Apple Cider Doughnut Cake Recipe (2024)

FAQs

What is so special about apple cider donuts? ›

What's So Special About Apple Cider Donuts? Apple cider donuts are a fall tradition in New England. Every year during the apple harvest, cider makers use some of their freshly pressed juice to make soft and tender “cake doughnuts”. Every fall, my dad sends me a delivery of fresh cider donuts from Vermont.

They are a harvest tradition in autumn in the northeastern United States and are sometimes sold at cider mills. They are often paired with apple cider, and may be covered with cinnamon and/or granulated sugar.

For starters, the TEXTURE. They're so soft and pillowy but remain really moist and tender. This is due to the fact that these donuts are made with oil instead of butter. Apple sauce is also added to further that moist texture.

Nothing pairs better with our apple cider donuts than a nice, creamy slathering of our Chiles Family Orchards apple butter. If you're looking to branch out into more fall flavors, try our rich and scrumptious pumpkin butter. A good tip for this dessert is to heat up your apple butter and toast your donut.

Ground nutmeg imparts the perfect amount of flavor. Light brown sugar. Use your favorite sweetener, if desired. Suggestions include: dark brown sugar, coconut sugar, honey, and maple syrup.

You may have heard not to eat bananas because they can contain as much or more sugar than a donut. Sure, that may be true, but they also contain soluble fiber to help your body digest sugar more slowly and boost your gut health, and potassium to help keep your blood pressure in check and your heart healthy.

Let's be clear: Apple cider doughnuts are not bad. They are simply not special. We get excited to see them because we think they are a nice way to welcome the colder weather and the looming winter.

Proof donuts correctly. Test by gently touching side of donut with fingertip. If it leaves a faint impression, donut is ready; if it leaves no impression, it is not proofed yet; if donut collapses, it is overproofed. Dry donuts after proofing for at least 10 minutes, or they will absorb frying shortening while frying.

Place five donuts on a large plate in a circle and pipe cream into each hole. Add another row by topping with four more donuts and pipe cream into each of them as well. Add three more layers, including one donut for the top.

Is cake flour better for doughnuts? ›

This gluten content helps create a dough that is strong enough to trap air, which helps create the fluffy doughnut texture we all love. Bread flour can also work well for fried donuts, and cake flour is the best bet if you'd like to try your hand at making cake doughnuts.

To start, make the doughnut dough. Unlike most doughnuts, apple cider doughnuts are not made using any yeast, and instead are made with baking powder and baking soda. Not only does this make them simpler and easier to make, but it gives them a heartier, denser texture with a soft inside, but a slightly crisp outside.

What Are Apple Cider Doughnuts? Apple cider doughnuts are a New England treat — one of the symbols of fall as the spectacular foliage turns autumnal and the weather starts to feel crisp. They're made with a base of boiled-down apple cider, which turns into a syrup that's sweet and deeply apple-y.

Freezing: Place donuts on a baking tray and put in the freezer for 3-5 hours or until frozen. Without letting them thaw, place in an airtight container or freezing bag. Keep up to 3 months. Thawing: Leave at room temperature, uncovered, for at least 30 minutes.

Apple cider doughnuts are very similar to traditional cake or buttermilk doughnuts but have the additional ingredient of cider or apple juice. The doughnuts are likely associated with fall because of the harvest of apples and farm animals. (The slaughter usually meant extra fat with which to fry.)

Cider Donuts are to be eaten with cider, that's where the name comes from. So if you grew up in rural New England, as I did, you have indelible memories of the smell of cider donuts at Apple Orchards this time of year.

Apple Fritters vs Apple Donuts

Many apple cider doughnut recipes are cake-based, not yeast-based. And most apple fritters don't have cider in the dough, they just rely on the apple chunks to provide flavor.