Apple Cider Donut Cake with Apple Cider Caramel Sauce
This bundt cake brings apple cider donuts to the next level! Grated apple, reduced apple cider, and a brown butter apple cider glaze provide a lot of flavor and moisture. Serve this with vanilla ice cream and the caramel sauce for a fall dessert!
Ingredients
Cake Batter
- 1 and 1/2 cup apple cider reduced to 1/2 cup, room temperature
- 3 cups all-purpose flour (360 grams)
- 3 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 and 1/2 Tbsp baking powder
- 1 cup neutral oil (I used vegetable)
- 1 and 1/4 cups brown sugar, packed light or dark
- 1/2 cup white granulated sugar
- 1/2 cup unsweetend applesauce, room temperature
- 1 Tbsp vanilla bean paste (or vanilla extract)
- 3 large eggs, room temperature
- 1 cup grated apple (I used 2 small apples)
Apple Cider Browned Butter
- 4 Tbsp unsalted butter
- 2 Tbsp apple cider
Cinnamon-Sugar Coating
- 1/3 cup white granulated sugar
- 1 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
- pinch of salt
Apple Cider Caramel Sauce
- 1 cup apple cider, reduced to about 1/4 cup
- 1/2 cup heavy cream
- pinch of salt
- pinch of cinnamon
- pinch of nutmeg
- 1 cup brown sugar light or dark
- 1/2 cup water
- 2 Tbsp unsalted butter
Instructions
For the cake batter:
- Reduce apple cider: Pour the apple cider into a small saucepan over medium-high heat. Bring cider to a boil, stirring occacionally. It will bubble up and then start to settle down. Continue boiling until the cider is reduced to about 1/2 cup. Remove from heat and transfer to a heat-safe bowl to cool.
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
- Sift together flour, cinnamon, nutmeg, salt, and baking powder into a medium-sized mixing bowl. Set aside.
- Using a stand mixer with a paddle attachment, beat together the oil and sugars until combined. Scrape the bowl and add apple sauce, beat to combine. With the mixer on slow speed, add eggs one at a time, waiting for each to just disappear before adding the next. Scape the bowl.
- Add 1/3 of the flour mixture and beat until barely combined, then add 1/2 of the reduced apple cider, the next 1/3 of the flour mixture, the rest of the apple cider, and then the rest of the flour. Do not overmix the batter, a few streaks of flour are okay.
- Toss the grated apple in about 1 tablespoon of flour and sprinkle on top of the batter. Use a spatula to gently mix the apples in with the batter (trying to break up lumps of apple).
- Spray your 10-cup bundt pan with nonstick spray or the magic paste (see notes). Transfer batter to the prepared pan and bake for 50-55 minutes or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean.
- Remove the cake from the oven, and let the cake cool in the bundt pan for about 10 minutes. Then invert the cake on to a cooling rack to cool completely. Set aside.
Apple Cider Browned Butter
- Melt the butter in a small skillet over medium heat. Continuously whisk to prevent burning. The butter will go through stages- melt, bubbly/foaming, and then it will quickly start to brown and smell nutty. Remove promptly. Whisk in apple cider and set aside.
Cinnamon Sugar Coating
- Whisk together the sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt.
- Set your cake on a cooling rack over a cookie sheet (this process is messy and this will help with cleanup). Use a pastry brush to completely soak the cake in the apple cider browned butter. May sure to spead it evenly so the cinnamon sugar will stick. Then sprinkle the cinnamon-sugar mixture over the cake. You can try to carefully tillt it to get the sides. (You may not use all the sugar, use to your own taste/preference.)
Apple Cider Caramel Sauce
- To boil the cider: Pour the apple cider into a small saucepan over medium-high heat. Bring cider to a boil, stirring occacionally. It will bubble up and then start to settle down. Continue boiling until the cider is reduced to about 1/4 cup.
- Add cream, salt, and spices to the saucepan with the boiled apple cider. Set aside. (You will warm this up prior to combining with the melted sugar.)
- For the sugar syrup: Whisk together brown sugar and water in a saucepan over medium heat. Wipe the edges of the saucepan with a warm paper towel to prevent the sugar from burning up the side. Bring to a boil. Use a candy thermometer to track the temperature. Stir constantly. The mixture will become a warm, deep amber color and will thicken (it will continue to thicken after cooling).
- While the sugar syrup is coming up to temperature, warm the apple cider cream mixture to a simmer.
- Remove the sugar syprup from the heat when it registers 350 degrees F (this will take about 10-15 minutes). Slowly add about 1/3 of the apple cider cream mixture to the saucepan and whisk. NOTE: it will bubble and spit- be careful! Add the rest of the cream mixture and carefully whisk to combine. Add the butter and whisk until smooth. Transfer to a heat-safe bowl.
To serve:
- I recommend serving this cake warm with a scoop of vanilla ice cream and the apple cider caramel sauce. The caramel sauce hardens pretty quickly (see notes). To warm it up, microwave at 50% power for 1 minute (or until you reach the desired consistency).
- Enjoy!
Notes
- Here is the recipe for the cake pan release paste: https://www.ifyougiveablondeakitchen.com/grease-cake-pan-release/
- I am still testing caramel sauce recipes that stay soft for longer. In the meantime, please microwave before serving).