Apple Cider Donut Cake- Delicious bundt cake with bursting flavors of cinnamon and apple. Made with applesauce and fresh apple cider.
We are in full swing of pumpkin, but I want to switch it up with this Powder Sugar Apple Cider Bundt Cake. I decided to use powder sugar instead of cinnamon sugar because I am much more a powdered donut girl myself. If you are wanting something different and fun you need to try this cake, like, yesterday.
For more apple or fall recipes, you need to bake these ones!
- The Best Fall Inspired Apple Crumb Cookies
- The Most Spectacular Fall Biscoff Apple Cake
- The Most Splendid Caramel Pumpkin Sheet Cake
- The Best Ever Chocolate Salted Caramel Cake
Jump to:
Why this recipe works
- Easy fall cake- this cake is such an easy cake to whip up, and no decorating required!
- Moist apple cider cake- This cake uses a lot of apple cider and apple sauce, trust me, the apple flavor is there!
- Powder sugar topping- I dusted the top with powder sugar, and each bite is like you’re a child ready to go play in the fall leaves.
- Best spices- filled with cinnamon and a dash of nutmeg, you will enjoy and savory each every bite!
Ingredients you will need
Here are some ingredients that you will need for this Apple Cider Donut Cake that you may not have on hand. For a complete list of ingredients, check out the recipe card below.
- Oil- I used vegetable oil, I do not recommend a strong flavor oil, like grape-seed or olive oil.
- Brown sugar- I used light brown sugar.
- Apple sauce- I used unsweetened applesauce, if you used sweetened the cake might be too sweet.
- Apple cider- I love buying one from a local farm, and sometimes my grocery store will carry them from a local farm. Just make sure it cider and not juice.
Step by step instructions- The cake
The pan you need and I used is this one.
Step 1: Prep your pan. Make your pan goop by mixing the flour and the softened butter in a small bowl until combined. With a pastry brush, brush the sides and all cracks and crevices of the pan with the goop. Set aside.
Step 2: Whisk the dry ingredients. In a medium size mixing bowl, whisk the flour, cinnamon, nutmeg, salt, and baking powder. Set aside.
Step 3: Whisk the sugars, and oil. In a stand size mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, whisk the sugar, brown sugar and oil on medium speed for 2 minutes.
Step 4: Add the eggs. Add the eggs to the sugar mixture and continue to mix on medium speed for 2 minutes.
Step 5: add the flour and the cider, alternating. With the mixer on low speed, add ⅓ of the flour mixture, then add half of the apple cider. Mix until almost combined, then add another ⅓ of the flour mixture and the rest of the apple cider, finally add the rest of the flour mixture. Mix until no streaks of flour remain.
Step 6: Pour and bake. Pour the batter into the prepped bundt pan and bake for 50-54 minutes. To test to see if the cake is done, use a toothpick and insert it the thickest part of the cake and it should come out with a few or no crumbs.
Step 7: Cool the cake. Let the cake completely cool in the bundt pan before turning it over onto a large plate, cake board, or cooling wrack.
Step 8: Dust the cake. Right before you serve it, use a sifter and sift the powder sugar on top, and serve right away.
FAQ
Can I use a 10 cup bundt pan?
Yes you can. You will have left over batter you can turn into muffins or cupcakes
Can I make this into donuts?
Yes you can. Use a donut pan and bake for 10 minutes. Here is my favorite donut pan
Can I use apple juice?
No, you can not. Apple juice is processed differently than apple cider and has too much sugar in it.
Storing and freezing
You can store this apple cider donut cake at room temperature covered in plastic wrap for up to 5 days.
Freezing
When freezing the cake, cut the cake into individual cake slices. Wrap them in plastic wrap and store in the freezer up to 30 days.
If this is not enough and you want to bake more (I don’t blame you!) here are some more recipes!
- The Greatest Pumpkin Snickerdoodle Cake
- Graham Cracker Cake with Cake Batter Buttercream
- Gooey Cinnamon Roll Caramel Cake
If you have tried this recipe, please leave a review and rate it. This will allow and help me to create more recipes for you!
