Carrot Cake with Cream Cheese Buttercream & Caramel Rum Sauce

Years (and years, and years) ago, my husband and I were at a restaurant where I saw Carrot Cake with Caramel Rum Sauce on the dessert menu. We were young and poor, and dessert was not something we could afford on the rare occasions when we could afford to go out at all. So, we didn't order it.

But the idea of smothering Carrot Cake in Caramel Rum Sauce stuck in my brain and I attempted to make it at home. It was delicious, because..... well, it was cake covered in caramel rum sauce.

I've been making variations of Carrot Cake ever since trying, testing, and tweaking different recipes. THIS recipe is the result.

Why This Recipe Works

• It's crazy moist. I know a lot of you hate that word, but I don't know how better to describe this cake. It's about as far away from dry as you could possibly get.
• It has SO MUCH flavor. The recipe includes ingredients like brown sugar, applesauce, Greek yogurt, cinnamon, and nutmeg to pack every bite with warm, rich, comforting flavor.
• It stays moist and flavorful for days. This cake will keep well in the refrigerator for up to 5 days and at room temperature for up to 3 days.
• The recipe is super versatile: Use it to make an 8-inch two layer cake, a 9 or 10-inch bundt cake, or 24 cupcakes.

Most of the time I slather this cake with cream cheese buttercream. But honestly, the cake is so delicious that I sometimes just serve it naked.

The one thing I ALWAYS do is smother this cake with Caramel Rum Sauce. Because, YUM! Not a fan of rum? Smother your cake with Salted Caramel Sauce instead.

"Made this yesterday for my husband’s birthday cake. A few comments, first and foremost being that it was PERFECT. The last time I made a carrot cake from a scratch it was dry and heavy. This was beautiful and moist, as advertised." - Lucy

4 Tips for Baking the Best Carrot Cake:

#1. Use plain, full-fat yogurt ~ preferably Greek yogurt

The most important thing here is that the yogurt you use is plain and unsweetened. Using sweetened yogurt will make this cake overly sweet and certain kinds of flavored yogurt can contribute a weird aftertaste.

Also, avoid using nonfat yogurt. Nonfat yogurt not only contains fillers and stabilizers that will affect the texture of this carrot cake, it will affect the balance of fat in the cake batter and result in a cake that is less rich and flavorful. Having said that, you can get away with using 2% yogurt in a pinch.

My preference is for Greek Yogurt, because it contains less water than other kinds of yogurt, and there are already plenty of other sources of liquid in this cake batter.

Having said that, you can use regular (non-Greek style) yogurt. Just try to choose a variety that is rich and thick, not thin and watery.

#2. Oil gives carrot cake a fluffy, even crumb, and super tender texture

When compared to butter, cakes baked with oil are loftier, have a more even crumb and stay moist and fresh tasting much longer. So, why don't all cake recipes use oil instead of butter? Because butter adds flavor.

In this cake, we can easily get away with using all oil because there is so much flavor in the other ingredients - yogurt, applesauce, nutmeg, cinnamon, carrots, and vanilla. Not to mention the cream cheese buttercream and caramel rum sauce.

By using oil, we get the best of both worlds: plenty of flavor from the other ingredients and a fluffy, tender texture from using oil. Win, win.

The other great thing about using oil in cakes is that they stay moist and fresh tasting for longer.

• This cake can be stored, frosted or unfrosted, in the refrigerator for up to 5 days, before it begins to taste stale.
• Unfrosted carrot cake can be stored at room temperature for up to 3 days, make sure it's well wrapped or sealed in an air-tight container.
• Once frosted with cream cheese buttercream, the cake should be refrigerated.

#3. Bring eggs, butter, and yogurt to room temperature before making the batter

In most of my cake recipes, including this one, you’ll notice the words “at room temperature” after the butter, eggs, and yogurt.

This is an important instruction because when at room temperature, eggs and dairy form an emulsion that traps air. This is a good thing because all that trapped air expands in the oven, producing a fluffy consistency. 

To bring ingredients to room temperature, you can simply pull the cold ingredients from the refrigerator an hour or two before you want to start baking. But, let's be honest: I never remember to do that and can't expect you to either. 

So, here's how to bring dairy to room temperature quickly so you don't have to wait.

#4. Applesauce adds flavor and makes this cake super duper moist

Just a half cup of applesauce in this carrot cake batter adds a substantial amount of flavor and moisture. Like oil, that extra moisture helps this cake stay moist and fresh tasting for a few days.

In addition, applesauce contributes a bit of acidity to the batter, which balances out the other flavors in the cake and helps create a deliciously tender texture.

#5. Frost with Cream Cheese Buttercream and serve with Salted Caramel Rum Sauce

This is my absolute FAVORITE super simple Cream Cheese Buttercream recipe. It makes a lot, so if you're baking your carrot cake in a bundt pan or as an 8-inch layer cake, you'll probably only need a half recipe.

If you're making cupcakes, and want to get a lovely big dome of frosting on each cupcake, you'll want to make the full recipe.

I am struggling with the words to tell you how good Salted Caramel Rum Sauce is on Carrot Cake. I have never ever served this cake to anyone who didn't love the sauce.

I've even served carrot cake smothered in caramel rum sauce to people who said they don't like carrot cake and then watched them eat every single bite.

Use this one recipe to make 3 different styles of Carrot Cake

This one recipe is the perfect amount of batter for a 9 or 10-inch Bundt pan, two 8-inch cake pans, or 24 cupcakes.

Regardless of how you choose to bake it, it's important to make sure your pans are properly prepared so the cake won't stick. This is a very moist cake, so it's extra important to take a few measures to ensure the cake, or cupcakes, comes out of the pan after baking.

• If baking cupcakes, spray the top of the cupcake pans with a bit of non-stick spray, then line the tins with paper liners. The paper liners will keep the cupcakes from sticking to the inside of the pan. The bit of non-stick spray will prevent the tops of the cupcakes from sticking to the top of the pan. 
• If baking a bunt cake, coat the entire inside of the pan with vegetable shortening (or butter), making sure to get all the nooks and crannies inside the pan. Then shake some flour around inside the pan until the entire inside is coated with a layer of flour.
• If baking a layer cake, grease and flour the inside of the two 8-inch round cake pans AND cover the bottom of the pan with parchment paper. First, coat the inside of the pans with vegetable shortening (or butter), then drop in a round of parchment that's been cut to fit over the bottom of the pan. Coat the parchment paper with shortening, then shake flour around inside the pans to coat. Here's how to prepare cake pans so the cake won't stick.)

More Popular Layer Cake Recipes:

Carrot Cake is a Building Block Recipe

Building block recipes are tried-and-true recipes that I consider foundational to great home baking. They are the kind of recipes I come back to over and over again, sometimes baking them as is, but often using them as a jumping off point to create something new. > Scroll through all Building Block recipes.

If you give this recipe a try, let me know! Scroll down to rate it, leave a comment for me, or take a picture and tag it @ofbatteranddough on Instagram.