My Favorite Carrot Cake Recipe with Cream Cheese Buttercream and Caramel Rum Sauce
This is the BEST Carrot Cake I’ve ever eaten. By far. The recipe is a family favorite that has been tested and perfected over several decades. The cake is delicious enough to be served on its own, but my favorite way to eat it is slathered with Cream Cheese Buttercream & Salted Caramel Rum Sauce.
The recipe instructions include directions for for making a bunt cake, layer cake, or cupcakes.
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.
I made a basic Carrot Cake and stirred some rum into a couple of jars of store bought caramel sauce. And, it was delicious, because….. well, it was cake covered in caramel rum sauce.
I’ve been making variations of carrot cake ever since, trying different Carrot Cake recipes, sometimes icing the cake with cream cheese buttercream and sometimes leaving it naked, always spiking store bought caramel sauce with a very generous amount of rum and pouring it on top. It’s all good.
But, when a friend asked me to make her birthday cake, I decided to up my game. This recipe is the result.
Thanks to the addition of yogurt, applesauce, cinnamon, and nutmeg, this recipe produces a Carrot Cake that’s just about as moist and flavorful as you can get.
I also skipped the store bought caramel sauce and made a batch of from-scratch Salted Caramel Rum Sauce. 100% worth it. It’s smooth and silky and so divine you’ll want to eat it by the spoonful (or pour it into a shot glass!).
Topped with not-too-sweet Cream Cheese Buttercream, this Carrot Cake is rich and decadent and will cause people to swear their undying love if you would just make it for them one more time.
Tips for baking the perfect Carrot Cake:
#1. Use plain, full-fat or 2% Greek yogurt
Accidentally using sweetened yogurt will make this cake overly sweet. Also, avoid using nonfat Greek 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.
#2. For a fluffy, even crumb, and super tender texture, use oil
Like Olive Oil Cake, this carrot cake recipe is oil based, replacing the more traditional butter. 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.
#3. Make sure the eggs, butter, and yogurt are at room temperature
In this Carrot Cake recipe, as in most cake recipes, you’ll notice the words “at room temperature” after the butter, eggs, and yogurt. This is important 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.
Here’s how to bring dairy to room temperature quickly so you don’t have to wait.
#4. Applesauce adds flavor and make this cake super-duper moist
Applesauce and 2 packed cups of shredded carrots contribute so much moisture to this cake. In addition, applesauce also contains acidity, which boosts the flavor and helps create a 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 need a full recipe of buttercream.
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 – even if they weren’t carrot cake or cream cheese buttercream fans. (Yes, I know. How can anyone not be carrot cake or cream cheese buttercream fans? I don’t know, but they exist. Poor dears.)
Regardless, they say things like, “This cake doesn’t need the cream cheese buttercream. It just needs more caramel rum sauce.” OR, “Just give me a bowl of the caramel rum sauce.”
More of my Favorite Cake Recipes:
Coconut Cream Cake
This coconut cake is light, tender, and exceptionally soft and fluffy. Filled with a super thick layer of coconut cream and covered in coconut buttercream, every bite is so rich and creamy it practically melts in your mouth.
Banana Cream Cake with Cream Cheese Buttercream
The best banana cake I've ever eaten, filled with banana pastry cream and covered in cream cheese buttercream. Just like Coconut Cream Cake, this cake is soft, buttery, tender, creamy and dreamy.
The Most Flavorful Vanilla Cake Recipe
If you’re looking for a go-to vanilla cake recipe for wedding cakes, birthday cakes, shower cakes, anniversary cakes, or just because cakes, that will have everyone who tastes it coming back for more, this is it.
Lemon Blackberry Layer Cake
Layer after layer of buttery yellow cake doused in limoncello are stacked tall, separated with lemon curd, and iced with Blackberry Italian Meringue Buttercream. This cake is spring on a plate and as delicious as it is impressive.
Intensely Flavorful, Super Moist Spice Cake
This is my idea of the perfect Spice Cake. It's super moist and packed with the rich flavors of cinnamon, cardamom, allspice, cloves, nutmeg, and ginger. Dark brown sugar, applesauce, yogurt and plenty of vanilla add even MORE flavor, while also keeping it moist and extremely tender.
