With all the wonderful fall flavors going on right now, you're guaranteed to love this spice cake recipe! Apples and pumpkin mixed with ground cinnamon, clove, and nutmeg topped with a creamy butter and spiced rum glaze, this bundt cake is perfect for for fall!
If you're looking for an easy to make and delicious spice cake for fall, look no further. Fall season is in full swing and I'm loving every bite of apple, pumpkin, and spice flavor I can get my taste buds on. And this Apple Pumpkin Spice Cake recipe is one of my all time favorite fall desserts.
Why This Recipe Works
- Contains a lot of moisture,
- Full of all you fall favorite ingredients such as pumpkin, apple, cinnamon, clove, nutmeg, and pecans,
- This homemade spice cake feeds a crowd!
This is probably one of the most moist bundt cakes I've ever tasted. A lot of bundt recipes I've tasted struggle to deliver the moisture a cake needs, but not this one. There's a taste of autumn spice in every single bite. I top this fall cake off with a spiced butter rum glaze that provides a warm spiced "pop".
What Is Spice Cake?
A good spice cake is super moist, light, and fluffy and full of different spices such as cinnamon, allspice, clove, nutmeg, and ginger. Think gingerbread and carrot cake. Those are forms of spice cake. A lot of spice cake recipes also contain some form of pumpkin and apple.
Typically, you'll find a cream cheese frosting on spice cake recipes. But I top this one with a butter rum glaze. The cake is the star of the show and the light glaze helps enhance the flavor with it's light buttery finish. The hint of spiced rum brings the flavor home, especially when you top it with powdered sugar!
Ingredients You'll Need
Here are the ingredients I use. You can substitute crisco for canola oil. Melted crisco really helps make this cake extra moist, but canola oil is a healthier choice. Don't skip the Carnation Evaporated Milk. It provides a ton of moisture and sweetness! I use white vinegar because when it's mixed with the baking soda and baking powder, it helps the cake rise.
As for the apple, I use a crispy apple such as Honeycrisp. I also use canned pumpkin puree. For the spices, I use a mixture of cinnamon, allspice, clove, and nutmeg to really pull out those fall flavors! For the Butter Rum Glaze, you'll need unsalted butter, powdered sugar, hot water, and spiced rum. I use Captain Morgan Spiced Rum because the flavor goes great with the fall cake flavors.
Step-by-Step Recipe Instructions
This is an easy spice cake recipe to make. Start off by preheating your oven to 350°F. Then peel a honeycrisp apple and then grate it with a box grater.
In a large bowl, add all the spice cake ingredients. Mix well with a standing ot an electric mixer on medium speed for about 2 minutes.
Then, pour the batter into a bundt mold. Bake for 55-60 minutes, until done.
Cake Glaze Recipe
There are a couple ways to make a rum based spice cake glaze depending on how thick you want the glaze to be.
- For a thin, more liquid glaze: Completely melt the butter and then mix it on a medium to low speed with the powdered sugar, rum, and hot water. The color will appear more clear than white.
- For a thick, more solid glaze:Â Make sure the butter is at room temperature. You want the butter to be soft, but still in a solid form. Add the soft butter, powdered sugar, hot water, and spiced rum and mix on a medium high speed until the glaze is white and thick. Make sure you don't add too much hot water as it will become more of a liquid consistency.
Expert Tips and FAQs
- To test the doneness use the toothpick test. Insert a toothpick into the thickest part of the cake and if it comes out with no moist batter, the cake is done.
- You can use any type of apple you want. Pink lady, gala, and honeycrisp are the best for this recipe.
- Don't mix the dry ingredients and then the wet ingredients. Dump all the ingredients in a bowl and mix it all together at once.
- I used a bundt cake mold, but you can use a rectangle pan or round pan for this recipe. I've actually made muffins and bread with this recipe and they are amazing! Make sure you grease the pan well or use a no stick mold.
- Don't like icing? Skip it. This cake is so crazy flavorful that it doesn't need icing. Sometimes, I like to just add on some powdered sugar and top it with chopped pecans.
- The key to making the butter rum glaze is using unsalted butter. For my rum, I used Captain Morgan Spiced Rum. It works perfectly with this recipe because the spiced rum compliments so well with the cinnamon, nutmeg and clove.
- If you're gluten free, just substitute a gluten free flour. The measurements should remain the same.
- You can store this covered on your counter for 3-4 days.
More Cake Recipes You'll Love
If you're looking for more amazing recipes, check out my Orange, Almond and Polenta Cake with Cardamom and Orange Syrup. This one has a lot of fun flavor. My Red Velvet Cake is also another good choice around the holidays. So is my Orange Vanilla Bundt Cake. I make this one around the holidays, as well!
