Apple Cider Donut Cake

Apple Cider Donut Cake. A cinnamon-sugar-coated Bundt cake with reduced apple cider in the batter, shaped like a giant cider doughnut. The formula and timing below are working estimates for a future kitchen trial, not a claim that a batch has been made.

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The doughnut finish in cake form

Apple cider donut cake borrows the shape and cinnamon-sugar coating of a cider-mill doughnut, but this version is a single baked Bundt. Reducing nonalcoholic cider first is intended to make the apple note more apparent without pouring two full cups of liquid into the batter.

This is an untested formula for a ten-cup pan. The proposed crumb, pan release and balance of apple flavor to spice need a real bake. Total time includes reduction, baking and cooling rather than calling it a thirty-minute cake.

Measure the cider after reducing

Start with two cups of unfiltered nonalcoholic cider and simmer until the liquid reaches the three-quarter-cup line. Watch the level more than the clock: pot width and heat change evaporation. Let the concentrate cool before it touches the butter and eggs.

Plain full-fat yogurt supplies moisture and acidity. Its half-cup quantity is part of the tested-in-future formula, not permission to pour in extra cider. The finishing butter and cinnamon sugar are measured separately from the batter ingredients to avoid a plain cake photo for a coated recipe.

Ingredients for 12 slices

Step-by-step method

1. Simmer 2 cups unfiltered nonalcoholic apple cider in a small saucepan until it measures 3/4 cup, approximately 20 minutes. Pour into a heatproof measure and cool. Heat oven to 350°F; grease and flour every ridge of a 10-cup Bundt pan.
2. Beat 3/4 cup softened butter with 3/4 cup granulated sugar and 1/2 cup packed brown sugar until lighter. Beat in three eggs one at a time, then 1/2 cup plain yogurt. Whisk 2 1/2 cups flour, 2 tsp baking powder, 1/2 tsp baking soda, 1 1/2 tsp cinnamon and 1/2 tsp salt separately.
3. Add the dry mixture to the butter base in two additions, alternating with the cooled 3/4 cup reduced cider. Mix only until combined. Spread evenly in the prepared pan and bake approximately 50–60 minutes until a skewer into the cake crumb comes out without wet batter.
4. Cool in pan about 15 minutes; invert onto a rack and cool further until warm rather than hot. Brush with 2 tbsp melted butter and distribute a mixture of 1/4 cup granulated sugar and 1 tsp cinnamon over the outside. Cut twelve slices only after the coating settles. Document pan release and actual baked time.

Fill the Bundt pan carefully

Grease and flour the center tube and every ridge. Cream the butter and sugars, add eggs gradually, then alternate dry ingredients and cooled cider. Overmixing after flour goes in can make a tight crumb. The initial batter volume and rise must be checked against a ten-cup pan at the trial.

Bake until a skewer in the crumb has no wet batter. Cool about fifteen minutes in the pan before inverting; leaving it much longer may make release harder, but handling a very hot cake risks tearing it. Country Living illustrates the reduced-cider Bundt and finish; this ratio is not copied.

Make the cinnamon coating visible

Brush the cake with the two measured tablespoons of melted butter while the outside is still slightly warm, then sprinkle on the cinnamon-sugar mixture. A dry, fully cold surface may not hold it; a steaming hot cake may dissolve it. Check adhesion and evenness in the first kitchen run.

If the pan sticks, document preparation, fill level and cooling time before altering the recipe. If cider seems faint, confirm it actually reached three-quarter cup rather than increasing spice reflexively.

Slice and plan ahead

A ridged cake gives twelve proposed slices. Let the coating settle before moving it to a serving plate. The finish may rub off under tight wrapping, so packaging and texture after a day need testing before make-ahead claims are made.

This is a cake, not an apple cider donut instruction or an apple-filled crumb cake. Keep imagery aligned with the measured batter: no chopped apples or glaze are present.

Cider cake questions

Can I skip reducing the cider?

No, not without changing the liquid balance; the recipe calls for 3/4 cup cooled concentrate from 2 cups cider.

What size pan?

The proposed formula uses a 10-cup Bundt pan; verify actual fill during the first bake.

When does the sugar go on?

After the cake comes out, as a buttered cinnamon-sugar finish, not in the pan before baking.

Further reading and related Chefly recipes: Country Living's apple-cider Bundt cake. These are relevant references and other dishes, not evidence that this proposed formula was tested.

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Apple Cider Donut Cake. Category: Cakes. 12 slices. Prep approximately 30 minutes; cooking approximately 80 minutes; additional cooling/chilling approximately 60 minutes; total approximately 170 minutes excluding preheat. Not kitchen-tested; nutrition not calculated.

