Apple Cider Donut Cake
Apple Cider Donut Cake is basically everything I love about an apple cider donut, baked into one big Bundt cake. It’s soft and moist with plenty of apple cider and warm cinnamon flavor, then brushed with melted butter and covered in cinnamon sugar. That sugary coating is what really gives it that apple orchard donut feel.
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THIS IS MY APPLE ORCHARD CAKE.
There are certain foods that immediately feel like fall to me, and apple cider donuts are definitely one of them. Give me a warm cider donut covered in cinnamon sugar and a cup of coffee and I am very happy.
So naturally, I wanted all of that in cake form.
The thing I love most about this Apple Cider Donut Cake is that it isn’t just an apple cake with cinnamon sugar sprinkled on top. I start with 3 cups of apple cider and reduce it down to 1 cup, so we’re actually concentrating that apple cider flavor before it ever goes into the batter.
And then there’s the outside. Once the cake has cooled, I brush the whole thing with melted butter and cover it in cinnamon sugar. THAT is the part that makes me think of those warm cider donuts you get at the orchard.
The inside stays soft and moist from the applesauce and oil, while the outside gets that buttery cinnamon-sugar coating. I also add a tablespoon of bourbon when I reduce the cider. It’s not there to make the cake taste like bourbon. I just love what it adds to all those warm fall flavors.
This is the kind of cake I want sitting on the counter on a chilly weekend. No frosting, no decorating, nothing fussy. Just slice it and eat it.
And yes, I absolutely consider a slice with coffee an acceptable breakfast.
I hope you love this one as much as I do!
Why You’ll Love Apple Cider Donut Cake
- Made from scratch: No boxed cake mix here. This cake is made from scratch with apple cider, applesauce, warm spices, and simple baking ingredients.
- Big apple cider flavor: Reducing the apple cider concentrates the flavor before it goes into the batter, so you actually taste the cider in the finished cake.
- That cinnamon-sugar coating: The cake gets brushed with melted butter and coated in cinnamon sugar, giving the outside that classic apple cider donut finish.
- Soft and moist: Applesauce and oil keep the inside of the cake soft and moist, while the cinnamon-sugar coating adds a little texture on the outside.
- Easy gluten-free option: I’ve also made this cake with 1:1 gluten-free flour. Simply swap it for the all-purpose flour using the same amount.
How To Make Apple Cider Donut Cake
- Prep the Bundt pan: Preheat the oven to 325°F and generously coat a Bundt pan with nonstick baking spray. Make sure you get into all of those grooves so the cake releases cleanly.
- Reduce the apple cider: Add the apple cider and bourbon to a medium saucepan. Simmer over medium heat until the mixture has reduced to 1 cup, then remove it from the heat and allow it to partially cool.
- Mix the wet ingredients: In a large mixing bowl, combine the vegetable oil, granulated sugar, brown sugar, eggs, applesauce, reduced apple cider, and vanilla extract.
- Mix the dry ingredients: In a separate bowl, whisk together the all-purpose flour, baking powder, kosher salt, cinnamon, and allspice.
- Make the batter: Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and mix just until everything is incorporated. Don’t keep mixing once you no longer see streaks of flour.
- Bake: Pour the batter into the prepared Bundt pan and spread it evenly. Bake for 55–65 minutes, or until a skewer inserted about halfway into the cake comes out clean.
- Cool and remove from the pan: Let the cake cool in the pan for about 5 minutes, then carefully turn it out onto a wire rack and allow it to cool completely.
- Add the cinnamon-sugar coating: Mix the granulated sugar and cinnamon together. Brush the outside of the cooled cake with melted butter, then sprinkle the cinnamon sugar all over the cake. I like making sure it gets down into all of those Bundt cake grooves too.
How to Reduce Apple Cider
Reducing the apple cider sounds like an extra step, but it’s really just letting the stove do the work.
- Add 3 cups of apple cider and 1 tablespoon of bourbon to a saucepan and simmer over medium heat until you have 1 cup remaining.
- I recommend measuring it rather than trying to judge by how long it has been simmering. Pour it into a heat-safe measuring cup to check. If you still have more than 1 cup, pour it back into the saucepan and keep reducing.
- Let it partially cool before adding it to the cake batter. You don’t want really hot cider going straight into a mixture with raw eggs.
Tips for the Best Apple Cider Donut Cake
- Use apple cider, not apple cider vinegar. They are completely different ingredients. You want the fresh apple cider you find in the refrigerated section or produce area, especially during the fall.
- Don’t skip reducing the cider. Three cups may sound like a lot, but we’re cooking it down to 1 cup. That gives us concentrated cider flavor without putting 3 cups of liquid into a Bundt cake.
- Really grease your Bundt pan. Get the baking spray into every groove. There is nothing worse than making an entire Bundt cake and leaving half of it behind in the pan.
- Don’t overmix the batter. Once you add the flour, mix just until everything comes together. Overmixing can give you a tougher cake instead of the soft texture we’re going for.
- Start checking around 55 minutes. Your original baking range is 55–65 minutes. Bundt pans and ovens can bake a little differently, so use the skewer test rather than relying only on the clock.
- Let the cake cool before adding the topping. If the cake is too warm, the melted butter and cinnamon sugar can turn into more of a wet coating instead of that sugary cider donut finish.
Variations & Substitutions
- Gluten-free: Substitute a 1:1 gluten-free flour for the all-purpose flour using the same amount. This is an alternative, not the base recipe.
- Bourbon: If you don’t want to use bourbon, you can leave it out. I would not replace it with another tablespoon of liquid since it’s such a small amount.
- Oil: I would keep the vegetable oil here rather than switching to melted butter. The oil is part of what gives this cake its soft, moist texture.
