Mini Apple Spice Rum Cakes
Looking for the perfect dessert to bake this season? Mini Apple Spiced Rum Cakes absolutely perfect! This twist on pound cake highlights fall spices, spiced rum and crisp apples. Serve with a homemade spiced rum caramel sauce and top with a scoop of vanilla bean ice cream for the ultimate fall dessert.
Love apple baked goods? You’ve got to try Apple Crumble, Caramel Apple Crumble Muffins and Spiced Apple Upside Down Cake with Bourbon Caramel Glaze.
My friend Madison is taking the reins today as a part of my maternity leave. She’s baked us DELICIOUS mini bundt cakes from scratch… with apples and spiced rum and caramel. YUM! – Erin
When Erin first asked me to write a guest post for her during her maternity leave, my wheels began turning.
I knew I wanted to do something dessert-related because any excuse for baking is something I quickly accept.
As we were looking in our pantry one day, my husband said to me, you should make a dessert with this spiced rum in it! Okay, husband, I will do just that.
We have a pound cake recipe that’s been in my husband’s family for 100+ years. It happens to be my husband’s #2 weakness when it comes to dessert. (This is his first.)
So when he brought up the idea of using the spiced rum, I immediately thought of creating a spiced rum pound cake.
Why I love this recipe:
Everyone goes bananas for pumpkin in the fall, and I do, too — don’t get me wrong — but I go wild for apple season, too.
I love apple desserts, as well as using apples in cooking like this Apple Pork Tenderloin and Cinnamon Apple Pork Chops.
This seemed like a natural fit to pair the sweetness of crisp, Granny Smith apples with the spiciness of the rum.
Rum cakes are simply cakes with rum in them, imagine that.
So this apple spice rum cake is our family pound cake recipe, changed up slightly by adding apples, fall spices like ginger, cloves and allspice, and spiced rum.
Now, I will add in a disclaimer here that I probably wouldn’t choose to drink spiced rum on its own. But in this cake? Heck yes.
One of the greatest parts about this recipe is that the rum is baked out, but you still get the flavor, so this is perfect for mamas-to-be, too. (And the mama-to-be can enjoy the caramel sauce once baby has arrived!)
Especially when this cake involves caramel sauce. Oh, caramel sauce. It’s easily my favorite sauce choice for desserts.
This homemade spiced rum caramel sauce is super easy to make, too. I promise. Really. Don’t be nervous!
Other fall desserts to try this season: Praline Upside Down Pumpkin Cake with Bourbon Caramel Sauce | Vegan Apple Crisp | Bourbon Pecan Pie | Upside Down Cranberry Cake | Pumpkin Cheesecake Brownie Bars | Apple Pie Bars
What do I need to make this recipe?
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- Mini bundt cake pan
- Glass bowls or Stand Mixer
- Flexible silicone spatula
- Small Saucepan
- Jigger or liquid measuring cup
Let’s talk ingredients!
In addition to the tools above, you’re going to need some ingredients to make this recipe, too! Chances are, you might already have some of them in your fridge or pantry. Scroll down to the recipe card for the full measurements and instructions.
Here is what you need to grab from the grocery store:
- Unsalted butter — we need this for the cakes, as well as the caramel sauce. Using unsalted butter is important in baking because it helps us control the amount of salt that ends up in our desserts.
- Granulated sugar — sometimes called white sugar, this is our sweetener for the mini rum cakes. It also serves as the base for our caramel sauce. There is no substitute.
- Pure vanilla extract — if you can use the real deal stuff, it adds lovely and subtle vanilla flavor to the batter.
- Large eggs — these provide structure, as well as some leavening for our cake. They should be room temperature to incorporate into the batter more easily.
- All-purpose flour — we keep unbleached AP flour in our house. We have not tried this recipe with a gluten free flour blend and do not recommend that at this time.
- Baking soda — this is a leavener to help the cake rise. Make sure yours is fresh.
- Spices — we use a combination of ground ginger, ground cloves and all spice to give some awesome apple pie flavors to these mini bundt cakes. You could add a sprinkling of fresh nutmeg to the batter, too.
- Spiced rum — we need some of this for the cake, as well as the caramel sauce. Use what you’ve got in your liquor cabinet and definitely something that tastes good to you!
- Greek yogurt — we like using full-fat Greek yogurt in baked goods to keep them moist.
- Granny Smith apple — you want to core, peel and finely chop it before adding it to the batter.
- Heavy whipping cream — this is an addition to the spiced rum caramel sauce, and it makes the caramel utterly decadent! We use this for the high fat content. Using a lower fat substitute is not recommended.
How to make Rum Cakes with Spiced Rum and Fresh Apple
Prepare. Preheat the oven to 325°F. Grease a mini bundt pan with butter or nonstick baking spray. Set aside.
Melt the butter in a large bowl. Measure in the sugar and vanilla, and mix until combined.
Stir in the eggs one at a time.
Measure in the dry ingredients (the flour, baking soda and spices.) Stir to combine.
Fold in the spiced rum, yogurt and apple to the batter, stirring with a rubber spatula until just combined.
Pour the batter into the prepared mini bundt pans. Fill them about 2/3 of the way full so that they bake evenly.
Bake for 27 minutes or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean. The baking time will be dependent on your oven, so keep an eye on the cakes after the 20-minute mark.
When baked through, remove from the oven. Let the cakes cool in the pan for 3-5 minutes.
Flip the pan over onto a wire rack. Leave the pan upside down for 5-10 minutes to allow the cakes to release.
