This rum cake is moist, sweet and delicious! Fresh apples and a caramel topping make this cake an autumn-inspired treat that is great all year long!
August is one of those in-between months. We have one foot in summer and one foot in Autumn.
It’s still summer (the hot weather reminds us of that), but school has started and with that, we start to look towards all things fall like football games and tailgating, apple picking, pumpkin spice lattes, Halloween costumes, winter break and dare I say Christmas?
You are either holding on to every last drop of summer, or you are closing that chapter and barreling full speed towards fall. I suppose I am ready for all things fall.
While apple picking is probably not in my future, I still want to enjoy apples in as many ways as I can. This apple rum cake features soft baked apples that are sweet enough to balance out the spiced rum. The flavors are all about fall!
What is Apple Rum Cake?
This easy apple rum cake is a moist, dense cake, almost like a pound cake that is baked in a loaf pan. This rum cake does have a caramelized apple top layer, but don’t let discourage you, it is all very easy to throw together! This recipe is perfect for a loaf pan, it can easily be doubled and baked as a bundt cake instead.
Which Rum for Cake?
Apples scream fall to me and with fall, come flavors like cinnamon, allspice, nutmeg. I chose to use spiced rum for this cake. You could use any rum and you could even use rum extract for this recipe; you could also use bourbon for deep, rich, earthy flavor instead.
How To Make Rum Cake from Scratch
You will start this recipe by preparing your apple topping. To begin, heat butter and brown sugar in a small saucepan and cook whisking until sugar has dissolved. Pour caramel mixture into a prepared loaf pan.
Layer the apple slices over the caramel.
To make the cake layer, cream together the cream cheese and butter. Gradually add in the sugar and beat until light and fluffy. Eggs and vanilla are added in next
Dry ingredients are added last along with the rum.
Pour the batter over the caramel and the apples. Bake the cake for 35-40 minutes or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean.
Allow cake to cool in the pan on a wire rack for 25 minutes. Invert cake onto a serving plate and all the cake to cool completely.
I drizzled a very simple glaze over the cake, but you could simply serve the cake with powdered sugar or serve ice cream on the side.
How Alcoholic is Rum Cake?
You will not get drunk on this rum cake! The cake only contains a small amount of rum, you can add slightly more if you prefer and also slip in a bit of rum in the caramel topping if that is your preference. During the baking process, the alcohol will bake off which leaves you the essence of liquor used.
If the alcohol is an issue, rum extract is a welcome substitute as is apple cider.
How To Store Apple Rum Cake?
Be sure to store this cake in an airtight container. Because of the fruited topping, this cake will need to be consumed as soon as possible. I don’t think you’ll have probably with this caking sitting too long, it’s just too delicious!
Have you found yourself in the mood for more apple recipes? Try Brown Sugar Apple Bundt Cake, Apple Pie Cupcakes.
If you want a little more with rum, then you will love these Snickerdoodle Rum Balls!
Apple Rum Cake
This rum cake is moist, sweet and delicious! Fresh apples and a caramel topping make this cake an autumn inspired treat that is great all year long!
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons butter, softened
- 1/4 cup brown sugar
- 2-3 apples peeled and sliced
- 4 oz cream cheese, softened
- 3/4 cup butter, softened
- 3/4 cup granulated sugar
- 3 large eggs
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 1 1/2 cups of flour
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 cup spiced rum
- 1 cup powdered sugar
- 1-2 tablespoons milk
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 325 degrees. Spray 9 x 5-inch loaf pan with non-stick spray and set aside.
- Heat 2 tablespoons of butter and 1/4 cup brown sugar in small saucepan. Cook whisking constantly until sugar has dissolved. Pour caramel mixture into the bottom of the prepared pan. Layer the apple slices over the caramel.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer, cream together the cream cheese and butter. Gradually add in the sugar and beat until light and fluffy. Add eggs one at a time beating well after each addition. Stir in the vanilla.