- Cinnamon-sugar topping: Don’t be tempted to turn this into a frosted Bundt cake. The melted butter and cinnamon sugar are what give it that apple cider donut feel.
Make Ahead
This is actually a great cake to make ahead because there’s no frosting or filling to worry about. Bake the cake, let it cool completely, and keep it tightly covered until you’re ready to serve it. If I’m making it ahead, I prefer adding the butter and cinnamon-sugar coating closer to serving so the outside keeps more of that sugary texture.
Storage + Freezing
- Storage: Keep the Apple Cider Donut Cake tightly covered at room temperature for a couple of days. For longer storage, refrigerate it in an airtight container.
- Freezing: Let the cake cool completely before freezing. You can freeze the whole cake or individual slices wrapped well and stored in a freezer-safe container. For the best texture, I’d freeze it before adding the butter and cinnamon-sugar coating, then add that after the cake has thawed.
- Serving: This cake is great at room temperature, but I also love a slice just slightly warm. And yes, coffee is basically mandatory.
Apple Cider Donut Cake
Equipment
- Measuring cups/spoons
- Mixing spoon
- Pastry brush
Ingredients
Apple Cider Donut Cake
- 3 1/4 cups all-purpose flour (1:1 gluten-free flour can be substituted)
- 2 tbsp baking powder
- 1 tsp kosher salt
- 1 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1/4 tsp allspice
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 3/4 cup packed light brown sugar
- 3 large eggs (room temperature)
- 1 cup applesauce
- 3 cups apple cider
- 1 tbsp bourbon
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 cup vegetable oil
Cinnamon Sugar Topping
- 3 tbsp unsalted butter (melted)
- 1/4 cup sugar
- 1 tsp ground cinnamon
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 325°F and generously spray a Bundt pan with nonstick baking spray, making sure to coat all of the grooves.
- Add the apple cider and bourbon to a medium saucepan. Simmer over medium heat until reduced to 1 cup. Remove from the heat and allow it to partially cool.
- In a large mixing bowl, add the vegetable oil, granulated sugar, brown sugar, eggs, applesauce, reduced apple cider, and vanilla extract. Mix until combined.
- In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, kosher salt, cinnamon, and allspice.
- Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and mix just until incorporated. Do not overmix.
- Pour the batter into the prepared Bundt pan and spread it evenly.
- Bake for 55–65 minutes, or until a skewer inserted about halfway into the cake comes out clean.
- Allow the cake to cool in the pan for 5 minutes, then carefully turn it out onto a wire rack and cool completely.
- Mix the sugar and cinnamon for the topping in a small bowl.
- Brush the cooled cake with melted butter, then sprinkle the cinnamon sugar over the entire outside of the cake.
- Slice and serve.
Notes
- Apple cider: Use apple cider, not apple cider vinegar. Reduce the 3 cups of cider and bourbon until you have 1 cup remaining before adding it to the batter.
- Applesauce: Don’t leave this out. The recipe uses 1 cup of applesauce, which adds apple flavor and moisture to the cake.
- Gluten-free: To make the cake gluten-free, substitute a 1:1 gluten-free flour for the all-purpose flour using the same amount.
- Bundt pan: Coat the pan really well with baking spray, especially around all of the grooves, to help the cake release cleanly.
- Doneness: The baking range is 55–65 minutes, but Bundt pans and ovens can bake a little differently, so start checking around 55 minutes.
- Cinnamon sugar: Let the cake cool completely before brushing it with melted butter and adding the cinnamon-sugar coating.
- Storage + freezing: Store the cake tightly covered at room temperature for a couple of days or refrigerate for longer storage. The cake can also be frozen once completely cooled.
Nutrition
Frequently Asked Questions
It’s really the combination of reduced apple cider and the buttery cinnamon-sugar coating. Reducing the cider concentrates the apple flavor in the cake, while brushing the outside with melted butter and coating it in cinnamon sugar gives you that classic apple cider donut finish.
This is one step I wouldn’t skip. You start with 3 cups of apple cider and reduce it down to 1 cup, which gives you a much stronger cider flavor without adding too much liquid to the batter.
Don’t worry about reducing it for an exact number of minutes. Go by volume instead. Once the cider has cooked down quite a bit, carefully pour it into a heat-safe measuring cup. You want exactly 1 cup. If you have more, pour it back into the saucepan and continue simmering.
Yes. The recipe only uses 1 tablespoon of bourbon, so you can leave it out. I like the little bit of depth it adds when reduced with the apple cider, but the cake will still have plenty of flavor without it.
I really recommend using apple cider here. It has a deeper, more concentrated apple flavor that works especially well once reduced. Apple juice is generally lighter and sweeter, so you won’t get quite the same cider donut flavor.
Yes. The regular recipe uses all-purpose flour, but you can substitute the same amount of a 1:1 gluten-free flour. No other changes to the recipe are needed.
Bundt pans have a LOT of little grooves, and batter loves finding every one of them. Generously coat the entire inside of the pan with nonstick baking spray before adding the batter. After baking, let the cake rest in the pan for about 5 minutes before carefully turning it onto a wire rack.
Start checking around 55 minutes. Insert a long skewer about halfway into the cake. It should come out clean or with a few moist crumbs, but you don’t want wet batter on it. Depending on your oven and Bundt pan, the cake can take anywhere from 55–65 minutes.
The most likely culprit is overbaking. Start checking the cake at 55 minutes rather than automatically leaving it in for the full 65. Also, once you add the flour, mix only until the batter comes together. The applesauce and oil help keep this cake really moist, so you don’t want to undo all that goodness by overbaking it.
The donut cake was simply delicious!
Very easy recipe
Friends loved it
Definitely recommend and will make again
Which 1:1 GF flour blend did you use?
My go to is bobs red mill or King Arthur. Thank you!