Apple Cider Doughnut Cake has all the flavor of a warm cider doughnut baked into one soft, moist fall cake ~ with plenty of apple cider, warm spice, and that classic cinnamon-sugar finish.
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It’s the first thingI bake every fall
I highly recommend this wonderful apple cider doughnut cake ~ it’s pretty much everything you want in an easy fall treat. There’s nothing fancy or fussy about it, but it’s soft and tender, with a thin cinnamon-sugar crust just like those cider doughnuts you get when you go apple picking. The aroma is intoxicating, and it’s the perfect thing to bring to a party or fall gathering. It’s also ideal for housewarmings, new neighbors, new parents, or anyone who could use a little extra comfort or care.
What readers are saying
➡ This Apple Cider Doughnut Cake is the most delicious cake I ever made — and I bake a LOT! I could have eaten the whole cake.
➡ Have made this 3 times in 2 weeks already lol due to popular demand.
➡ This has become one of my all time favorite cakes.
➡ I had to reach out about this recipe because holy batman it is GOOD.
cider doughnut cake ingredient highlights
- all purpose flour + oat flour
- I use both all purpose and oat flour in this cake, which gives it a nice, tender crumb and a ‘dough-nutty’ texture.
- Oat flour can be found in your supermarket baking aisle, and you can easily make oat flour at home using your blender or food processor.
- apple cider
- this is where a lot of the cake’s fall flavor comes from, so use good fresh cider if you can. I like the cloudy, unfiltered kind you find refrigerated in fall.
- applesauce
- adds moisture to the cake. You might also try apple butter.
- vegetable oil
- using oil instead of butter keeps this cake moist and delicious.
- cinnamon
- I usually use nutmeg as the defining flavor in my doughnut cakes, but in this case cinnamon deserves top billing.
more doughnut cake recipes
Apple Cider Doughnut Loaf Cake
Glazed Old Fashioned Buttermilk Doughnut Bundt Cake
Chocolate Sour Cream Doughnut Bundt Cake
I attribute the pillowy texture of this apple cider doughnut cake to the applesauce and the oat flour in the recipe. Oat flour is readily available in most large grocery stores, and Bob’s Red Mill makes a good one, but it’s essentially oats that have been ground into a fine powder, so if you don’t have any on hand you can actually process rolled oats in a food processor or high speed blender, like a Vitamix, to make your own. For more details, check out my post on how to make your own oat flour!
how oat flour changes the texture of this apple cider cake
Oat flour gives baked goods a nice soft texture and a little extra flavor. I love it to add it to regular flour in lots of different types of recipes. It does wonders for my Irish oatmeal soda bread and my quick whole grain rolls.
Oat flour has a slightly higher moisture content than wheat flour, which helps keep cakes moist and tender.
Oat flour has a lovely nutty, earthy taste that adds depth to the flavor of this cake.
I recommend a basic bundt pan
This is a must in any kitchen. Recipes that call for bundt pans rely on the shape to bake the cake properly
Bundt pans come in all sorts of wonderful shapes and sizes, which is great, but if you only buy one, I like to use this one from Wilton. It’s a basic, all purpose pan that’s sturdy, nonstick, and a standard size. The simple fluted shape insures an easy release, and isn’t that what it’s all about? Click here for details.
Reader-tested variations
I don’t expect you to read through 400+ comments, so I pulled out some of the best ideas readers have tried with this cake.
- Make it gluten-free: Karen and Susan have had great results with Bob’s Red Mill gluten-free baking flour, while Karla uses her own blend of rice, tapioca, coconut, millet, and sorghum flours.
- Boost the apple flavor: Sandy adds a cup of grated apple, Lorraine and Susan use boiled cider, and Anne adds a little apple brandy.
- Add more cinnamon crunch: Judy dusts her greased Bundt pan with cinnamon sugar, while Bella adds a layer of cinnamon sugar to the bottom of the pan before baking.
- Add a glaze: Jen drizzles the finished cake with a simple cider icing.
- Swap the oil: Linda uses melted butter in place of the vegetable oil.
- Make your own oat flour: Amanda and Eyvonne grind oats in a NutriBullet or food processor with great results.
- Change the pan: Dee turns it into a layer cake, and reader “A” made half the recipe in an 8×8 pan and baked it for 27 minutes.
- No cider? Enid uses apple cider vinegar diluted with water and loves the result.
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Apple Cider Doughnut Cake
Video
Equipment
- standard bundt pan (10-12 cup capacity)
Ingredients
dry ingredients
- 2 cups all purpose flour
- 1 1/2 cups oat flour
- 1 1/2 cups sugar
- 1 tsp cinnamon
- 1 1/2 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 1/2 tsp salt
wet ingredients
- 1 cup apple cider
- 3/4 cup applesauce
- 3/4 cup vegetable oil, I use safflower
- 3 large eggs, room temperature
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
topping
- 2 Tbsp unsalted butter, melted
- 1/4 cup sugar
- 1/2 tsp cinnamon
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350F
- Generously butter and flour your bundt pan, making sure to get into all the nooks and crannies. Don’t skip this step!