- Sift together the flour and the salt. Add flour mixture to the batter alternately with the rum, beginning and ending with the flour. Spoon the batter over the caramel and the apples. Bake the cake for 35-40 minutes or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean.
- Allow cake to cool in the pan on a wire rack for 25 minutes. Invert cake and all the cake to cool completely.
- In a bowl, whisk together the powdered sugar and the milk until it is a drizzling consistency. Before serving, spoon icing over cake. Store cake in an airtight container. The cake should be consumed within a few days.
Nutrition Information
Yield
12Amount Per Serving Calories 260Total Fat 7gSaturated Fat 4gTrans Fat 0gUnsaturated Fat 2gCholesterol 61mgSodium 110mgCarbohydrates 44gFiber 2gSugar 30gProtein 4g
Ashley @ Wishes & Dishes says
I live for rum cakes! My absolute favorite.
Karen T says
oops…I went to print the recipe since it looks so delicious, and nothing was there. I’ll check back. Thanks.
Tanya Schroeder says
Thank you Karen, the recipe is now visible.
alicia says
where are the instructions and ingredients?
Tanya Schroeder says
Thank you, the recipe is at the bottom of the post.
Ann says
No baking powder or baking soda listed is this an error
Tanya Schroeder says
No, it is not a mistake 🙂
Ryan Childs says
The batter pretty much fills the pan.
Ralph Garrett says
NO Ingredients and NO instructions. Love the looks of it but there is NOTHING to indicate how to get that wonderful looking cake in my kitchen.
Tanya Schroeder says
Thank you, the recipe is visible now!
jeannine says
there is no recipe on this. just says ingredients and instructions.
interested but…..
Tanya Schroeder says
All good, I’m not sure why my recipe did show up upon publish, but it is there now! Thank you!
alicia says
Thank you! the recipe is visible. Cant wait to make it.
karen T says
Thank you so much and the recipe looks amazing. Perfect for this time of year. I figured it was some kind of technical difficulty thing….thanks again. Will follow up after I make it!
Franceska says
Hi Tanya,
I don’t see flour listed in the ingredient list. What a perfect recipe to welcome fall!
chris says
how much spiced rum and can you use rum flavoring or regular rum???
chris says
How much rum and can rum flavoring or plain rum be used??
Thank you
Tanya Schroeder says
I used about 1/4 cup of rum but rum extract can be used in its place. I would start with a 1 tablespoon and taste the batter before you add any more.
rose says
What can I substitute for the cream cheese? Do I really need it?
Suzanne Smith says
What is spiced rum? Tx.
Tanya Schroeder says
I used Captain Morgan’s spiced rum.
Pam Schafer says
Does it need baking powder?
Tanya Schroeder says
No there is no baking powder.
Renee says
Does it matter what kind of apples are used? Most apple recipes call for granny smith
Tanya Schroeder says
Granny Smith works well, as do Honeycrisp apples. I actually used Fuji apples for this recipe. I would not use Red Delicious.
Patricia says
HI…You list 1 cup brown sugar in the ingredients but in the directions you say 1/4 cup brown sugar to be mixed with 2 TBSP butter for the caramel mixture. So I am assuming it is 1/4 cup brown sugar…not 1 cup. 2 TBSP butter is not listed in the ingredients….only 1 cup butter. At first I thought the 1 cup brown sugar & 1 cup butter were together, until I read the instructions. So I rewrote my own instructions so that when I make this I don’t get mixed up. I am anxious to try this in mini 3×5 loaves. Thanks for the recipe.
Patricia says
Hi Tanya….I noticed you changed the recipe since my last message to you but there is one more thing…In your instructions you mention to cream together the cream cheese and butter. You originally had 1 cup butter in the list of ingredients but this time you omitted it. I will leave this part the original way you had it. So sorry to bother you with this.
Rob says
2 Tbls of butter for the caramel topping; but how much butter to mix with the cream cheese?
Julie Blanner says
This is delicious! I couldn’t wait til fall to make, and it was a great dessert at our dinner party the other night!