Simple, tender Apple Rum Cake is studded with apples and a splash of spiced rum, then dusted with cinnamon sugar. Amazing for dessert, an afternoon snack or indulgent breakfast.
Apple Rum Cake
It’s been my intention to make some sort of apple cake for weeks now but between that big food styling gig a few weeks ago and all the kids’ various commitments, it feels like fall is evaporating. But my grandma came for a visit this week and she just loves something sweet so I finally got my act together.
This Apple Rum Cake is a little different than the typical sticky-gooey-spicy apple desserts you think of in fall. This one is more akin to a coffee cake and reminds me vaguely of the gorgeous Apple cakes we saw at the bakeries in Paris. It’s light and simple…studded with apples and a splash of rum and topped with the lightest dusting of cinnamon and confectioners sugar.
This Apple Rum Cake is divine served warm with a dollop of whipped cream, but its just as perfect alongside a cup of coffee or tea or even tucked into a lunchbox (or so I was told by my lunchbox crew). I know I’m sharing this in fall but this is a pretty seasonless cake — it would be just as delicious in winter or spring. Whenever and however you serve it, this one is easy to make and tasty too.
Simple Apple Rum Cake
- Prep Time: 20 minutes
- Cook Time: 40 minutes
- Total Time: 1 hour
- Yield: 9 servings 1x
- Category: Dessert
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: Baking
Description
Simple, tender Apple Rum Cake is studded with apples and a splash of spiced rum, then dusted with cinnamon sugar. Amazing for dessert, an afternoon snack or indulgent breakfast.
Ingredients
- 1 cup all-purpose flour, spooned into measuring cup and leveled-off
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1 stick (1/2 cup) unsalted butter, at room temperature
- 2/3 cup granulated sugar
- 2 large eggs
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 3 tablespoons dark rum
- 2 baking apples, peeled and cored
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon + 1 tablespoon sugar
- Confectioners’ sugar
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F. Dice one of the apples into 1-inch cubes. Thinly slice the second apple and set aside. Grease an 8×8″ square cake pan with butter, line the bottom of the pan with parchment paper and grease again.
- In a small bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder and salt.
- Using a handheld mixer with beaters or a stand mixer with the paddle attachment, cream the butter and granulated sugar until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well and scraping down the sides of the bowl after each addition. Beat in the vanilla and rum. Don’t worry if the batter looks grainy at this point; that’s okay. Add the flour mixture and mix on low speed until just combined. Using a rubber spatula, fold in the chopped apples.
- Scrape the batter into the prepared pan and even the top. Arrange the thinly sliced apple in an overlapping pattern on top of the batter. Sprinkle cake evenly with the cinnamon sugar mixture.
- Bake for 40 minutes, or until the cake is golden and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Allow the cake to cool on a rack. If using a regular cake pan, carefully invert the cake onto the rack, remove the parchment paper, then gently flip the cake over and place right-side-up on a platter. Using a fine sieve, dust with Confectioners’ sugar (if using).
Keywords: cake, apples, rum, dessert, coffeecake
Wow apple and rum sounds amazing!! Would love this with a nice big mug of coffee (:
Yes! I will NEVER turn down coffee..the bigger the better. Thanks for the comment😉