Champagne Cake with Champagne Italian Meringue Buttercream
This delicate, moist Champagne Cake is packed with flavor, filled with strawberries, & iced with Champagne Italian Meringue Buttercream. It’s the perfect celebration cake.
Funfetti Cake or Cupcakes {All-Butter Recipe}
Don’t let the sprinkles fool you. This moist and tender all-butter Funfetti Cake is more than just a pretty face with a party attitude. For all it’s lighthearted whimsy, this is one of the most seriously delicious cakes I’ve ever eaten.
Devil's Food Cake
This sinfully dark chocolate Devil's Food Cake is so obscenely rich and fudgy that it elevates chocolate cake to a whole new level of decadence. Being bad never felt so good.
Red Velvet Cake or Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Buttercream & Ganache
Buttery three-layer Red Velvet Cake or Red Velvet Cupcakes, slathered with Perfect Cream Cheese Buttercream and drizzled with Chocolate Ganache. This recipe creates super fluffy and tender cake, with just the right amount of chocolate flavor and red color.
Bananas Foster Butter Cake ~ St. Louis Gooey Butter Cake
This Bananas Foster Butter Cake is basically St. Louis Gooey Butter Cake topped with Bananas Foster Sauce. If you’ve never had St. Louis Gooey Butter Cake, you’re in for a treat. It’s a dense, yeast-risen cake topped with a layer of ooey-gooey butter and brown sugar deliciousness. Topped with bananas foster sauce and a scoop of vanilla ice cream takes it over the top.
{Note} Carrot Cake is a Building Block Recipe. Building Blocks are tried-and-true recipes that I find myself coming back to time and time again, sometimes to make them exactly as is, and sometimes as a starting point for something new. -> More Building Block Recipes.
If you give this recipe a try, let me know! Leave a comment, rate it, or take a picture and tag it #ofbatteranddough on Instagram.
The BEST Carrot Cake - Layer Cake, Bundt Cake, or Cupcakes
This is by far the BEST Carrot Cake I've ever eaten. The recipe is a family favorite that has been tested and perfected over several decades. The cake is delicious enough to be served on its own, but my favorite way to eat it is slathered with Cream Cheese Buttercream & Salted Caramel Rum Sauce.
The instructions include directions for for making a bunt cake, layer cake, or cupcakes.
If you give this recipe a try, let me know! Scroll down to rate this recipe and leave a comment for me!
Ingredients
- 1 cup (200g) granulated sugar
- 1 cup (200g) brown sugar
- 1/2 cup (125ml) vegetable oil
- 1/2 cup (125g) unsweetened applesauce
- 1/4 cup (59 ml) whole or 2% milk - OR plain Greek yogurt
- 2 tsp (9.8ml) pure vanilla extract
- 4 eggs + 1 egg yolk, at room temperature
- 2 cups (240g) all-purpose flour
- 3/4 tsp (4.5g) salt
- 1 1/2 tsp (6g) baking powder
- 1 1/2 tsp (7.2) baking soda
- 2 tsp (5.28g) ground cinnamon
- 1/2 tsp (1.18g) ground nutmeg
- 2 cups (220g) grated carrots (pack the carrots gently into the measuring cup so you have a generous 2 cups of carrots)
For Serving (Optional, but highly recommended!):
- Perfect Cream Cheese Buttercream (*See note.)
- Caramel Rum Sauce
Instructions
- Grease and flour a 9 or 10-inch Bundt pan. OR, line the bottom of two 8-inch cake pans with parchment paper and grease and flour the pans. OR, set 24 paper cupcake liners in two 12-cup cupcake pans. (Here's how to prepare cake pans so the cake won't stick.)
- If baking a bundt cake or cupcakes, preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (176 degrees C). If baking two 8-inch layers, preheat the oven to 325 degrees F (162 degrees C).
- Beat the sugars, vegetable oil, and applesauce with an electric mixer for 1-2 minutes, until well combined. (You can also mix by hand using a wire whisk),
- Add the yogurt, vanilla, eggs, and egg yolk and mix until slightly lightened - about 1 minute on medium speed.
- In a separate bowl, stir the flour, salt, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon and nutmeg with a wire whisk until well combined.
- Add the flour mixture into the wet ingredients and mix on low just until combined - about 1 minute. (If mixing by hand, stir with a wooden spoon.)