If the cakes do not release within this time, give the pan a little shake and they should fall out onto the rack.
Make the Spiced Rum Caramel
While the cakes cool, measure out the ingredients for the caramel. This will help you make it more easily without needing to measure as the sugar is caramelizing.
Add the sugar to a small saucepan. Turn on the heat to medium.
Use a silicone spatula to stir the sugar around constantly.
Clumps will begin to form and then sugar will begin to melt down to be a smooth, clear liquid. The sugar will begin to pull away from the pan as you stir.
Let the sugar melt for a few minutes until it turns an amber color.
Remove it from the heat and add the butter. Whisk vigorously until combined.
Then pour in heavy cream and whisk. It will bubble and fizz, so don’t worry about that but be sure to take care because the mixture is HOT.
Turn the heat back on. Let the caramel bubble and smooth out for 2-3 minutes.
Remove from heat again, pour in spiced rum. Whisk to combine. The sauce will be watery. This is normal.
Let the caramel sit and cool for 30 minutes or until it thickens and solidifies before serving.
How to enjoy mini rum cakes with spiced rum caramel sauce
If cakes are cooled down, reheat them for 30 seconds in microwave so they’re warm.
Drizzle a generous amount of caramel on top of the cakes. Then top with a scoop of vanilla ice cream. Then drizzle more caramel on top.
How to enjoy this cake recipe with rum:
Well, you can enjoy it any way you like.
- Eat it cold out of the fridge
- Warm it up and top with ice cream
- Make it feel healthy-ish with a scoop of plain Greek yogurt.
No matter how you choose to eat it, it’s gonna be delish, I promise.
Frequently Asked Questions
Yes, there is. If you omit the spiced rum caramel sauce, it will just have the lovely taste from the spiced rum, without the alcohol content.
This fall apple spice rum cake has allspice, ginger and cloves.
Absolutely. Just skip over that ingredient if you prefer your dessert to be non-alcoholic.
Erin’s Easy Entertaining Tips
These Mini Apple Cakes with Spiced Rum would be excellent to serve at a dinner or a fall baby shower.
No matter when you serve it, here are some tips and tricks for make it as simple as possible:
- Make the caramel sauce in advance. Since it keeps well in the fridge, all you need to do is reheat in the microwave for a few seconds before drizzling over the cakes.
- Offer different toppings. While this cake is excellent by itself, serve it with toppings. Ice cream and Greek yogurt are excellent. Consider chopping some pecans to add on top, too, for festive flair.
- Make a double batch. If you’re serving more than six people, this is a must!
Quick tips and tricks for the best homemade caramel sauce with rum
- Double the recipe. If you’re feeding a crowd or want to save some for later, do this and thank your former self as you get to continue to enjoy it!
- Leave out the rum. If you don’t drink or don’t have spiced rum, you can make a classic homemade caramel sauce. Follow the instructions, then just stop after you’ve added the cream.
- How to store: Pour the cooling caramel into a mason jar, and transfer to the fridge. It will keep for 2-3 weeks. Store the leftover mini apple bundt cakes in an airtight container in the refrigerator for 2-3 days.
Now who’s ready to bake some boozy cakes?
Find the recipe from Madison below…
Mini Apple Spice Rum Cakes
Ingredients
Apple Spiced Rum Cakes
- 5 tablespoons unsalted butter melted
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 2 eggs
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- 1/8 teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon ground ginger
- ½ teaspoon ground cloves
- ¼ teaspoon allspice
- 2 oz. spiced rum
- 1/3 cup Greek yogurt
- 1 Granny Smith apple cored, peeled and finely chopped
Spiced Rum Caramel
- ½ cup granulated sugar
- 4 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 3 tablespoons heavy whipping cream
- 1 ½ oz. spiced rum
Equipment
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Instructions
Make the Apple Spiced Rum Cakes
- Preheat oven to 325°F. Grease a mini bundt pan and set aside.
- Melt the butter. Mix with sugar and vanilla.
- Mix in eggs, one at a time.
- Add in flour, baking soda and spices to mixing bowl and combine.
- Gently fold in spiced rum, Greek yogurt and apple.
- Pour batter into mini bundt pan, about 2/3 of the way full so each spot is even.
- Bake for 27 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.
- Allow cakes to cool in pan for 3-5 minutes. Then carefully flip pan over a wire cooling rack. Leave upside down for 5-10 minutes. At that point cakes should fall right out when you lift the pan up. If not, give the pan a little shake and they’ll fall out onto the rack.
Make the Spiced Rum Caramel
- While the cakes are cooling, measure out your ingredients for the caramel.
- Add sugar to a small saucepan and turn heat to medium.
- Using a silicone spatula, stir around the sugar constantly. Clumps will begin to form and then sugar will begin to melt down to be a smooth, clear liquid. You’ll see the sugar pulling away from the pan as you stir.
- Allow the sugar to melt for just a few minutes, then remove from heat and add in butter. Whisk until completely combined and the sugar is starting to have an amber color to it. Then add in heavy cream and whisk completely.
- Return to heat and let caramel bubble and smooth out for 2-3 minutes. Remove from heat again, add in spiced rum and mix it in. Let caramel sit and cool for 30 minutes or until it thickens and solidifies again.
Serve the Apple Spiced Rum Cakes
- If cakes are cooled down, reheat them for 30 seconds in microwave.
- Drizzle a generous amount of caramel on top of the cakes. Then top with a scoop of vanilla ice cream. Then drizzle more caramel on top.
Really delicious. Would definitely make again!
So happy to hear this, Jaim! We love these, and I’m glad you did, too!