Apple Cider Donut Cake

Gooey apple cider doughnut cake takes all the flavors you love from an apple cider doughnut and packs it into a fluffy bundt cake perfect for sharing. This doughnut cake is a delicious yellow cake packed full of apple cider flavor then topped with yummy cinnamon sugar. Delicious!

 

One of the things I miss from living in Ohio is the annual trip to the apple orchard, it was our perfect way to celebrate the start of fall.

There were so many orchards there and they all seemed to have their own spin on the BEST apple cider doughnut. After walking through the orchard tasting fresh apples, we’d gobble up a warm doughnut and a glass of cider which was of course the best part. (Sometimes my friend would even share her infamous Apple Butter with me too after the reip.)

This fluffy cake brings all that delicious and warm apple cider doughnuts into one buttery moist cake. Top it all with delicious cinnamon sugar and this cake is just made to share. I think this delicious cake tastes even better the next day. Serve it with your own easy apple cider float at home!

Why We Love Apple Cider Cake

• Tastes JUST like a fluffy apple cider doughnut fresh from the apple orchard.
• Makes a really impressive dessert to bring to a party or share with family and friends. Perfect dessert for a party, or a holiday like Thanksgiving.
• Fall flavors run strong in this cake with a gooey cinnamon sugar topping. This is the BEST fall cake!
• This is one tasty doughnut! This apple cider bundt cake is a twist on fun a regular bundt cake.

Ingredients For Apple Cider Cake

• yellow cake mix- I used Betty Crocker yellow cake mix, but any standard size boxed yellow cake mix can be used with this recipe for the dry ingredients. You can also use a pumpkin spice cake mix or white cake mix.
• apple cider– Somtimes this is the hardest ingredient to find! When apple cider is not available I’ve found that Simply Apple brand apple juice tastes really close to apple cider I drank at the orchard, and makes a good subsitute. Cold pressed apple juice is another great option, which I usually see at sprouts or sometimes at bars. Apple juice from concentrate usually won’t give you quite enough apple flavor.
• applesauce– I prefer unsweetened, but sweetened can be used. You could also substitute sour cream for the applesauce, but applesauce does give the cake a little more apple flavor. Homemade applesauce can also be used if you prefer.
• eggs
• butter – melted
• brown sugar
• vanilla

Cinnamon Sugar Topping:

• butter – melted, use a salted butter for this recipe or add a pinch of salt if the butter is unsalted
• sugar – white sugar
• cinnamon

How To Make An Apple Cider Doughnut Cake

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Use a baking release spray or grease and flour a bundt pan. A 10 or 12 cup bundt pan can be used for this recipe. When you use a 12 cup bundt pan the pan won’t fill all the way with cake batter. When you remove the cake from the bundt pan it will be just fine.
2. In a large bowl with a rubber spatula or with an electric mixer combine cake mix, apple cider, apple sauce, eggs, and melted butter.
3. Add brown sugar and vanilla and mix again well until the wet ingredients are combined. Pour batter into the bundt pan.

4. Bake for 40-50 minutes. Once finished baking prick the cake with a toothpick. When finished baking the toothpick should come out clean. My cake was done at 45 minutes, but ovens can vary. It’s ok if yours takes a little shorter or longer.

5. Remove from the oven and let cool on a cooling rack for 15 minutes.
6. After 15 minutes, turn the bundt pan over onto a cooling rack or parchment paper. As the cake cools, it pulls in on itself and away from the pan. Letting the cake cool will mean it can come out of the pan a little easier. The cake will also be more fragile and allowing the cake to cool will mean it is less likely to crack as you remove it from the pan. After removing the cake from the pan allow it to finish cooling completely.

Adding The Cinnamon Sugar Topping

1. Mix together the cinnamon and sugar in a small bowl. Brush melted butter over the entire cake.

2. Work quickly and sprinkle cinnamon and sugar topping on top of the cake and on the sides of cake. The sides can be a bit trickier to encourage the cinnamon sugar to stick. I found using clean hands to place the cinnamon sugar on the side of the cake was easiest for me to get it to stick.

Apple Cider Cake Variations

When you go to an apple orchard in the fall you’ll sometimes find really elaborate versions of apple cider doughnuts. You can make some of the same variations with your cake right at home!

Make sure the apple cider doughnut cake is completely cool before adding any toppings. Drizzles, powdered sugar, and glazes will literally melt right off the cake if you try to add them to a warm cake. You can place the cake in the refrigerator to help speed up the process.

Powdered Sugar– Instead of coating the cake in cinnamon and sugar try coating the entire cake generously in powdered sugar. To add powdered sugar to a cake, use a flour sifter or fine mesh strainer. (I’ve even used the mesh on my splatter screen in a pinch.) Putting the sugar through the sifter as you add it to the cake helps to keep the powdered sugar even on the cake. This keeps the powdered sugar as a dusting of sugar without large clumps of white powdered sugar in any one spot. This video shows you how to dust a bundt cake with powdered sugar.

Chocolate Drizzle– Many apple orchards also drizzle apple cider donuts with warm, gooey chocolate on top. You can easily do the same with this apple cider cake. Make a quick microwaved chocolate ganache to drizzle over the entire cake. I find it is easiest to make the ganache and then let it cool for at 10-15 minutes on the counter.

Once the ganache has cooled a little add it to a frosting bag or a zip-top bag. Snip the corner of the bag and drizzle the chocolate over the cake. Chopped peanuts or pecans can also be added on top of the chocolate drizzle.

Apple Cider Glaze– An apple cider glaze can also be drizzled over the top of the entire cake. To make a glaze whisk together 1/4 cup of apple cider, one cup of powdered sugar, and a tablespoon of melted butter together. Drizzle over the cake once the cake is completely cool.

How Do I Get My Cake Out Of The Bundt Pan?

Bundt pans can sometimes be a little tricky to remove the cake. Have no fear, these tips will help you remove the doughnut cake easily.

How To Grease A Bundt Pan Well (And Right!)

I recommend a baking-specific spray when baking with a bundt pan. I love this spray from Wilton and I also like this spray from Pam. Bakers spray usually includes flour in the spray, and the mixture is different from a cooking spray oil. When using a baker’s specific spray, the cake releases super easily as long as the pan is well coated.

If you don’t have a baker’s spray you can use I recommend oiling and flouring the pan. This article explains how to grease and flour a bundt pan.

Bundt pans have beautiful and sometimes intricate designs that make will make a pretty beautiful doughnut cake! All of those swirls and folds can cause the cake to sometimes get stuck if you don’t grease the pan with a baking spray or grease and flour the pan. I really don’t recommend using a standard spray cooking oil that’s not designed for baking for a bundt pan. If your pan has a lot of these swirls and folds as the cake can sometimes be hard to release.

Turn The Cake Upside Down And Give It A Whack

Sometimes placing the cake upside down and letting gravity work for a few minutes is all it takes to slide the cake out of the pan. If that’s not working, I will also sometimes give the pan a little bit of a whack to help it slide out of the pan. Carefully running a thin knife around the edges (like a frosting knife) and sometimes help a stubborn cake to release.

Hide Imperfections For A Beautiful Cake

If your cake doesn’t come out of the pan perfectly, don’t panic! We coat this doughnut cake in a cinnamon-sugar coating once cool that will help the finished presentation to be beautiful!