- Stir in the grated carrots. Pour the batter into the prepared pan(s).
- If baking a bundt cake, bake for about 50 minutes. If baking cupcakes, bake for 22-25 minutes. If baking two 8-inch layers, bake for 45-50 minutes. To test for doneness, insert a toothpick in the center of the cake or into one of the cupcakes. It will have some cake crumbs stuck to it, but not raw batter.
- Let cool in the pan for 5 minutes and then invert cake (s) onto a wire rack to cool completely. If making cupcakes, let them cool in the cupcake tin before removing.
- To Serve: Frost completely cooled cake or cupcakes with Cream Cheese Buttercream. Serve with generous amounts of Caramel Rum Sauce.
Notes
How much Cream Cheese Buttercream do you need for each kind of cake?
- If frosting a bundt cake OR filling and frosting a 8-inch two-layer cake, you'll only need a half recipe of Cream Cheese Buttercream.
- If topping 24 cupcakes with a generous amount of Cream Cheese Buttercream, you'll need the full recipe.
Can this cake be made ahead of time?
Yes! The cake can be stored, frosted or unfrosted, in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. If storing unfrosted cake, make sure it's well wrapped or sealed in an air-tight container. Set frosted cake or cupcakes in a covered container, or cover loosly with plastic wrap.
This cake can be frozen, unfrosted, for up to 3 months. Wrap the cake tightly in a layer of plastic wrap and another layer of aluminum foil before freezing.
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Nutrition Information:
Yield: 12 Serving Size: 1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 325Total Fat: 11gSaturated Fat: 1gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 9gCholesterol: 78mgSodium: 409mgCarbohydrates: 52gFiber: 1gSugar: 34gProtein: 5g
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Is it okay to bake this in cake pans, instead of bundt pan?
Absolutely! This recipe should give you enough batter for two 8-inch layers. Let me know if you have any more questions! xo
I’ve never baked carrot cake, but after reading this recipe I think I must give it a try.
Yeeessss! You must. 🙂 Please let me know what you think. xo
Hi. How much Caramel sauce does this yield. You mention using a jar of Caramel sauce and adding the rum.
What size is the jar of Caramel sauce?
Thank you
Hi there! The homemade caramel rum sauce recipe makes about 3 cups of sauce – which really is more than you’ll need for one carrot cake. I think you’d be fine with a 12 ounce jar of purchased caramel sauce. Add about 1/4 of rum to the sauce and taste it to see what you think. If you want a stronger rum flavor, just keep adding more until you have enough. Please let me know if you have any more questions and I’d love to know what you think of this cake after you bake it! xo
If I make the Carmel sauce several hours before serving should I keep it in the fridge and if so is it still soft enough to pour on the cake? Do you recommend warming up the Carmel sauce before serving? Thanks!
Hi Jen! It’s been a couple of days since you left this comment, (so sorry! My husband and I were traveling this weekend.) so by now you’ve probably answered your own question. But, yes – keep the caramel sauce in the refrigerator until ready to serve. I usually like to warm mine slightly before serving, simply because it makes drizzling it slightly easier. But, you certainly don’t have to. How did the cake come out? xo
The texture of this cake isn’t the only perfection here… that caramel rum sauce makes this a showstopper! Can’t wait to make this again to impress my friends for Thanksgiving. It was so good! They’re going to be blown away.
So happy to hear that you liked this cake Candice! As many times as I’ve made this over the years, I’ve never thought to make it for Thanksgiving. I don’t know why because my family would be THRILLED. 🙂 Thanks for taking the time to leave a comment for me! xo
Carrot cake is my absolute favourite dessert. I request it every year for my birthday. And just when I thought carrot cake couldn’t get any better with its wonderful texture and frosting, you add caramel rum sauce! I’m in heaven just looking at your photos!
That picture of the rum caramel sauce dripping down the cake is completely mouthwatering! I can’t wait to devour a slice (or two, let’s be honest!) of this cake!
Omgosh obsessed with this caramel rum sauce! Suuuuch a good idea. And carrot cake is always a fave of mine.
I’m pretty sure that caramel rum sauce is calling my name 🙂 What a great combination of flavors you’ve created. Just in time for fall parties!
Have you ever made this in the microwave? I’d like to bake individual cakes in mason jars.
