Apple Cider Bundt Cake Recipe
Apple Cider Donut Cake combines easy ingredients with apple sauce, shredded apples, and apple cider to create a tasty seasonal Bundt cake! Cover it with a cinnamon-sugar topping or a sweet apple cider glaze!
You Will Love This Apple Cider Donut Cake Recipe!
Apple Cider Donut Cake is an easy way to get a taste of that delicious seasonal flavor we all crave once Autumn rolls around! This soft, tender, deep golden brown cake would pair lovely with a warm cup of tea or coffee for breakfast, as a snack to hold you over before dinner, or to have around the kitchen to enjoy during a cool, crisp weekend!
When we do our annual trip to our local apple orchard, we always snag a gallon of fresh apple cider and some extra apples to have on hand to make up this treat! When we get home, it takes just 15 minutes to prep before popping it in the oven, ensuring we can enjoy a warm slice after dinner!
Why This Apple Cider Donut Cake Works
- Topping! Sprinkle on a cinnamon-sugar topping, or drizzle the apple cider glaze over the top! You choose how you want to enjoy this Apple Cider Donut Cake!
- Apple Flavor! The combination of freshly shredded apples, apple cider, and applesauce really works well together in this recipe to bring out the best-tasting apple flavor!
- Choose Your Apples! You get to choose your favorite baking apples to use in this recipe!
- Serves A Crowd! This Apple Cider Donut Cake makes 16 delicious servings! This means it’s great to bring into the office, to harvest parties or even holidays!
Apple Cider Bundt Cake Recipe Ingredients
This Apple Cider Donut Cake Recipe starts with common pantry ingredients such as:
- all-purpose flour
- baking powder
- baking soda
- ground cinnamon
- ground nutmeg
- salt
- light brown sugar
- granulated sugar
- olive oil
- eggs
- vanilla extract.
- It then pairs them with coarsely shredded apples, apple cider, and applesauce to give this cake its mouthwatering apple flavoring!
I enjoy using tart apples in baked goods, so I tend to reach for Granny Smith Apples. But you could also use Braeburn, Honeycrisp, or Macintosh apples.
While the cake cools you’ll prepare the sweet cinnamon sugar topping that’s made of ground cinnamon and granulated sugar. The cake will then get brushed with melted butter before sprinkling on the topping!
You could also swap the cinnamon sugar topping out for a sweet apple-flavored glaze! For this, you would just need powdered sugar and apple cider
Apple Cider Cake Variations
- What Can I Use Instead Of Olive Oil? You can substitute olive oil for vegetable oil, canola oil, or even melted butter.
- Can I Use White Sugar Instead Of Light Brown Sugar? It will slightly change the texture of the Apple Cider Donut Cake, but you definitely can. It will still be incredibly delicious either way!
- Could I Use Whole Wheat Flour In This Recipe? Yes, you can. I would recommend only substituting up to one cup of whole wheat flour and still using 2 cups of all-purpose flour. If the entire recipe used whole wheat flour, the texture of the cake would be off.
- Can I Make This Apple Cider Donut Cake Without Apples? You sure can! Just add an additional 1/3 cup of applesauce to the recipe. Bringing the total amount of applesauce up to one full cup.
- What Can I Use Instead Of Apple Cider? If you’re in a pinch and don’t have any apple cider on hand, you can use unsweetened apple juice.
How To Make Apple Cider Donut Bundt Cake
- Whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt.
- Whisk the apple cider, applesauce, brown sugar, white sugar, olive oil, eggs, and vanilla together in a separate bowl. Then, stir in the shredded apple.
- Pour the apple cider mixture into the flour mixture and stir until just combined. Transfer the batter to a greased Bundt pan.
- Bake until the top of the cake bounces back when lightly pressed. Then, cool the cake in the pan before removing it from the pan to place on a wire cooling rack.
- Prepare the cinnamon sugar by mixing together the sugar and ground cinnamon.
- Brush the cake with melted butter, then sprinkle the cinnamon-sugar mixture on top. Pressing the cinnamon sugar into the cake to help it stick to the sides of the cake.
Apple Cider Cake Glaze
- 2 cups of powdered sugar
- 3 tablespoons of apple cider
If you want a thinner glaze, you can add more apple cider. For a thicker glaze, you can decrease the amount of apple cider used.
How To Store Apple Cider Donut Cake
Store this Apple Cider Donut Cake covered at room temperature and enjoy it within 2 to 3 days.
