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Apple Cider Doughnut Cake

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As I wind down my blog, it seems fitting that it should end with dessert, don’t you agree? In keeping with this sentiment, I have a couple of dessert doozies for you. They are simply fabulous, dahlings.

The first dessert is a cake that has elements of those little cider doughnuts that you get at little on-farm market stores throughout the Northern and Midwest states and some of Canada. You smell them when you enter the store and you follow your nose to where they’re sizzling and skipping along through the hot oil before sliding out and being shaken in a brown paper bag filled with a cinnamon/sugar mixture. Biting into one of those hot sugary morsels sends a person straight into nirvana.

This cake has all those elements of goodness but skips the work and the lingering aroma of deep fat frying that pervades your house for days. It also uses apples in several ways, which is a win in my books. It is moist and dense with a cinnamon/sugar crust. The sugar crust sticks onto an apple cider concentrate that is brushed over the cake and provides lovely bursts of tang. It is great for dessert but works beautifully as a breakfast or brunch as well. And finally, it is all mixed in one bowl.

It is easy to convert this recipe to gluten-free if desired or needed. Simply replace the all-purpose flour with a gluten-free flour mixture. The whole wheat flour can be replaced by sorghum. Add xanthan gum if your flour mix doesn’t have it and as is usual, add an extra egg to aid the fluff factor.

For your information, it does not look this white around here anymore. This photo was taken over a month ago.

I used Honeycrisp, one of my favourite baking apples, but you can use whatever crisp, tart apple you have available to you. This post is sponsored by Martin’s Family Fruit Farm , where many varieties of apples and cider are sold.

Apple Cider Doughnut Cake

Ingredients

Cake:

2 cups all-purpose flour

1/2 cup whole wheat flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1 1/4 cup dark brown sugar

1 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup white sugar

2 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon

1 teaspoon nutmeg

1/4 teaspoon ginger (dried or fresh)

2 eggs

1/4 cup sour cream, yogurt or milk

1/2 cup fresh or frozen (thawed) apple cider

2 medium tart baking apples, washed, cored and cut in half

Cider Glaze:

1/2 cup fresh or frozen apple cider OR 1/4 cup apple jelly

Cinnamon/Sugar Mixture:

1/4 cup white sugar

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

1/4 cup butter

Directions

Heat oven to 350 degrees F. Mix together all the dry ingredients in a large mixing bowl. Scoop a well in the middle and add eggs and the wet ingredients into the hole. Whisk the wet ingredients lightly before stirring everything together with a strong spatula or a spoon just until combined. Wash and shred the unpeeled, cored apples and fold into the cake batter. Scrape into greased bundt or tube pan and bake for 35 – 40 minutes or until set and toothpick comes out clean. Run a knife around edges and cool until warm or room temperature. Shake cake lightly to loosen, then tip cake upside down out of pan onto a plate.

While cake is baking, boil cider for glaze in a small saucepan. Once it’s boiling, turn heat down to medium-low and cook until reduced to a syrup, about 12 minutes. Set aside. (Skip this step if using apple jelly.)

Once cake is cooled, warm the glaze (or apple jelly if using) in the microwave. Poke holes in the top of the cake skewers or a meat fork and slowly pour the apple syrup or jelly over top. Brush the cake all over with melted butter before sprinkling with cinnamon/sugar mixture. Slice and serve.

Gluten-free adaptations: Substitute all-purpose flour with a quality gluten-free mix, whole wheat flour with sorghum flour, and add one extra egg. Add 1/2 teaspoon xanthan gum if your flour mixture doesn’t include it.

This entry was posted in Cakes, Gluten Free, Uncategorized.