Hi Cinwin! I’ve never tried baking this cake in the microwave… honestly, I’ve never baked any kind of cake in the microwave. 🙂 But, if you try it, will you please let me know how it goes? I’m super curious now! ❤️
I love this cheesecake Rebecca! I’ve made the bundt version twice this week! For my son-in-law’s birthday and again today to share with neighbors. The cake is moist and the cream cheese buttercream is amazing! My 8 year old grandson asked what the sauce was. When I described rum to him, he decided he would not like it. But later he said it was delicious and when it cooks the alcohol goes out. Needless to say it was a hit with all ages. Tonight I’m sharing it with neighbors who worked a volunteer event all day. A welcome treat, I’m sure!
Oops, was also checking out your cheesecake recipes! This should read Carrot Cake!
Cheesecake, carrot cake, it’s aaaaallllll good. 🙂
I am so happy to hear this Barb! This is one of my favorite recipes as well. I’ve been making it for years and it’s one of the cakes my family requests the most often – especially with the caramel rum sauce! Your family and neighbors are lucky to have you making it for them! Thank you so much for taking the time to leave a comment for me. I appreciate it so much!
I stumbled across your site while searching for carrot cake recipes and decided to make this cake with the cream cheese frosting and caramel sauce as well.
Holy. Moly. !!! I didn’t think I liked carrot cake OR cream cheese frosting – safe to say I’m a convert now! It was also a huge hit with my parents for Easter. I am in love with all 3 recipes. Not just the end results (which are delicious) but how detailed and helpful all the instructions are as well. And I feel like I learn something about baking with each new recipe of yours that I read! I am so grateful to have found your site and fantastic recipes. This cake was truly delicious and will definitely be made again.
I didn’t have rum on hand for the caramel sauce but will make it with that next time (when I’m more prepared!). I made it as a 3-layer cake using 6” pans. I mixed some of the caramel in with the frosting for an extra pop of caramel flavor and sprinkled some chopped pecans on top of the finished cake. It was divine!
I just wanted to thank you so much for taking the time to share your wonderful recipes in such a detailed, thorough, and fun way to follow. I can’t wait to try more!!!
Caitlin! I can’t even tell you how happy this comment makes me. Seriously. You made my whole week. ♥️ I love that you added caramel sauce to the frosting and added chopped pecans. Really great idea that I might be stealing the next time I make this. Please let me know if you ever have any questions about any of the recipes you find on here. I love to connect with other home bakers. Thank you again! xo
Hi – Looks delish, I’m going to attempt it this weekend! Is it 2 or 3 8inc cake pans? The picture looks like 3 and it calls for 3 in the “needed” list, but then it also says 2 pans further down. Thank you!
Hi Kristin! I am so happy you’re going to try this cake! It’s seriously one of my all-time favorite recipes and I can’t wait to hear what you think. So sorry for the confusion with the number of pans. You can bake this in two or three layers bu I almost always bake it in two. I don’t know why I listed three pans in the list above the recipe (🤦🏻♀️) but I’m changing that now. So sorry! Please let me know if you have any more questions! xoxo
Carrot cake is my kids’ favorite dessert. Rum is my favorite booze. It’s a win-win. Love this recipe so much!
A little cake for you, a little rum for me… defiantly a win-win situation. 🙂
OMG I love how you made all the different pans and sizes! This is a fantastic recipe and I completely agree about that caramel rum sauce, how can anything not be amazing with it!!
Other than this cake coming out absolutely gorgeous, I do have to say that you are going to want to drink that caramel rum sauce… it’s SO good! Thank you for the great recipe!
Carrot cake is my favorite. I think yours is one of the most glorious carrot cakes aI have ever seen! I love that you have the caramel rum sauce. Pinned and bookmarked, I am making it this weekend as a treat, we all need it right now. It will be glorious! Thank you!
This carrot cake is truly fabulous! The rum sauce really gave it something special, and it had the perfect moisture and spice level. Definitely worth putting on your baking list!
I can’t decided if I want to make a whole cake or cupcakes. I may just have to try both! This cake is fantastic and your photos are so drool-worthy. I hope mine turns out as beautiful as yours! I’m even going to use carrots from my veggie garden!
