Spiced apple cider cake has a tender crumb and comforting apple flavor. Learn how to make an apple cider cake in a bundt pan, and top it off with a sweet apple cider glaze.
Learn From the Best
What Is Apple Cider Cake?
Apple cider cake is a tender, moist cake made with apple cider. Bakers typically make apple cider cakes in a bundt pan, recognizable by its open center and especially deep slopes. After baking, bundt cakes get inverted onto a serving plate to reveal a mountainous, raised doughnut shape, perfect for cascading glazes or showers of powdered sugar. The shape resembles a large apple cider doughnut. A popular topping for apple cider bundt cake is a glaze made with powdered sugar and apple cider.
5 Tips for Making Apple Cider Cake
When making an apple cider bundt cake, consider the following tips:
- 1. Grease the pan well. There are a lot of nooks and crannies in bundt pans, so grease the pan thoroughly with a cooking spray. If you have trouble releasing the cake from the pan after baking, you risk losing all of the detail in the pan.
- 2. Test the cake often. Bundt pans are deeper than many regular cake pans, so the cake could be brown on top but undercooked in the middle. With a toothpick or long wooden skewer, start testing the cake about three-fourths of the way through baking. When the toothpick comes out of the cake with no wet batter clinging to it, it is ready to come out of the oven. Overbaking will result in a dry cake.
- 3. Cool the cake right-side up. The cake bakes upside down, with the pan’s detailed design on the bottom. However, you should cool the cake right-side up to avoid crushing the design on your countertop or wire rack.
- 4. Try an apple cider glaze. Finish the cake with a sprinkling of cinnamon sugar or a drizzle of glaze made from powdered sugar and a splash of apple cider.
- 5. Make apple cider cupcakes. For individual desserts, bake apple cider cupcakes by dividing the batter between the cups of a lined muffin tin. Top the cupcakes with a swoop of cream cheese frosting and a dust of cinnamon.
Apple Cider Cake Recipe With Glaze
makes
prep time
15 mintotal time
1 hr 15 mincook time
1 hrIngredients
- 1
Preheat the oven to 325 degrees Fahrenheit.
- 2
Lightly grease the inside of a 12-cup bundt pan with baking spray and dust it liberally with sugar. (Pay special attention to the bottom of the pan to prevent any sticking.)
- 3
In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt.
- 4
In a large bowl, mix together the oil, granulated sugar, brown sugar, 1 cup apple cider, applesauce, and vanilla extract until smooth.
- 5
Add the eggs and whisk until fully incorporated.
- 6
Transfer the wet ingredients to the bowl of dry ingredients. Use a rubber spatula to fold the ingredients together, just until you’ve fully incorporated the flour mixture. Avoid overmixing.
- 7
Transfer the cake batter into the prepared pan and smooth the top with a spatula.
- 8
Bake until the top of the cake is golden brown, and a cake tester or toothpick inserted into its center comes out clean, about 1 hour.
- 9
Allow the cake to cool slightly in the pan, then invert the still-warm cake onto a wire rack set over a baking sheet. Cool cake completely, about 15 more minutes.
- 10
In a medium bowl, whisk together confectioners’ sugar and 1 tablespoon apple cider until smooth.
- 11
Carefully lift the pan away from the cooled cake, still on the cooling rack. Drizzle confectioners’ glaze over the cake. Set aside until the glaze sets, about 15 minutes.
- 12
Serve with ice cream or whipped cream, if desired.
Note: The total time does not include 30 minutes of inactive time.
Become a better chef with the MasterClass Annual Membership. Gain access to exclusive video lessons taught by the world’s best, including Alice Waters, Gabriela Cámara, Niki Nakayama, Chef Thomas Keller, Gordon Ramsay, Yotam Ottolenghi, Dominique Ansel, and more.