Description
Whipping up this Bakery Style Apple Cider Donut Cake delivers pure autumn comfort straight from my kitchen to yours. Warm spices and rich apple flavor create a tender crumb that makes weekend baking feel like a delightful celebration.
Ingredients
Scale
Primary Ingredients:
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 ½ cups granulated sugar
- 2 large eggs
- ½ cup unsalted butter, melted
- ½ cup unsweetened apple cider, reduced
- ½ cup buttermilk
Spices and Seasonings:
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon ground nutmeg
- ¼ teaspoon ground cloves
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon salt
Topping:
- ½ cup granulated sugar
- 1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
- ¼ cup unsalted butter, melted
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Instructions
- Warm your oven to 350°F and prepare a 9×13 inch baking pan with butter and flour to prevent sticking.
- Blend your dry ingredients – flour, sugar, baking soda, salt, and warm spices like cinnamon, nutmeg, and cloves – in a spacious mixing bowl.
- Create your liquid mixture separately, whisking together melted butter, reduced apple cider, buttermilk, eggs, and vanilla extract until smooth.
- Gently combine wet and dry ingredients, stirring until just incorporated. Avoid aggressive mixing to keep your cake tender.
- Transfer the batter evenly into your prepared pan, smoothing the surface with a spatula.
- Slide the pan into the preheated oven and bake for 32-35 minutes, checking doneness with a toothpick that should emerge clean.
- While baking, mix your topping ingredients – granulated sugar and ground cinnamon – in a small bowl.
- Melt ¼ cup butter in a separate container for brushing.
- Remove the cake from the oven and immediately brush the entire surface with melted butter.
- Sprinkle the cinnamon-sugar mixture generously across the warm cake’s surface.
- Allow the cake to rest and cool in the pan for at least 15 minutes before cutting into delectable squares.
Notes
- Reducing apple cider concentrates its flavor, creating a deeper, more intense apple taste that transforms the entire cake’s profile.
- Brushing melted butter on the warm cake helps the cinnamon sugar topping stick perfectly and adds a rich, golden finish.
- Don’t overmix the batter, or the cake will become tough – stir just until the ingredients are combined for the most tender crumb.
- For a gluten-free version, swap the all-purpose flour with a 1:1 gluten-free baking blend, which works beautifully in this recipe.
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 30-35 minutes
- Category: Cakes
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: American
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 8
- Calories: 329 kcal
- Sugar: 31 g
- Sodium: 199 mg
- Fat: 15 g
- Saturated Fat: 8 g
- Unsaturated Fat: 6 g
- Trans Fat: 0.3 g
- Carbohydrates: 45 g
- Fiber: 1.4 g
- Protein: 4 g
- Cholesterol: 57 mg