I literally sat here for 10 minutes drooling over your pictures before I posted a comment. Not only are your photos outstanding but this recipe is AMAZING! And that rum sauce… HELLO HEAVEN! Thank you so much for sharing!
I would love to have a slice right now! This is my favorite cake and I can eat it any day of the week! Saving the recipe!
What an impressive carrot cake recipe! That caramel rum sauce has me drooling! This is so perfect for fall!
I wantd a new twist for carrot cake and this recipe was the hit. We loved the texture of the cake, moist nd tender. The rum sauce is the perfect topping for the cake.
Hi,
This recipe looks AMAZING! I want to make it for my boyfriend’s birthday in a couple weeks. He loves raisins and nuts in carrot cake. Could I add these to this recipe and if I do, what amounts should I add and will I need to alter the amount of any other ingredients, cooking time, or anything else?
Thank you!
Hi Christina! Your boyfriend is lucky to have you! You could absolutely add raisins and nuts to this cake. I’d star with about a cup and a half of each. Fold them into the batter at the very end and then sprinkle in a few more if you think it looks a bit sparse. How much you add is really just a matter of taste and shouldn’t affect the batter unless you were to add a super crazy amount. 🙂 With the added nuts and raisins, the bake time might be slightly longer, so just pay attention to the cake at the end of baking and be prepared to let it bake for another few minutes if it’s not done in time. Please let me know if you have any other questions! And, I’d love to hear what you and your boyfriend think of this cake after you make it! xo
I am not usually a fan of carrot cake, but oh my yum. I decided to make them because they were the monthly bake challenge and I’ve never made them before. I’m so glad I decided to because they were delicious and a definite crowd pleaser. The caramel rum sauce was amazing and put the carrot cake over the top. I have leftover caramel rum sauce that I’m going to dipping some apples into!!
I am so happy to hear that you liked this recipe, Kelly! Especially since you’re not normally a carrot cake fan! Dipping apples into caramel rum sauce sounds so good that I’m tempted to ditch my Monday morning agenda and make some caramel. 😋 Thank you so much for taking the time to leave a comment. And, thank you for participating in the Bake Club! xo
Cake and frosting were delicious!
I’m so happy to hear that Rose! Thank you so much for taking the time to leave a comment! I truly appreciate it! xo
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. Second, I wanted to add a little local flare so instead of vegetable oil I used a meyer lemon olive oil I get from a shop in my town. It made the cake bright and ever so subtly, citrusy. Loved it. Third, my husband doesn’t like super rich sweets so I decided to try using your marscapone cream recipe for icing instead of cream cheese. I did the two rounds and spread like you have in the pic; on top, in between and thinly around the sides. I just made it vanilla instead of lemon.
My question: this all turned out beautifully but since the custard is more gooey than cream cheese, it got slightly melty. Do you have any recommendations for keeping it a little stiffer? Would I use more gelatin? Or cornstarch?
This was the first time I’ve used your recipes and they were so easy to follow and such a hit!! Thank you!!
Hi Lucy! I am so happy to hear that you and your husband liked this recipe! I’ll bet this cake was delicious with mascarpone cream, but I can totally understand why the pastry cream didn’t work out super well as a frosting. I’ve had several people ask if they could use pastry cream as an icing, but I just don’t see a way to make it work out well. The great thing about pastry cream, and why so many of us love it, is that it’s rich and creamy without being too sweet. Anything you might do to make it stiffer would change those qualities and defeat the purpose. Pastry cream makes a fabulous filling for cakes, but not such a great icing.
I do have another suggestion for you, though! Have you ever made Italian Meringue Buttercream? Like your husband, I don’t like sweet frosting, but I LOVE Italian Meringue Buttercream. In fact, I’ve been making it for decades and have never had anyone tell me they didn’t love it.
Warning – you might look at the recipe and think it’s super complicated, but trust me, it’s really not. I’ve included a lot of information to account for every little thing that might go wrong and how to fix it because I SO want everyone to have success with this buttercream. 🙂 Just read through all the instructions before you make it. For most people, especially those who don’t typically like frosting, they make it once and then never go back to any other kind of buttercream.
I hope that helps! Please let me know if you ever have any other questions! Also, the next time I make this carrot cake I am totally going to use lemon olive oil! What a delicious idea! xo