Become a Member for as little as $4/mo and enjoy unlimited reading of TSLL blog.
Apple cider abounds this time of year, and with its warm, spice flavor, everything it infuses tastes of fall. Cozy, moreish, and aching for a rainy day to just snuggle in and nosh on something delicious.
A couple of weeks ago, the NY Times Cooking’s section included a recipe for baked apple cider donuts. Seeing ‘baked’ (to my mind, no mess, and a bit healthier), and the apple cider, I knew I wanted to give it a try.
And I am so glad I did.
Making a reduced portion (halving the recipe) as I didn’t want donuts coming out of my ears, but still wanted to treat myself, I also decided to pour the entire bowl of batter into a mini bundt cake pan, really a savarin pan that I picked up in Paris. The perfect size for this amount of batter, I just then had to remember to bake it a bit longer than I would for the donuts. Essentially, one large donut!
Well, this recipe couldn’t be easier. Making sure the butter is at room temperature will make the creaming easy as ever (and if just pulling it out of the fridge, just warm it up in a saucepan on the stove). Prepare the molds of choice with butter or parchment, and the baked cake/donuts will plop right out.
The making of the batter takes only 10 minutes, and the bake is short as well. In under an hour, which includes boiling the water for your tea/coffee, you’ll be sitting down to savor a taste of the season.
Apple Cider Baked Donut/Bundt Cake
Ingredients
- 113 g all-purpose flour (just over 3/4 cup)
- 1 1/4 tsp baking powder
- 3/4 tsp fleur de sel
- 2 tsp cinnamon
- 1/2 tsp nutmeg
- 70 g unsalted butter (room temperature), (about 5 Tbsp)
- 83 g brown sugar (1/3 cup)
- 25 g granulated sugar (1/8 cup)
- 1 egg large
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1/4 cup apple cider (60 ml)
Topping
- 40 g unsalted butter (3-4 tablespoons)
- 100 g granulated sugar (1/4 cup)
- 1 tsp cinnamon
Instructions
Donut/Bundt Cake Batter
- Preheat the oven to 350F/180C, fan/convection.
- In a mixing bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, salt and spices (cinnamon and nutmeg). Set aside.
- In other mixing bowl with a hand-held mixer or in a stand mixer, cream the butter with the sugars until light and smooth. Then add the egg until combined, followed by the vanilla. Mix until combined. Add the flour mixture to the wet ingredients, mix until all combined, doing so at a slow speed to prevent a mess. Then pour in the apple cider. Mix. (Taste, it's delicious!)
- Into prepared muffin tins (lined with parchment or rubbed with butter to ensure ease of removal), in a mini bundt cake or donut molds (each prepared by lightly greasing with butter), pour the batter until 2/3 full (no higher).
- Bake in the oven: for muffins and donuts – 12-15 minutes; for the mini bundt cake, 20-25 minutes. Check with a toothpick or clean knife by placing it into the thickest part, and if it comes out clean, the bake is done.
- Let cool for 5 minutes, then remove from the molds. While the donuts/cake are cooling, melt the butter for the topping in a small sauce pan. In a small dish, combine the sugar and cinnamon. You will brush the top of the donuts/cake (once removed from their molds) witih the melted butter, and then sprinkle with the cinnamon-sugar mixture. Serve warm or enjoy at room temperature the next day! Pair with a hot cuppa of choice and enjoy. 🙂
~Find all of TSLL’s Recipes here.
The Apple Cider Baked Donut/Bundt Cake was chosen as the Petit Plaisir for episode #413 of The Simple Sophisticate podcast, 13 ways to Finesse teh Art of Spending Money
~Explore all of TSLL’s Petit Plaisirs here.
Thank you for sharing, Shannon! I will be trying these. They certainly sound and look delicious!
Carrie
My pleasure! And with them being so simple, even after a bustling day or a cold adventure outdoors to enjoy the seasons, they don’t take much effort to make. 🙂 Enjoy!