Ingredients: 2 cups Unfiltered nonalcoholic apple cider; 3/4 cup Unsalted butter, softened, for batter; 3/4 cup Granulated sugar, for batter; 1/2 cup Light brown sugar, packed; 3 eggs Large eggs; 1/2 cup Plain full-fat yogurt; 2 1/2 cups All-purpose flour; 2 teaspoons Baking powder; 1/2 teaspoon Baking soda; 1 1/2 teaspoons Ground cinnamon, for batter; 1/2 teaspoon Fine salt; 2 tablespoons Unsalted butter, melted, for finish; 1/4 cup Granulated sugar, for finish; 1 teaspoon Ground cinnamon, for finish.

Instructions: Simmer 2 cups unfiltered nonalcoholic apple cider in a small saucepan until it measures 3/4 cup, approximately 20 minutes. Pour into a heatproof measure and cool. Heat oven to 350°F; grease and flour every ridge of a 10-cup Bundt pan. Beat 3/4 cup softened butter with 3/4 cup granulated sugar and 1/2 cup packed brown sugar until lighter. Beat in three eggs one at a time, then 1/2 cup plain yogurt. Whisk 2 1/2 cups flour, 2 tsp baking powder, 1/2 tsp baking soda, 1 1/2 tsp cinnamon and 1/2 tsp salt separately. Add the dry mixture to the butter base in two additions, alternating with the cooled 3/4 cup reduced cider. Mix only until combined. Spread evenly in the prepared pan and bake approximately 50–60 minutes until a skewer into the cake crumb comes out without wet batter. Cool in pan about 15 minutes; invert onto a rack and cool further until warm rather than hot. Brush with 2 tbsp melted butter and distribute a mixture of 1/4 cup granulated sugar and 1 tsp cinnamon over the outside. Cut twelve slices only after the coating settles. Document pan release and actual baked time.

Allergens: Wheat; Milk; Egg. Review packaged ingredients and cross-contact before serving.

Apple Cider Donut Cake

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• Author: Ethan Carter
• Total Time: 170 minutes
• Yield: 12 servings 1x

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Description

One 10-cup Bundt cake with apple-cider reduction and a cinnamon-sugar finish.

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Ingredients

Scale 1x2x3x

• 2 cups Unfiltered nonalcoholic apple cider
• 3/4 cup Unsalted butter, softened, for batter
• 3/4 cup Granulated sugar, for batter
• 1/2 cup Light brown sugar, packed
• 3 eggs Large eggs
• 1/2 cup Plain full-fat yogurt
• 2 1/2 cups All-purpose flour
• 2 teaspoons Baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon Baking soda
• 1 1/2 teaspoons Ground cinnamon, for batter
• 1/2 teaspoon Fine salt
• 2 tablespoons Unsalted butter, melted, for finish
• 1/4 cup Granulated sugar, for finish
• 1 teaspoon Ground cinnamon, for finish

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Instructions

1. Simmer 2 cups unfiltered nonalcoholic apple cider in a small saucepan until it measures 3/4 cup, approximately 20 minutes. Pour into a heatproof measure and cool. Heat oven to 350°F; grease and flour every ridge of a 10-cup Bundt pan.
2. Beat 3/4 cup softened butter with 3/4 cup granulated sugar and 1/2 cup packed brown sugar until lighter. Beat in three eggs one at a time, then 1/2 cup plain yogurt. Whisk 2 1/2 cups flour, 2 tsp baking powder, 1/2 tsp baking soda, 1 1/2 tsp cinnamon and 1/2 tsp salt separately.
3. Add the dry mixture to the butter base in two additions, alternating with the cooled 3/4 cup reduced cider. Mix only until combined. Spread evenly in the prepared pan and bake approximately 50–60 minutes until a skewer into the cake crumb comes out without wet batter.
4. Cool in pan about 15 minutes; invert onto a rack and cool further until warm rather than hot. Brush with 2 tbsp melted butter and distribute a mixture of 1/4 cup granulated sugar and 1 tsp cinnamon over the outside. Cut twelve slices only after the coating settles. Document pan release and actual baked time.

Notes

Recipe-development draft; not kitchen-tested. Timing and yield are estimates. Nutrition has not been calculated.

Additional chilling, resting or cooling time: 60 minutes, included in the total.

Untested estimate: reduce cider about 20 minutes, bake 50–60 minutes, cool and coat about 60 minutes; preheat excluded.

• Prep Time: 30 minutes
• Chilling, resting or cooling: 60 minutes
• Cook Time: 80 minutes
• Category: Cakes

Nutrition

• Serving Size: One of twelve slices