Fall in Northeast Pennsylvania means pumpkin patches, apple picking and of course the infamous apple cider donut. But what if you don’t want individually fried donuts? That’s where the Apple Cider Donut Cake comes in!

Let’s set the stage for the birth of this particular recipe. It’s rainy and cold, you feel like being a lazy baker but on the other hand you want a delicious apple cider donut. You get out your grandmother’s recipe card, mix the batter and then realize it’s the most beautiful cake batter you’ve ever mixed! The laziness kicks in max overdrive, you get your biggest Bundt pan because it kind of resembles a donut, grease it like a pig, pour the batter in, throw it in the oven, set a timer and take a mini movie break. That’s pretty much how this cake recipe came about and the results were fantastic!

It’s a beautifully moist and spicy cake that could challenge any orchard’s apple cider donut. The combination of the fall spices with the fresh sweet taste of apple cider, it’s a the essence of the fall season just in cake form. Now, I would still love to make the actual fried treat in order to compare. But for now the Apple Cider Donut Cake hit the spot and gave me what I was craving.

Apple Cider Glaze

1 cup powdered sugar

¼ tsp nutmeg

1 tsp cinnamon

¼ tsp kosher salt

2 tsp heavy cream

Apple cider

Apple Cider Donut Cake

3 ½ cups All-Purpose Flour

2 tsp baking powder

1 tsp baking soda

¼ tsp nutmeg

2 tsp cinnamon

 ¼ tsp kosher salt

6 TBSP unsalted butter; room temp.

1 ¼ cups granulated sugar

½ cup packed brown sugar

2 large eggs

1 ¼ cups apple cider

2 cups buttermilk

1 TBSP vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 350°F.

Thoroughly grease a large Bundt pan with cooking spray and set aside. 

Whisk together flour, salt, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon and nutmeg; set aside. 

In a stand mixer, beat butter and sugar until fluffy for about 4-6 minutes. Add eggs one at a time until fully incorporated. Combine buttermilk, apple cider and vanilla; mix into the sugar mixture. 

Add dry ingredient mixture a little bit at a time until fully incorporated, scraping down the bowl when needed. 

Pour batter into the greased Bundt pan and bake for 60-65 minutes or until a cake tester comes out clean. 

Once baked, cool the cake in the pan for 10 minutes before releasing from the pan onto a cooling rack. Completely cool the cake on your cooling rack. 

When your cake is cool you can make the glaze. Whisk powdered sugar, nutmeg, cinnamon and kosher salt. Add heavy cream and enough apple cider to make a pourable glaze. I usually add cider a little at a time until I get a consistency I’m happy with, if it gets too thin I will add a little more powdered sugar until it’s right. You want a glaze that’s thin enough to pour and thick enough to be able to dry and leave decorative drips. Let glaze set on cake for at least 15 minutes before serving.