The Most Delicious Apple Cider Donut Bundt Cake for Fall
Apple Cider Donut Bundt Cake – an incredibly tender and moist apple spice cake with a delicious cinnamon sugar coating.
One of My Favorite Fall Traditions
Since moving to Utah six years ago, one of my favorite fall traditions is visiting Rowley’s Big Red Barn in Santaquin. It’s about a 45-minute drive from our house and worth every minute on the road! As soon as we arrive, we hop the wagon ride out to the field to do all the activities first. The kids love the corn mazes, slides, zip-line and apple throw.
After hours playing in the field, we head back to the Red Barn for apple cider donuts, ice cream and apple slushies. We always get one of everything! (Well, more than one donut, because those are too hard to share. Ha!)
Every year after we visit Rowley’s, I always say I’m going to make an Apple Cider Donut Cake based on their donuts. Somehow, however, life gets in the way and other cake flavors take priority.
Not this year!
Apple Cider Donut Bundt Cake
For this cake, I worked off my pumpkin cake recipe from my Pumpkin Pie Cake. In my pumpkin cake layers, I use two cups of pumpkin puree. Since we’re not using pumpkin, we’re replacing that with a cup of applesauce and one cup of apple cider for this cake…plus oil! All these liquids make this cake incredibly moist! I’ve also added some cinnamon and nutmeg for a little extra flavor. This Apple Cider Donut Bundt Cake is simply one of the best fall desserts you’ll ever make!
Cinnamon Sugar Coating
Once the bundt cake is baked and cooled, you’ll use a pastry brush to coat the cake with butter and then a dusting of cinnamon and sugar. I used coarse sugar, but you can also use regular, granulated sugar. (or powdered sugar for a more “wintery” looking cake!”
Tips for Making a Bundt Cake
- Bake at a low temperature for longer to ensure your cake bakes completely but doesn’t burn around the edges.
- Allow the cake to cool in the bundt pan for at least an hour to cool completely. Allowing the cooled cake to sit will make it easier for the cake to come out of the cake pan.
- This cake will freeze well if covered in plastic wrap. Just make sure to bring back to room temperature before serving.
- At room temperature, this cake can be stored for a couple of days in an airtight container.
Which Bundt Pan Should I Use
When making bundt cakes out of my cake recipes, I recommend using a 12-cup bundt pan. You’ll have plenty of room for the cake to rise without spilling. I recommend THIS bundt pan.
Other Cakes You’ll Love for Fall
- Caramel Apple Cake
- French Apple Pie Cake
- Turtle Pie Cake
- Pumpkin Gingersnap Cake
- 5 Delicious Thanksgiving Cakes
Apple Cider Donut Cake
Ingredients
For the Cake
- 3 cups (360 g) all-purpose flour
- 2 tsp (5 g) ground cinnamon
- 1/4 tsp (1 g) nutmeg
- 1 tsp (5.6 g) salt
- 1 1/2 tbsp (21 g) baking powder
- 1 1/2 cups (300 g) granulated sugar
- 1/2 cup (110 g) brown sugar
- 1 cup (224 g) vegetable oil
- 3 eggs, at room temperature
- 1 cup (250 g) unsweetened applesauce, at room temperature
- 1 cup (248 g) apple cider juice (not vinegar), at room temperature
- 1 tsp (5.6 g) vanilla extract
For the Cinnamon Sugar Coating
- 1/4 cup (56 g) unsalted butter melted
- 1/4 cup (50 g) granulated sugar
- 2 tsp (5 g) cinnamon
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 325 degrees F. Spray a bundt pan with non-stick spray and then dust with flour. Set aside.
- In a medium size mixing bowl, combine the flour, cinnamon, nutmeg, salt, and baking powder. Whisk to combine. Set aside.
- In a large bowl, combine the sugar, brown sugar and oil. Mix on medium speed to combine.
- Add the eggs to the sugar mixture and mix on medium speed for about two minutes.
- Add the applesauce and vanilla. Mix to combine.
- With the mixer on low speed, add ⅓ of the flour mixture, followed by half of the apple cider. Continue alternating the flour mixture and the apple cider, finishing with the flour mixture. Mix until no streaks of flour remain. The batter will be slightly thin, not thick.
- Pour the batter into the bundt pan and bake for 50 minutes. The cake is done when a toothpick inserted in the center of the cake comes out with a few moist crumbs on it.
- Let the cake cool for an hour in the bundt pan before turning it over onto a cake plate or cooling rack.
- Using a pastry brush, coat the cake in butter.
- Combine the ¼ cup sugar and 2 teaspoons cinnamon and then sprinkle onto the top and sides of the cake. To coat the sides, it's best to fill your hand with the mixture and pat it on the cake.
I have made this a few times. It is slightly bitter in taste. I am going to try again using less baking powder.
Note: I have made this recipe using both volume and weighted measurements. Volume measurements seem to turn out better for me. Maybe I need a new scale!
Could you make this into cupcakes and if so, how long would you bake them?
I haven’t but about 18-20 mins.
This cake is incredibly delicious!! A new favorite, and one we will make again and again!
3rd time making! I ran a baking business and ran a B&B in Boothbay Harbor Maine. Would have served it to my guests time and time again! Wonderful and thank you
I love this!!!!
This cake is so easy and delicious. I used homemade applesauce (that does contain some sugar) and it worked great. I used 1/4 t. pumpkin pie spice in place of the nutmeg, which also worked great. I did the butter and cinnamon coating as directed. I also reduced 2-3 cups more of the apple cider on the stove until syrupy and then drizzled that over the finished cake. This gave it one more punch of apple cider flavor and was so delicious. My older son just kept taking slice after slice and he doesn’t even love cake :).
I used GF flour and did 3 rounds for my daughter’s birthday cake. It tastes soooo good. I did omit a 1/4 cup of flour like you suggest in your cake recipe. Thank you!!!
I made this cake exactly
as recipe stated. It was
moist and tasted just like a
Apple cider donut.
Delicious! Will definitely make again.
I made this cake last week for friends and it came out amazing!!! I followed the recipe almost exactly, except I used 2 cups of Apple Cider and reduced it down to one cup for a little stronger of an apple taste. This cake was so moist, not heavy, just delicious! I had a little piece left and 3 days later it tasted just as delicious and light. Now my family wants the cake for Thanksgiving. Thank you for a delicious recipe.
That sounds so good!!
I made this today for my daughter’s 11th birthday, and it was absolutely delectable! I did change our the flour for Cup4Cup all purpose gluten free flour, and while it did need extra time in the over, it came out perfectly! I also replace the nutmeg with a 1/2 tsp of pumpkin pie spice, because I was fresh out. It was so good, and my daughter was completely smitten with this one! Thank you for the fantastic recipe!!
Yay I’m so glad!
Delicious cake. I am wondering if and how you could use turninado sugar in this recipe for the topping?