If you're loving the apple theme, check out my Cherry Apple Cake. It's a pie and cake in one! And if you're looking for more of a bread loaf that tastes like cake, check out my Zucchini, Carrot and Apple Olive Oil Cake. It's perfect for the end of summer and early fall!
Did you make this recipe? If you did, make sure to tag me @recipesworthrepeating on Instagram and hashtag it #recipesworthrepeating so I can see all your wonderful recipe creations!
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Apple Pumpkin Spice Cake with Butter Rum Glaze
Ingredients
Cake Ingredients
- 1 12 ounce can of Carnation evaporated milk
- 2 ½ cups flour
- 1 Tablespoon vinegar
- 3 eggs
- 1 cup sugar
- ½ cup apple, shredded and peeled
- 8 ounces Libby's Pumpkin Puree
- ¾ cup packed brown sugar
- ⅔ cup shortening (I used melted Crisco)
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ¾ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ¾ teaspoon ground allspice
- ½ teaspoon ground clove
- ½ teaspoon ground nutmeg
- ½ teaspoon vanilla
Butter Rum Glaze Ingredients
- ⅓ cup unsalted butter
- 2 cups powdered sugar
- 1 Tablespoon Captain Morgan Spiced Rum
- 2 Tablespoons Hot Water
Instructions
To Make the Cake
- Preheat the oven to 350°F.
- Combine all cake ingredients in a bowl.
- Turn your standing or electric mixer on low for 30 seconds, then turn the speed up to medium high and mix for 3 minutes.
- Pour your batter into the bundt cake mold.
- Cook for 55-60 minutes, until done. (I test with a toothpick for doneness)
For Butter Rum Glaze
- Heat the unsalted butter in a pan until melted.
- Stir in the powdered sugar and spiced rum.
- Whisk in the water and whisk until the consistency is of a thick syrup.
- Pour on top of the bundt cake and serve.
Notes
- To test the doneness, use the toothpick test. Insert a toothpick into the thickest part of the cake and if it comes out with no moist batter, it's done.Â
- You can use any type of apple you want. Pink lady, gala, and honeycrisp are the best for this recipe.
- Don't mix the dry ingredients and then the wet ingredients. Dump all the ingredients in a bowl and mix it all together at once.
- I used a bundt mold, but you can use a rectangle pan or round pan for this recipe. I've actually made muffins and bread with this recipe and they are amazing! Make sure you grease the pan well or use a no stick mold.
- Don't like icing? Skip it. This cake is so crazy flavorful that it doesn't need icing. Sometimes, I like to just add on some powdered sugar and top it with chopped pecans.
- The key to making the butter rum glaze is using unsalted butter. For my rum, I used Captain Morgan Spiced Rum. It works perfectly with this recipe because the spiced rum compliments so well with the cinnamon, nutmeg and clove.
- If you're gluten free, just substitute a gluten free flour. The measurements should remain the same.
- You can store this cake covered on your counter for 3-4 days.
Nutrition
Çitra Kale @Çitra's Home Diary
The cake looks superb.. so festive this up coming fall.
Amanda Mason
Thanks! I hope you find time to make it!!
Debra
This recipe sounds so good! The recipe calls for 2/3 cup shortening, you note that you used melted Crisco. Can canola oil be used, or will it change the texture or taste too much?
Can't wait to try it!
Thanks for sharing.
Amanda Mason
Hi there! I've never made it with Canola oil BUT I think it would turn out just fine!!! Give it a go and let me know how it turns out!! Can't wait to hear!
Leilani
I'm making it with canola oil right now, I believe it'll turn out fine without the melted crisco! Thanks!
Amanda Mason
Yeah - it should. The crisco just adds a ton of moisture. You could also use olive oil. Olive oil cakes are amazing!
Debra
This cake is delicious! I used Canola oil in place of the melted Criso. It turned out fabulous! Will definitely be making this one again.
Amanda Mason
YEAH!! I'm SO glad you liked it!! I'll have to add a note in my recipe card that Canola oil can be used as a substitute! Thanks so much for writing back that you loved it!!
Geet
Hi,
Can i use regular all purpose flour instead of gluten free?
Thanks!
Amanda Mason
Hi there - yes you can! just user 2 cups of flour instead of 2.5.
Amanda
Geet
Great! Planning to make it tomorrow for friends and family to share on Thanksgiving day. Will share the picture and their feedback 😊Thank you!
Michelle
No eggs?
Amanda Mason
Yes - 3 eggs. It's at the bottom of the ingredients in the recipe card.