CAKE:

1 cup chopped pecans, walnuts, macadamia nuts, or coconut
1 (18 1/2 oz.) pkg. yellow cake mix with pudding added
1 (3 3/4 oz.) pkg. jello vanilla instant pudding & pie filling
4 eggs
1/2 cup vegetable or corn oil (I can't tell the difference)
1 cup rum (see note)

Preheat oven to 325°F. Grease and flour a 10-inch tube or 12-inch Bundt pan.

Sprinkle nuts, or coconut over the bottom of the pan (after baking, this becomes the top of the cake). Mix all cake ingredients together (but be gentle, don’t beat it to death!)

Pour batter into baking pan. Bake at 325°F for 1 hour (be sure you turn oven to "bake").

GLAZE:

1/2 cup (1 stick) butter
1 cup granulated sugar
1 cup rum
1/8 cup water

Melt butter in saucepan. Stir in sugar and 1/8 cup of water. Boil for 5 minutes, stirring constantly. Remove from heat. Stir in rum and keep stirring until the glaze is almost clear.

Loosen the cake in the pan and pour the glaze over the cake while it is still in the pan. Remove cake from pan, allow it to come to room temperature and serve.

DECORATION IDEAS:

Decorate the border with a sugar frosting or whipped cream. Sprinkle confectioners' sugar over top and top with cherries for a festive seasonal look. Whatever you do, you can’t hurt this cake!

VARIATIONS:

Change the cake mix to chocolate or butterscotch. Use the corresponding pudding and pie mix.

Submitted by: Otto Machacek