GLAZED APPLE CIDER DONUT CAKE

Last month, we took our kiddos up the mountain to fish and shoot bows. It was a sparkling fall day, crunchy leaves and just enough breeze to make it feel like legitimate sweater weather. Matyas caught a fish. Greta got a bullseye. I got my feet wet. As in, really wet. In all the excitement of trying to help Matyas reel in his first ever fish (read: BIG excitement!), I walked right into the pond.

We had planned to go out for cider donuts afterward, but wet feet foiled our after-party. We detoured straight for home, everyone’s sweet tooth still kicked into high gear. There were words. Some boys (and grown men) don’t deal well with disappointment.

You shouldn’t feel too bad for them—we’ve had our fair share of excellent apple cider donuts this season. But a week later, the apple-cider donut itch still needed scratching one day after school. As a rule, I don’t make donuts at home. At least not this year. But a bundt? A bundt I do—happily. So when I ran into a Bourbon Bundt Cake recipe that looked wildly tender, it struck me as an easy remake: cider donut vibes, but with tender chunks of apple baked in.

Good news—it worked (!), maybe a little too well. We ate the whole cake in one sitting.

The resulting bundt is a cider donut meets apple cake meets apple fritter, three of my shameless fall indulgences. Generally, I only need one of each every fall to feel satisfied. But a three in one? Well…..shoot.

Without the glaze, this is a cake you could bake week by week for afternoon treats, Sunday guests and such. With the glaze, it leans hard into donut category, crispy, crunchy glazed donuts—sweet, but worthily so.

This cake takes cues from Jennifer Segal's Kentucky Bourbon Cake from her new book, Once Upon a Chef, but with apples, less sugar and per my signature bundt of all bundts (this one), a blend of Gluten-Free All Purpose Flour and Almond Flour which lends a texture that’s hard not to love. For the liquid, you can use bourbon or hard cider or just good ole’ apple cider, as I have. Certainly bourbon will give it more oomph in the grown up world, but me and my people loved it plenty without.\\

By the way, I didn’t butter and flour my pan well enough the first time I made this (photos below)—so don’t skimp on that step. You’ll get cleaner edges and lines and all the same irresistible flavor.

RECIPE BELOW

GLAZED APPLE CIDER DONUT CAKE

THE SLIGHTLY UNCONVENTIONAL BUTTER METHOD HERE—ADDING SOFT BUTTER TO THE DRY INGREDIENTS, INSTEAD OF CREAMING THE BUTTER FIRST—LENDS A TIGHT CRUMB AND UTTER TENDERNESS. THIS IS A TRUE MELT-IN-YOUR-MOUTH CAKE.

3/4 CUP BUTTERMILK

1/4 CUP APPLE CIDER, HARD CIDER OR BOURBON

4 LARGE EGGS

2 TEASPOONS PURE VANILLA EXTRACT

2 CUPS GLUTEN-FREE ALL PURPOSE FLOUR

1 CUP ALMOND FLOUR

1 1/4 CUP UNBLEACHED ORGANIC SUGAR

1 TBSP BAKING POWDER

1/4 TSP BAKING SODA

3/4 TSP SALT

1 CUP (2 STICKS) UNSALTED BUTTER

1 TART LARGE CRISP APPLE (SUCH AS HONEYCRISP), PEELED, CORED AND CHOPPED

GLAZE

4 TABLESPOONS (1/2 STICK) UNSALTED BUTTER

3/4 CUP GRANULATED SUGAR

1/4 CUP APPLE CIDER OR BOURBON

PINCH OF SALT

MAKE THE CAKE: PREHEAT THE OVEN AT 325° AND SET AN OVEN RACK IN THE MIDDLE POSITION. GENEROUSLY BUTTER AND FLOUR A 10-INCH/12-CUP BUNDT PAN, MAKING SURE TO COAT ALL THE CREVICES OF THE BAKING PAN.

IN A MEDIUM BOWL, WHISK TOGETHER THE BUTTERMILK, APPLE CIDER, EGGS AND VANILLA (NOTE THAT THE BUTTERMILK MAY CURDLE AS IT SITS)

COMBINE THE FLOURS, GRANULATED SUGAR, BAKING POWDER, BAKING SODA AND SALT IN THE BOWL OF AN ELECTRIC MIXER FITTED WITH THE PADDLE ATTACHMENT. BEAT ON LOW SPEED FOR 30 SECONDS TO COMBINE.

ADD THE (ROOM TEMP) BUTTER AND HALF THE BUTTERMILK MIXTURE; MIX ON LOW SPEED UNTIL MOSTLY COMBINED BUT STILL A LITTLE CRUMBLY, ABOUT 1 MINUTE. GRADUALLY ADD THE REMAINING BUTTERMILK MIXTURE WITH THE MIXER ON LOW, THEN INCREASE THE SPEED TO MEDIUM. BEAT UNTIL PALE AND CREAMY, STOPPING ONCE TO SCRAPE DOWN THE BOWL, ABOUT 3 MINUTES. SCRAPE DOWN THE BOWL AGAIN AND BEAT ONE MORE TIME UNTIL EVENLY MIXED.

TRANSFER ABOUT 1/2 THE BATTER TO THE PREPARED PAN. SPOON IN THE CHOPPED APPLE, TAKING CARE NOT TO LET THE APPLE TOUCH THE SIDES OF THE PAN. TOP WITH THE REMAINING BATTER AND USE AN OFFSET SPATULA TO SMOOTH.

BAKE UNTIL A CAKE TESTER COMES OUT CLEAN, ABOUT 1 HOUR 5 MINUTES. REMOVE AND LET COOL.

MEANWHILE, MAKE THE GLAZE: MELT THE BUTTER IN A SMALL SAUCEPAN OVER MEDIUM HEAT. ADD THE GRANULATED SUGAR, APPLE CIDER, AND SALT. BRING TO A GENTLE BOIL. REDUCE THE HEAT AND SIMMER, WHISKING, UNTIL THE SUGAR IS DISSOLVED, 1 MINUTE.

SET THE CAKE, (STILL IN THE PAN), ON A COOLING RACK. USE A SKEWER OR A TOOTHPICK TO POKE 30 HOLES IN THE BOTTOM OF THE WARM CAKE, GOING ABOUT THREE--FOURTHS OF THE WAY DOWN. SPOON a THIRD OF THE GLAZE EVENLY OVER THE BOTTOM OF THE CAKE (POKING MORE HOLES IF NEEDED TO LET THE glaze SINK IN). SET ASIDE, ABOUT 30 MINUTES.

INVERT THE CAKE ONTO A SERVING PLATTER. brush THE REMAINING GLAZE EVENLY OVER THE TOP AND SIDES OF THE CAKE, LETTING IT SET AND ADDING ADDITIONAL GLAZE AS IT SETS. SET ASIDE 1 HOUR BEFORE SERVING. SLICE AND SERVE AT ROOM TEMPERATURE, with whipped cream (optional) OR STORE IN AN AIR-TIGHT CONTAINER FOR UP TO 3 DAYS.

images belong to Sarah Copeland, and should not be pinned or posted without attribution. **

Photo // SARAH COPELAND

ceramics // LOST QUARRY