut, place coconut in a microwave safe dish and microwave on high for 2 minutes or until golden brown, stirring after each 15 second interval.
3. To assemble cake, transfer one cake to a round platter; drizzle or brush half the syrup mixture over the top. Spread half of the filling over the center of the cake. Place top cake layer over filling. Brush with remaining syrup. Spread remaining filling over the top of the cake or fill a decorator tube and pipe around the edge of the cake. Sprinkle with toasted coconut.