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“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.” ~Carol
if you love fall, you’ll love apple cider doughnut cake!
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 cinnamony-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 take to a gathering or party. It’s also ideal for housewarmings, new neighbors, new parents, or anyone who could use a little extra comfort or care.
This cake is not overly sweet, so it’s appropriate for breakfast or mid-morning, with a cup of coffee, tea, your pumpkin spice latte (or hot cider!)
more doughnut cake recipes
ingredients for apple cider doughnut cake
- all purpose flour + oat flour
- I use both all purpose and oat flour in this cake, which gives it a nice, tender crumb. Oat flour can be found in your supermarket baking aisle, and you can easily make oat flour at home.
- sugar
- cinnamon
- vanilla extract
- apple cider
- fresh apple cider is amazing, but you can use apple juice if necessary. Do not use apple cider vinegar!
- applesauce
- you might also try apple butter.
- vegetable oil
- butter
- eggs
- baking powder, baking soda, and salt
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.
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.
check out the comments for great reviews and variations
I don’t expect you to read through 400+ comments, so here are some highlights!
- Karen and Susan get a gold stars for creating gluten free versions of this apple cider doughnut cake. Many used Bob’s Red Mill gf baking mix with great success.
- Karla makes her own gluten-free flour blend (rice flour, tapioca flour, coconut flour, millet flour, + sorghum flour)
- Jen drizzled the cake with a cider icing.
- Sandy added a cup of grated apples to the batter.
- Judy dusts her greased bundt pan with cinnamon sugar for an extra crunchy crust.
- Lorraine and Susan use boiled cider from King Arthur Flour.
- Linda substitutes butter for the vegetable oil.
- Anne made her apple cider cake flavored with a little apple brandy!
- Enid actually subs apple cider vinegar diluted with water for the cider and loves it.
- Amanda and Eyvonne made their own oat flour in the NutriBullet and food processor and it turned out perfectly.
- Dee turned the bundt cake into a layer cake.
- Bella adds a layer of cinnamon sugar to the bottom of the cake before flipping it over, which is genius.
- “A” made half of the recipe, and baked it in a 8X8 pan for 27 minutes. It was perfect.
- and that’s just a few of the great ideas you guys have come up with 🙂
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
Apple Cider Doughnut Cake
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.
Video
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
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.