Apple Cider Donut Cake
on Sep 01, 2024
This Apple Cider Donut Cake is a perfect fall dessert. You will love the texture, warm spices, sweet glaze and cinnamon sugar topping. Since we start with a boxed cake mix, it’s super easy to make.
Fall is apple season and we love apple desserts. This Apple Cider Donut Cake Recipe is one that we have made over and over again. The cake has a bit of a fluffy texture along with comforting fall spices.
If you are looking for additional easy apple cake recipes, try our 3 Ingredient Apple Cake, Apple Dapple Cake, or our Bundt Apple Cake.
When I was growing up we always loved visiting the local cider mill. Nothing beats a cup of cider along with Powdered Donuts. A couple of years back, we found a local farmers market that sold cider along with a Cider Donut Cake. The cake was loaded with cinnamon sugar topping.
Naturally, I was eager to make my own recipe. While it is not exactly like the one we tried, my Apple Cider Doughnut Cake was quite close. I hope you make my version!
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Cider is very nostalgic. When most people think of cider, it brings back many childhood memories. If you are having any sort of potluck, consider serving this Apple Cider Cake. Your family and friends will be asking for the recipe. It’s that GOOD!
Apple Cider Donut Cake Ingredients
We make this Apple Cider Donut Cake with a short list of delicious fall ingredients: making cake with apple cider and applesauce means tons of flavor! Outside of those, everything else is a staple fridge or pantry ingredient- you’ve probably got everything already. Here’s everything you’ll need:
- Cake Mix – There’s a couple cake mix flavors that’ll work best for this Apple Donut Cake recipe. We used this Pillsbury Yellow Cake Mix. For something with more Fall flavors, try Duncan Hines or Betty Crocker Spice Cake Mix instead.
- Apple Cider – The store-bought apple cider should work just fine. If you don’t have any or can’t buy apple cider, grab some apple juice and see if you have the ingredients for our Homemade Apple Cider. It’ll take a bit longer, but you’ll also have some delicious from-scratch apple cider you can enjoy along with your Apple Cider Cake!
- Apple Sauce – Again, if you don’t have any, see if you can make our Slow Cooker Applesauce instead! Homemade apple sauce is way tastier than store-bought applesauce.
- Eggs
- Cinnamon – You’ll need this for your cake and the cinnamon sugar topping.
- Brown Sugar
- Vanilla Extract
- White Sugar – You’ll want normal white granulated sugar for making the cinnamon sugar.
- Butter
See recipe card for quantities.
How to make Apple Donut Cake
Making this Apple Cider Donut Cake is just like making cake from cake mix- we just add in a couple extra ingredients and a quick cinnamon sugar dusting. You don’t have to worry about over-mixing, making cake frosting, or other extra steps. This is all you have to do:
- Start by greasing and lightly flouring a bundt pan. To a large bowl, add the yellow cake mix, apple cider, applesauce, and eggs. Beat together by hand or with a hand or stand mixer.
- Add and mix in a bit of cinnamon, your brown sugar, and vanilla extract. Pour cake batter into prepared bundt pan and bake in a 350 degree oven for around 45 minutes.
- Remove finished cake from oven and let cool on a wire rack for 20-30 minutes. While cake cools, whisk together granulated sugar and remaining cinnamon to make cinnamon sugar topping.
- Melt butter and use something like a pastry brush to generously coat with melted butter.
- Let butter soak for a minute before evenly coating with cinnamon sugar.
Storage / Freezing
Storage: Your Apple Cider Doughnut Cake should keep like any other cake recipe you’ve made. Feel free to store in an airtight container on the counter for up to 3 days. To squeeze a couple more days out of your cake, keep in an airtight container in the fridge- there, it’ll keep for 4-5 days.
Freezing: You can also try keeping your Apple Cider Cake frozen for long-term storage. You can freeze it whole or do frozen cake slices: in either case, wrap in plastic wrap or put in a freezer-safe container. Optionally wrap with aluminum foil to help prevent freezer burn before keeping frozen for up to 3 months- thaw overnight and reheat before serving.
Tips for the BEST Apple Cider Bundt Cake
You can prepare this as an Apple Cider Bundt Cake in all sorts of different size bundt pans- adjust cooking times as necessary. Instead of a bundt pan, you could also make these into Mini Apple Cider Cakes or Apple Cider Muffins by using a mini-muffin pan. These will bake much quicker- probably around 15 minutes- and taste just as good!
Other Fall Cake Recipes
Looking for other fall cake recipes? Try these:
Other Apple Recipes
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Apple Cider Doughnut Cake
Ingredients
- 1 box Yellow Cake Mix, about 15 oz.
- 1 cup Apple Cider
- ½ cup Applesauce
- 3 Eggs
- 1/4 tsp Cinnamon, 2 tbsp +1/4 tsp total
- 2 tbsp Cinnamon
- 1 tbsp Brown Sugar
- 1 tsp Vanilla
- 1/4 cup melted Butter
- 1/4 cup Sugar
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350.
- Grease a bundt cake pan and dust with flour.
- In a large mixing bowl, beat together the cake mix, apple cider, applesauce and eggs.
- Add 1/4 teaspoon of cinnamon, the brown sugar and vanilla the to mixture and mix until blended.
- Pour batter into prepared pan.
- Bake on center rack of oven for 40-45 minutes until a toothpick inserted into the middle of the cake comes out clean.
- Remove from heat and allow the cake to cool on a wire rack for 20-30 minutes.
- In a small bowl, whisk together remaining 2 tablespoons cinnamon with the sugar.
- Brush the surface of the cake with melted butter.
- Rub cinnamon sugar mixture over entire cake until evenly coated.
Notes
Nutrition
Sounds good. I’m going to make it this week