- Whisk the dry ingredients together in a large mixing bowl.
- Whisk the wet ingredients together in a another bowl.
- Add the wet ingredients to the dry and whisk until just combined, don’t over mix.
- Pour the batter into the prepared pan and bake for 45-50 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out without wet batter clinging to it. Set the pan on a cooling rack for 15 minutes.
- Stir the sugar and cinnamon together for the topping.
- Invert the cake onto a plate. Brush with the melted butter, and sprinkle generously all over with the sugar.
Notes
- Sub cardamom for cinnamon, yum.
- Fold in some finely diced fresh apple for texture.
- You might use apple butter instead of applesauce.
- Instead of the sugar coating you could make a simple glaze out of cider and powdered sugar to drizzle (liberally!) over the cake.
Nutrition
more ways to cook with cider
Apple cider adds natural sweetness, flavor, moisture, and a pop of acidity to so many foods! I make it a point to keep a quart in the fridge all season long.
- Kale and Fall Fruit Salad with Cider Poppy Seed Dressing
- Baked Apple Cider Doughnuts ~ New York Times Recipe
- Homemade Apple Cider
- Apple Cider Doughnut Loaf Cake
- Hot Buttered Apple Cider
- Mulled Cider Jelly
- Slow Cooked Cider Brats with Apple Onion Relish
- Wild Rice Salad with Maple Cider Vinaigrette
- Hard Cider Braised Pot Roast with Fresh Sage
Made this cake for dessert today and it’s all gone. My family of 5 with my daughters boyfriend devoured it. I would not change a single ingredient it was perfectly moist and I rather like the dense cake more than a super light cake. Can’t wait to make this again.
Oh gosh, you need to make another one asap, Jessica, if only to have some for yourself 😉
I’d like to make my own oat flour from quick one minute oatmeal for this recipe. Or do I have to use the Old Fashioned longer cooking oatmeal to make the flour? Thank you.
I think you can use any type of oats, Lynn, I’ve used steel cut, and I’ve used the rolled, both old fashioned and quick cooking, it all works.
How do you make your own oat flour?
To make your own oat flour just put rolled oats in a blender or food processor and process until it becomes a fine powder, it only takes a few seconds. You can use steel cut oats as well.
Can Apple Juice be used instead of apple cider?
Sure.
What is Oat flour and is there a substitute for it??
Oat flour is a whole grain flour made from oats, Julie, and you can buy it in most supermarkets. You can also make it yourself by grinding regular steel cut or rolled oats into a powder, right in your high speed blender or food processor. If you don’t have any you can use all regular flour.
I made two of these today. The first one I followed the recipe. It was my plan to try it and make adjustments on the second one. One cake was to stay home and the better one was to be sent to my daughter who just started college. I just have to say:
-This cake is DENSE
-The cider flavor is STRONG
-It doesn’t seem to resemble a donut to me. But I’ve never had an apple cider donut so I really shouldn’t judge
-I added some brown sugar to the second cake. It helped some. But not enough to think my picky daughter would eat it.
-It definitely deserves the full 55 minute bake time.
-While I love cake, I can’t say I’ll make this one again
I’m sorry to hear this Kim! Did you use the oat flour? A bundt cake in general has a relatively dense texture, but the oat flour lightens it up considerably.
Can you use any thing else besides oat flour
You can use all regular flour Barbara. I haven’t experimented with other types of flour, probably because the oat flour gives is a wonderful texture I haven’t been inspired to change it up 🙂
1 1/2 cups of sugar seems like a lot of sugar. Can I reduce the amount of sugar w/o compromising taste?
The general rule of thumb is that you can reduce sugar by as much as 1/3 without too much trouble, so I would start there. Coincidentally I just made this cake today but literally forgot to put in the sugar entirely and, as you might expect, it was not good! Just proof that even we bloggers make mistakes 😉
What if you don’t have oat flour? Is there a substitute?
You can use all regular flour, that’s fine.
I’ve never seen oat flour. Would I be able to just use a food processor on old fashioned oats and grind them til flour consistency?
Yes, and that works just perfectly Saki.
Do I measure the whole oats first before I grind them down to flour or measure them after they are made into flour?
First grind your flour, then measure. I’m going to do a post next week all about oat flour Pattie, because I’ve had so many questions.
This is a wonderful cake! I’ve made it several times, and everyone has asked for the recipe. I love how you just whisk the dry ingredients in one bowl, the wet in another bowl, and whisk together. It tastes like the doughnuts we Winnipeggers can get from a beloved chain restaurant called “Sals.” I didn’t have cider the first time that I baked it, so I used 1/2 cup good quality apple cider vinegar (with the Mother), diluted with 1/2 cup water–works like a charm. It’s become my go-to cake. Excellent with whipped cream and fruit, like a pound cake, as well! Thank you SO MUCH!
Love this feedback Enid, especially the tip about the vinegar, wow, I wouldn’t have thought of that.