Apple Cider Donut Cake

Every now and then you find a real winner of a recipe. Apple Cider Donut Cake is that winning dessert. It’s loaded with wonderful apple flavor from apple cider and applesauce. Plus, it tastes like eating Apple Cider Donuts! I’m a sucker for donuts anyway, but eating them in cake form is also pretty special. It’s truly delicious.

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Back in January, I made up this fantastic cake for our Sunday morning Hostess Committee members at church. I had purchases a gallon of Apple Cider and it was time to use it up! I started pouring through recipes and came across this one in my FaceBook feed. I decided to give it a try. Everyone raved and raved over this cake and kept coming back for a second (and even third) piece! They also liked the name of this dessert!

While I served it for breakfast, this cake can certainly can be served as a dessert as well. But if you have a sweet tooth and enjoy a sweet treat with your morning coffee, this is the way to go. 🙂 Apple Cider Donut Cake is easy to make since it starts with a boxed cake mix. If you enjoy apples, you’ll be craving a bite from the first whiff that comes from the oven! Enjoy.

Apple Cider Donut Cake is great for either breakfast or dessert!

It’s easy to whip up since it starts with a boxed cake mix.

I was looking for ways to use up Apple Cider and landed on this fabulous recipe.

I served Apple Cider Donut Cake to our Hostess Committee at church (those involved in welcoming attendees) each Sunday. They absolutely loved this cake recipe.

Here’s what I did.

I used these ingredients for the cake.

Pour cake mix, eggs, applesauce and apple cider (NOT apple cider vinegar!!), into a mixing bowl.

Beat with an electric mixer until smooth. Mixture is runny.

Add cinnamon, brown sugar and vanilla extract

Beat again with an electric mixer.

Pour cake batter into a well-greased and floured Bundt pan.

Bake at 350 degrees about 40-45 minutes, until a bamboo skewer or knife inserted in center comes out clean.

Allow cake to cool in pan for 20 minutes before inverting onto a serving plate. Then cool completely before adding topping.

Melt butter; set aside.

Place cinnamon and sugar in a bowl.

Keep stirring until very well-combined.

Brush all the butter over the top and sides of cake. Do this quickly and add cinnamon-sugar mixture immediately.

Sprinkle the cinnamon-sugar mixture over top of the buttered cake. The cinnamon-sugar mixture will absorb into the cake.

Slice Apple Cider Donut Cake into slices and serve.

This is a great cake for breakfast and brunch menus, as well as for dessert.

Apple Cider Donut Cake tastes like eating Apple Cider Donuts, but without all the oil from frying!

Apple Cider and applesauce make this recipe delightful to the taste buds.

Here’s the recipe.

APPLE CIDER DONUT CAKE

(Recipe slightly adapted from Princess Pinky Girl)

Apple Cider Donut Cake

Teresa Ambra

Enjoy the Fall flavors of apple cider and applesauce in this delicious Apple Cider Donut Cake. It's like eating apple donuts but in cake form! Every bite will bring you the pleasant aromas of fall and harvest season and cure those sweet tooth cravings at the same time.

5 from 1 vote

Print Recipe Pin Recipe

Prep Time 15 minutes mins

Cook Time 45 minutes mins

Total Time 1 hour hr

Course Cake/Dessert

Cuisine American

Servings 16

Calories 187 kcal

Equipment

• 1 large Bundt cake pan
• 1 large mixing bowl
• 1 small bowl
• 1 pastry brush
• 1 electric mixer
• 1 wooden spoon
• measuring cups
• measuring spoons

Ingredients

  

1x2x3x

CAKE:

• 1 box yellow cake mix (I used Duncan Hines perfectly moist cake mix. You can substitute a pumpkin cake mix or spice cake mix)
• 1 cup apple cider NOT apple cider vinegar
• 1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce (plain applesauce is okay, but cinnamon applesauce is better!)
• 3 large eggs at room temperature
• 1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon
• 1 tbsp. light brown sugar packed (tablespoon, not teaspoon)
• 1 tsp. pure vanilla extract

TOPPING:

• 1/4 cup salted butter melted
• 1/4 cup granulated sugar
• 1 tbsp. ground cinnamon or more, if desired

Instructions

 

CAKE:

• Preheat oven to 350°.
• Combine cake mix, apple cider (NOT apple cider vinegar!), applesauce and eggs in a large bowl.
• Beat with an electric mixer until smooth.
• (Mixture is runny).
• Add cinnamon, brown sugar and vanilla extract and beat again.
• Pour into a well-greased AND floured Bundt pan.
• Bake at 350° for 40-45 minutes or until a bamboo skewer inserted in center comes out clean.
• Allow cake to cool for 20 minutes in Bundt pan.
• Remove cake from pan and place on serving plate.
• Cool cake completely before adding topping.

TOPPING:

• Combine sugar and cinnamon in a small bowl; mix well; set aside.
• Melt butter.
• With a pastry brush, brush the butter over the top and sides of the cake.
• Immediately sprinkle and pat the cinnamon-sugar mixture into the top and sides of cake. 

Notes

NOTE: Don’t allow the butter to absorb into the cake too much before sprinkling with cinnamon-sugar mixture or the cinnamon-sugar won’t adhere to the cake.

 

NOTE: Cinnamon-flavored applesauce is preferred, but I only had regular applesauce on hand when I made this recipe. I increased the cinnamon in the cake from ¼ teaspoon to ½ teaspoon.

 

NOTE: The amount of cinnamon in the topping is based on personal preference. The original recipe calls for two tablespoons but I thought that was overkill so I decreased the amount to one tablespoon. It still provides a really rich flavor.

 

NOTE: This is a very SMALL cake when cooked—only about 2 ½-inches high. Unlike most Bundt cakes that are about 5-6 inches in height.

 

Recipe adapted from Princess Pinky Girl.

 

^© Can’t Stay Out of the Kitchen

Nutrition

Calories: 187kcalCarbohydrates: 34gProtein: 2gFat: 5gSaturated Fat: 3gPolyunsaturated Fat: 0.4gMonounsaturated Fat: 1gTrans Fat: 0.2gCholesterol: 43mgSodium: 273mgPotassium: 56mgFiber: 1gSugar: 20gVitamin A: 145IUVitamin C: 0.2mgCalcium: 87mgIron: 1mg

Keyword apple cider, applesauce, breakfast, cake, dessert, donuts

Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!

Enjoy the mouthwatering flavors of fall with this amazing Apple Cider Donut Cake.

This apple cake tastes like eating donuts!

Apple Cider Donut Cake will cure your sweet tooth cravings instantly. 🙂

We loved the way this cake turned out.

You may also enjoy these delicious recipes!

Cinnamon Apple Coffee Cake

Apple Cinnamon Cake

Bird’s Nest Pie