Apple Cider Donut Cake Recipe FAQs
Apple cider adds flavor and moisture to this cake.
Most apple cider donuts use all apple cider for the liquid instead of milk.
This recipe is made with olive oil and apple cider which yields a moist and tender cake.
More Apple Recipes To Try
When the air starts cooling down, you can find me gathering up all of my favorite apple-flavored dessert recipes like this Apple Cider Donut Cake! Check out more of my favorite apple desserts that you may love as much as this one!
- The Best Homemade Apple Pie – Deliciously spiced homemade apple pie filling gets tucked inside a flaky pie crust and then baked to perfection in under an hour!
- Apple Cheesecake Bars – Shortbread crust gets layered with creamy cheesecake, cinnamon apples, and a sweet oatmeal crumble topping!
- Dutch Apple Pie – Granny Smith apples get sweetened up and covered in warm spices, put into a flaky pie crust, and then finished off with a 4-ingredient streusel topping!
- Apple Dump Cake – Only 4 ingredients make up this incredible fall dessert that tastes like a cross between apple cake and apple crisp!
- Caramel Apple Pie Dip – Luscious chunks of apples are covered in brown sugar and caramel sauce, made on the stovetop, and ready to devour in just 15 minutes!
Searching for more fun and tasty fall recipes? Check out my classic Apple Crisp recipe or this Pumpkin Bundt Cake with Brown Sugar Icing!
Let’s Connect!
If you’ve tried this recipe, please let me know how you liked it in the comments below and leave a review. I love hearing from you!
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Apple Cider Donut Bundt Cake
Ingredients
Cake
- 3 cups all-purpose flour
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon ground nutmeg
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 cup apple cider
- ⅔ cup applesauce
- ¾ cup light brown sugar packed
- ¾ cup granulated sugar
- ¾ cup olive oil or vegetable oil
- 1 apple coarsely shredded
- 3 large eggs room temperature
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
Cinnamon Sugar Topping
- 3 tablespoons salted butter melted
- ¼ cup granulated sugar
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F. Grease and flour a 12-cup Bundt pan – I used PAM Baking spray but you could also grease and flour it.
- In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt.
- In a separate large bowl, whisk together the apple cider, apple sauce, brown sugar, white sugar, olive oil, eggs, and vanilla. Add, then stir in the shredded apple.
- Then add the apple cider mixture to the flour mixture. Stir until just combined. (When you don’t see any more flour, stop – do not overmix). Pour the batter into the prepared pan.
- Bake for 50 minutes. The top should bounce back when lightly pressed.
- Allow the cake to cool in the pan for 20 minutes, then remove from the pan.
- Mix together the ¼ cup sugar and 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon to create cinnamon sugar.
- Brush the cake with melted butter and sprinkle on the cinnamon-sugar mixture. You may need to press the cinnamon-sugar onto the cake to help it stick on the sides.
Video
Notes
- How To Store: Store this Apple Cider Donut Cake covered at room temperature and enjoy it within 2 to 3 days.
- Optional Apple Cider Glaze – If you want a thinner glaze you can add more apple cider. For a thicker glaze, you can just decrease the amount of apple cider used.
- 2 cups of powdered sugar
- 3 tablespoons apple cider
- What Can I Use Instead Of Olive Oil? You can substitute olive oil for vegetable oil, canola oil, or even melted butter.
- Can I Use White Sugar Instead Of Light Brown Sugar? It will slightly change the texture of the Apple Cider Donut Cake but you definitely can. It will still be incredibly delicious either way.
- Could I Use Whole Wheat Flour In This Recipe? Yes, you can. I would recommend only substituting up to one cup of whole wheat flour and still using 2 cups of all-purpose flour. If the entire recipe used whole wheat flour the texture of the cake would be off.
- Can I Make This Apple Cider Donut Cake Without Apples? You sure can! Just add an additional 1/3 cup of applesauce to the recipe. Bringing the total amount of applesauce up to one full cup.
- What Can I Use Instead Of Apple Cider? If you’re in a pinch and don’t have any apple cider on hand you can use unsweetened apple juice.
Nutrition
Did You Make This Recipe?
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The moisture level in this was on point! I love the pieces of apple as it gives it some variety in texture. I will be making this again and again!
This was a big hit! Super moist and full of flavor. The directions were very easy to follow which made it an enjoyable cake to make. Several people asked for the recipe.