Fifteen men on the dead man's chest- ...Yo-ho-ho, and a bottle of rum! Drink and the devil had done for the rest- ...Yo-ho-ho, and a bottle of rum!

~ Robert Louis Stevenson's "Treasure Island" (1883)

65 minutes. A cake fit for serving 8. You'll need: For the cake

• Eggs, 4 (large)
• Yellow cake mix, 1 18.5-ounce packet (the mix must NOT contain pudding in it; preferably use Duncan Hines Moist Deluxe)
• Vanilla instant pudding, 1 3½-ounce box (preferably use Jell-O)
• Walnuts or pecans, 1 cup (coarsely chopped)
• Bacardi Rum, ½ cup (dark)
• Vegetable oil, ½ cup
• Water, ½ cup (cold)
• Flour, for dusting the bundt pan
• Vegetable shortening, for greasing the bundt pan

For the glaze

• Sugar, 1 cup (granulated)
• Bacardi Rum, ½ cup (dark)
• Butter, ½ cup (unsalted)
• Water, ¼ cup

How to go about it: Begin by preheating the oven to 325º F. Prepare a 12-cup Bundt pan by greasing it first with the vegetable shortening and then dusting it with some flour. Uniformly distribute the chopped pecans in the pan. Beat the eggs in a mixer. Pour in the Bacardi rum, vegetable oil, and water and continue mixing them with the beaten eggs. Next, add the yellow cake mix and the vanilla instant pudding to the wet mixture and whisk for 3 to 5 minutes at medium speed thoroughly. Pour the uniformly smooth mixture into the greased, dusted, and pecaned pan. Place the pan in the oven and let the baking go on for a good 45 (in case you preheat the oven to 350º F) to 60 minutes. While the cake is getting baked, melt the butter in a cooking pan to begin making the glaze (for the glaze has to sit for a minimum of 10 minutes before it can be poured onto the ready-to-serve cake). Next, add the water and sugar and let a steady boil set in for 5 minutes. Stir incessantly and then remove the glaze from heat. Pour the rum into the concoction and stir to mix. Once the cake is baked, take it out of the oven and then let it cool down completely. Remember, at this point the cake will be a light golden brown color. It will turn a darker shade only after it has been glazed. Once cool, pierce tiny holes on the surface of the cake with a fork and pour half the glaze syrup onto the cake uniformly. Let the cake absorb all the rum syrup well. After that, invert the Bundt pan to place the cake onto your serving plate and poke more holes on this side as well. Pour the rest of the glaze syrup onto this side of the cake and voila! You can fill the hollow center of the cake with more walnuts, pecans, or cherries. Slice the cake and serve with some whipped cream to heighten the sheer decadence of it all.

55 minutes. One 9" layer cake. Gather: For the cake

• Eggs, 4 (large)
• White cake mix, 1 packet
• Instant coconut cream pudding mix, 1 4-ounce box
• Bacardi Rum, ⅓ cup (dark)
• Water, ½ cup (cold)
• Vegetable oil, ¼ cup
• Cooking spray, enough to grease the layer pans

For the frosting

• Pineapple, 1 8-ounce can (crushed, in juice)
• Whipped topping, 1 9-ounce container (frozen, thawed)
• Instant coconut cream pudding mix, 1 4-ounce packet
• Bacardi Rum, ⅓ cup (dark)
• Coconut shavings

How to go about it: Begin by preheating the oven to 350º F. Coat two 9-inch layer pans with some cooking spray. Beat the eggs in a mixer. Pour in the Bacardi rum, vegetable oil, and water and continue mixing them with the beaten eggs. Next, add the white cake mix and the instant pudding to the wet mixture and whisk for half a minute on low and then 3 to 5 minutes at medium speed thoroughly. Pour the uniformly smooth mixture into the greased pans. Place the pan in the oven and bake for a good 25 to 30 minutes. While the cake is getting baked, make the frosting by blending the crushed pineapple in juice, rum, and the instant pudding mix thoroughly. Next, fold this mixture into the whipped topping. Stir incessantly and then remove the glaze from heat. Pour the rum into the concoction and stir to mix. Once the cake looks baked, poke it with a toothpick and see if it comes out clean. If it does, your cake layers are ready. Let the layers stand and cool for 15 minutes in the pans. Once cool, remove the cakes from the pans and smear them well with the frosting using a spatula. After that, place one frosted layer over another and sprinkle coconut shavings from top. Refrigerate this winner before serving.

