Easy Baked Apple Cider Donuts
These homemade baked apple cider donuts are cakey, tender, and full of fall flavor! The cinnamon sugar topping and concentrated cider flavor go perfectly together with this moist cake-like donut. Secretly, I go apple picking this time of year just to get my hands on those fresh apple cider donuts. They taste just as wonderful as they smell. However, most of the time, they are deep-fried and as someone trying to eat cleaner, I wanted to give a baked version a go. And here we are with these super delicious easy baked apple cider donuts.
You can make them at home in under an hour while avoiding the smell and mess of hot oil! These baked donuts are so soft that they melt in your mouth. And your house? It will smell amazing. Truly nothing better than baking during the Fall season! Who’s with me on that?
What you need to know before making these Baked Apple Cider Donuts:
- It is very important that the apple cider is reduced to have a more concentrated flavor. Reducing is simple. You allow for the cider to simmer for about 20 minutes until it has reduced to a smaller more concentrated amount. This will create more depth for your donuts. This step is necessary. You can learn more in the instructions for the recipe.
- I used Spiced Apple Cider from Trader Joe’s. If you can get your hands on spiced or great quality cider then that would be best. Spiced Cider also has flavorings of orange peel, cloves, cinnamon, and more.
- You can technically make these into muffins if you do not have a donut pan. It will however take 5-7 minutes longer to bake.
- Greasing the pan is very important to avoid the cake from sticking. Also, allow for the donut to cool slightly before taking it out of the pan gently.
- I use a variety of spices both in the batter and as the topping. That includes cinnamon, ginger, and chai. If you do not have chai, you can substitute it for ground cardamom. A little goes a long way and will set these apple cider donuts apart!
If you are a fan of recipes centered around apples, then be sure to check these out:
- Homemade Apple Galette with Caramel
- Cinnamon Apple Cake
- Sticky Apple Upside Down Cake
- Apple Crisp (Vegan & GF Friendly)
- Apple Cookies
If you have any questions or comments, leave them below! I would love to hear from you. Also, feel free to share your remakes with me on my Instagram page. I would love to see your creations! Happy Baking!
Baked Apple Cider Donuts
Ingredients
- 1 Stick Butter, Unsalted & room temperature
- 1/2 cup Brown Sugar
- 1/4 cup White Sugar
- 2 Eggs
- 1 tsp Vanilla Flavoring
- 2 cups All-Purpose Flour
- 1.5 tbsp Baking Powder
- 1 tsp Ground Cinnamon
- 1/2 tsp Ground Chai or use 1/4 tsp cardamom instead + 1/4 extra tsp cinnamon
- 1/4 tsp Ground Ginger
- 1/4 cup Milk any kind. Dairy or non-dairy
- 1.5 cups Apple Cider reduced to 1/2 cup of cider * I used spiced apple cider for more flavor
Topping
- 1/4 cup Unsalted Butter, melted
- 1/2 cup Granulated White Sugar
- 1 tsp Ground Cinnamon
- 1/2 tsp Ground Chai or use 1/4 tsp cardamom instead + 1/4 extra tsp cinnamon
Instructions
- First, the apple cider needs to be reduced. Take the 1.5 cups of cider and add it to a pot and let this simmer for about 15-20 minutes until it is reduced to about 1/2 cup. This will make the apple cider flavor more concentrated when added to the batter and is a necessary step.
- Let the reduced cider cool for 15 min room temp. Meanwhile, begin working on the batter for the donuts.
- In a bowl or kitchenaid with a paddle attachment, add the butter and sugars. Cream the two together.
- To this, add the eggs and vanilla and mix it all together well.
- Begin adding the dry ingredients such as flour, baking powder, cinnamon, chai, and ginger. Mix all together.
- To this, slowly add in the cider and milk until you have a creamy cohesive batter. Do not overmix.
- Spray your donut pan with nonstick spray very well to avoid the cake sticking.
- Fill a piping bag with the batter and fill the donut pan 3/4 of the way evenly. You can make a makeshift piping bag by using a ziplock and cutting it in the corner.
- Bake in a 350 F preheated oven for just about 15 minutes till baked through.
- While they bake, mix together the cinnamon, sugar, and chai seasoning for the topping in a shallow bowl.
- Allow for the donuts to cool slightly to avoid breakage while taking out of the pan.
- Dip each donut in the melted butter. Shake off the excess butter then dip in the cinnamon sugar topping on both sides.
- Repeat and enjoy these donuts fresh! They are best served right away. They keep well room temperature in a ziplock for one day. After that, it would be best to freeze them and thaw then microwave to warm them.
These Apple Cider Doughnuts are by far the best recipe I have tried! I made multiple ways and many recipes but these are perfection when it comes to taste and texture. Even the smell of the batter makes you want to try it (but I waited till after I baked them) . The batch made 20 pieces! It only took 10 minutes for it to be golden brown! I doubled the topping ingredients because I ran out mid way. Everyone enjoyed it and went in for seconds. This will be my go to recipe for Apple Cider Doughnuts from now on! We originally thought the ways I tried before were good but the best thing about Heifa’s recipes is that it overpasses the stage of just being good! It’s Perfection! Definitely doing it again.
I turned these donuts into muffins Cz I don’t have a donut mold lol , but they looked too good to pass , and they definitely lived up to the expectation, they are insanelyyyyy good especially when warm . They’re so easyyy to make too so don’t miss out on this deliciousness!
These are amazing! I made them into donut holes using a mini-muffin tray and they turned out so delicious. It was an easy recipe for someone who doesn’t bake often like me.
I am so happy you liked them!