Recipe
Apple Cider Donut Cake
Ingredients
FOR THE PAN GOOP
- ¼ cup unsalted butter softened
- ¼ cup all purpose flour
For the cake
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 1 cup brown sugar packed
- 1 cup vegetable oil
- 4 eggs at room temperature
- 1 cup unsweetened applesauce at room temperature
- 1 cup apple cider at room temperature
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 3 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ¼ teaspoon nutmeg
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 Tablespoon baking powder
- ¼ cup powder sugar
Instructions
For the cake
- Preheat your oven to 325 degrees F. Prep your pan goop by mixing the flour and the softened butter in a small bowl until combined. With a pastry brush, brush the sides and all cracks and crevices of the pan with the goop. Set aside.
- In a medium size mixing bowl, whisk the flour, cinnamon, nutmeg, salt, and baking powder. Set aside.
- In a stand size mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, whisk the sugar, brown sugar and oil on medium speed for 2 minutes.
- Add the eggs to the sugar mixture and continue to mix on medium speed for 2 minutes. Add the vanilla and the applesauce mix on low just until incorporated.
- With the mixer on low speed, add ⅓ of the flour mixture, then add half of the apple cider. Mix until almost combined, then add another ⅓ of the flour mixture and the rest of the apple cider, finally add the rest of the flour mixture. Mix until no streaks of flour remain.
- Pour the batter into the prepped bundt pan and bake for 50-54 minutes. To test to see if the cake is done, use a toothpick and insert it the thickest part of the cake and it should come out with a few or no crumbs.
- Let the cake completely cool in the bundt pan before turning it over onto a large plate, cake board, or cooling wrack.
- Right before you serve it, use a sifter and sift the powder sugar on top, and serve right away.
Kelly says
You mention applesauce in the recipe but it’s not listed in the directions
Molly Murphy says
Thank you for noticing that, i have added that and the vanilla extract.
Thanks!
Molly
Kat says
Can you make this gluten free???
Molly Murphy says
Hi, my sister who has celiac makes all my recipes gluten free by using Cup4Cup gluten free flour. You can try that!
Thank you!
Molly
Sue says
Very good cake eat as is or a little cider glaze for those who don’t like it without some kind of “frosting”
Followed recipe was a bit worried batter was loose and had about a cup left but it baked beautifully and has a wonderful flavor for fall
Give it a try
Molly Murphy says
Yes, the batter is a little thin, I will add that to the notes. Thank you for the nice review!!
Donald Murphy says
Great cake! I wish I could just put my face in it and never leave.
Cameron says
This recipe is just absolutely wonderful and so easy to follow. Very detailed and most importantly, it’s delicious!
MJ says
Where’s the flavor? I followed the recipe and there is almost no apple flavor. I would highly suggest using apple butter, not apple sauce.
Mary says
I don’t know what I did wrong but the cake is still baking over an hour and it’s still not done.
I’m waiting to see if it cook all the way through. It was very liquid batter. That didn’t seem right,
Molly Murphy says
Hi mary! I’m sorry to hear that!! I would suggest getting an oven thermometer and check it. The batter is suppose to be thin, so it sounds like you did it right!
Heather says
Can you make it in a 13×9 pan?
Molly Murphy says
Yes! you can, I would decrease the baking time about 10 minutes!
Allison Z says
This is an amazing recipe, it’s a fan-favorite among my friends and family!
If I needed to make this egg-free due to an allergy, would you recommend replacing the eggs with additional apple sauce, or perhaps flax/chia eggs? Would I need to add additional flour/baking powder?
An additional question: Could these be made successfully into cupcakes/muffins? What would you recommend for temperature and baking time if so?
Thank you!!
Molly Murphy says
Hi! I would recommend using chia/flax over applesauce because there is already so much applesauce. From my a quick google search, you dont need to add any additional flour/baking powder!
and yes, you can turn these into cupcakes/muffins, just bake them at the same temp for only 23-25ish minutes!
I hope this helped!
Anomymous says
54 minutes was not enough for me when I baked this cake. It was still doughy rather than having crumbs. For making it crumbly, I had to bake this for hours. As an experienced baker, I know this recipe’s cooking time could be altered to 50 minutes to 2 hours based on my experience.