For 16 servings, the ingredients you must have are: For the cake

• Eggs, 4 (large)
• Chocolate cake mix, 1 box
• Instant chocolate pudding, 1 box (small)
• Semi-sweet chocolate chips, ½ a 12-ounce packet
• Water, ¾ cup
• Bacardi Rum, ½ cup (dark)
• Oil, ½ cup

For the glaze

• Raspberry preserves, 1 cup
• Bacardi Rum, ½ cup (dark)

For the frosting

• Semi-sweet chocolate chips, ½ a 12-ounce packet
• Vegetable shortening, 2 tablespoons

For the icing

• Vanilla baking bar square, 1 ounce
• Water, 2 teaspoons

How to go about it: Preheat the oven to 350º F. Prepare a 12-cup Bundt pan by greasing it first with the vegetable shortening and then dusting it with some flour. Tap out the excess. (In case you do not own a Bundt pan, you can make one by placing a heavy tin of beans in the middle of a cake pan.) Blend the eggs, chocolate cake mix, instant chocolate pudding, Bacardi rum, water, and oil in a large bowl using a hand mixer at low speed until you get a moist mixture. Then take the speed up to medium and whip for another 2 minutes before adding in a cup of the chocolate chips. Use a spatula to uniformly distribute them throughout the batter. Pour the uniformly smooth mixture into the greased and dusted pan. Place the pan in the oven and bake for 50 to 60 minutes. In the meantime, make the glaze by heating the rum and raspberry glaze together. Once commingled properly, strain the concoction and let it cool. Once the cake seems done, poke it with a toothpick and see if it comes out clean. If it does, your cake is ready. Take the Bundt pan out of the oven and let the cake cool down for 15 minutes. After that, invert the Bundt pan to place the cake onto your serving plate and pierce holes into the cake with a fork. Once the cake has cooled down completely, pour the glaze syrup onto the cake uniformly using a tablespoon. Let the glazed cake stand unperturbed for a while so that the syrup gets absorbed entirely. Microwave the shortening and the remaining amount of chocolate chips for 60 seconds, stir until you have smooth, molten semiliquid, and then use a spatula to cover the entire cake with it. Make sure that the coating is more or less uniform, even, and neatly done. The cake then needs to stand unperturbed for 10 minutes. In this time, you need to break the vanilla bar, add the water to it, microwave it for half a minute until you have a molten concoction, and then drizzle it over the frosted cake. You can serve this as birthday cake for an adult, rich and delicious as it is.

In 5 hours and 30 minutes, a cake good enough to feed 12. You'll need: For the cake

• Eggs, 5 (large)
• Butter, 2 sticks (unsalted, softened)
• All-purpose flour, 3 cups
• Golden-brown sugar, 1 cup (packed)
• Pecans, 1 cup (toasted, finely chopped)
• Sugar, 1 cup (granulated)
• Whole milk, ¾ cup
• Ginger, 1 tablespoon (freshly grated)
• Vanilla extract, 1 tablespoon
• Baking powder, 2 teaspoons
• Table salt, 1 teaspoon

For the syrup

• Bacardi Rum, 1 cup (dark)
• Sugar, ½ cup (granulated)
• Water, ¼ cup
• Ginger, 1 tablespoon (freshly grated)

How to go about it: Place a rack in the lower third position in the oven and preheat the oven to 350º F. Prepare a 12-cup Bundt pan by greasing it first with butter and then dusting it with some flour. Tap out the excess. Uniformly distribute chopped pecans in the pan. In a cup, combine the vanilla extract and the ginger with the milk. Loosely commingle the flour, baking soda, and salt with a spoon and keep aside. Cream the butter with the sugar varieties using a hand mixer on medium speed, until light and fluffy (approx. 3 minutes). Use the paddle attachment of the hand mixer. Then add three whole eggs and only the whites from two others, one after the other, and whip thoroughly. Now bring the mixer speed down to low and pour the flour mixture and milk mixture into the concoction in alternating batches. Remember, you have to begin and end with the flour mixture. Pour the uniformly smooth mixture into the greased, dusted, and pecaned pan. Place the pan in the oven and bake for 50 minutes. In the meanwhile, make the syrup by heating the Bacardi Rum, sugar, water, and ginger on medium in a cooking pan for 5 minutes. A boil with set in and the concoction will start to resemble a syrup. After that, just run the liquid through a sieve and keep aside to cool. Once the cake turns golden-brown, poke it with a toothpick and see if it comes out clean. If it does, your cake is ready. Take the Bundt pan out of the oven and let the cake cool down. After 10 minutes, invert the Bundt pan to place the cake onto your serving plate and pierce holes into the cake with a fork. Once the cake has cooled down completely, pour the glaze syrup onto the cake uniformly using a tablespoon. Let the glazed cake stand unperturbed for at least 4 hours so that the syrup gets absorbed entirely.

10 minutes. 4 servings. Just need: For the dessert

• Strawberries, 8 (sliced)
• Sponge cakes, 4 (small enough to fit into dessert cups)
• Almonds, 3 ounces (sliced)
• Bacardi Rum, 3 ounces
• Vanilla instant pudding, 2 cups (prepared as per packet directions)
• Sugar, 1 teaspoon

How to go about it: Place each sponge cake in individual dessert cups and pour equal amounts of rum on each of them. Wait for a couple of minutes for the cakes to soak all the liquor up and then place ½ a cup of pudding on each cake. Coat the strawberries with sugar. Garnish each cup with the strawberries and almonds. Refrigerate before serving at a summer party.