Make It: Apple Cider Donut Cake with Brown Butter Cinnamon Sugar

Who else absolutely loves the change of seasons and all of the fall flavors that come with it? Even in LA, the air feels a little different and the trees and animals know there’s change in the air. 

While pumpkin spice seems to get all of the shelf and air time around here, one of my favorite fall flavors is spiced apple cider. Especially apple cider donuts which we don’t see nearly enough on this coast since we don’t grow as many apples here as they do in the east. 

I’ve made apple cider donuts in the past – and you can find my recipe for Paleo Apple Cider Donuts here – but I was inspired to turn this one into a cake, because why not? They’re traditionally a cake donut which means they’re an easier one to make gluten free and with applesauce in the base, it’s incredibly moist and rewarms well. This would work well as a layer cake but I hadn’t made a bundt cake in what felt like forever and decided to mix things up.

If you’re looking for something other than another pumpkin or pecan pie to take to the Thanksgiving / Friendsgiving table this year, look no further than this Apple Cider Donut Cake. It’s an easy one to throw together and a pretty foolproof bake too. If you’d like to make this as a layer cake or as individual bundts, check out the notes at the end of the recipe card. Want to make this vegan? That’s totally doable and in the notes too. 

If you give it a try, be sure to tag me in your creation @cleanmade #cleanmadebakes and let me know how it goes!

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Apple Cider Donut Cake with Brown Butter Cinnamon Sugar (GF/DF/NF)

Yield: 14

Author: Shawna Dawson Beer / Clean Made

Prep time: 20 MinCook time: 1 HourInactive time: 1 HourTotal time: 2 H & 20 M

All of the warm fall flavor of a moist apple cider donut in an easy to make showstopper of a bundt cake finished with a rich dairy free brown butter and cinnamon sugar topping. This recipe is gluten free, dairy free and nut free and can easily be made vegan.

Ingredients

For the Cake

• 3 1/4 cups gluten free flour (see notes)
• 3 teaspoons ground cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoons freshly ground nutmeg
• 1 teaspoon sea salt
• 1 1/2 tablespoon baking powder
• 1 1/2 cups organic cane or coconut sugar (see notes)
• 1/2 cup organic brown sugar (see notes)
• 1 cup avocado oil
• 3 eggs, room temp (see notes)
• 1 cup organic unsweetened applesauce, room temp
• 1 cup fresh, unsweetened apple cider, room temp (see notes)
• 1 teaspoon vanilla bean paste or vanilla extract (see notes)

For the Brown Butter Cinnamon Sugar Topping

• 1/2 cup unsalted vegan butter
• 1/4 cup organic cane sugar
• 2-4 teaspoons cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon sea salt

Instructions

Making the Cake

1. Preheat your oven to 325 degrees F. Prepare a bundt pan by generously coating in vegan butter or coconut oil and then dusting lightly with some of your gluten free flour, tapping any excess out. Set aside.
2. Combine your dry ingredients (flour, baking powder, cinnamon, nutmeg and sea salt) in a medium size bowl, whisk thoroughly to combine. Set aside.
3. In the bowl of your stand mixer (or a large mixing bowl if you're using a hand mixer) combine the sugar, brown sugar and oil and mix on medium speed until just combined.
4. Add the eggs to the sugar mixture one at a time, incorporating each before adding the next, and mix on medium speed for about two minutes until you have a creamy blend.
5. Add the applesauce and vanilla and continue mixing until combined.
6. With the mixer on low speed (to avoid a big flour dust up!) add ⅓ of the flour mixture, followed by half of the apple cider. Continue alternating the flour and the cider, finishing with the flour mixture. Mix just until all of your flour mix is incorporated. Your batter will be thin and runny but fear not, it'll bake up great. Note: While it's tough to over mix a gluten free batter in the way you can overdevelop ones with gluten, you do want to stop as soon as things are combined so you don't end up with too many air bubbles in your batter mix.
7. Pour the batter into your prepared bundt pan and check at 60 minutes. The cake is done when a toothpick inserted in the center of the cake comes out with just a few moist crumbs on it. Depending on the depth and shape of your bundt pan it could take as long as 80 minutes for this to bake and set all the way to the center, so be patient, but start checking at 60 minutes.
8. Let the cake cool and set for at least hour in the bundt pan before inverting it onto a cake plate or board with a sheet of parchment (to catch the sugar that's coming in the next step!).

Making the Brown Butter Cinnamon Sugar Topping

1. Add your butter and sea salt to a small saucepan.
2. Add your sugar and cinnamon to a small bowl and set aside. Start with 2 teaspoons but go up to a tablespoon (which is what I do) to taste.
3. Heat the butter and salt over medium heat whisking constantly until your mix goes from an oily reduction to a slightly browned nuttier version of itself. Note, vegan butter doesn't have the dairy solids to brown the way butter does but you can still achieve the richer nuttier flavor we're going for here. If you tolerate dairy, by all means, make this with grass fed or good French butter!
4. Using a silicon brush coat the top of your cake with the browned butter.
5. Sprinkle your cinnamon sugar mix on the butter saturated cake, pressing it into the sides of the cake with the back of a spoon or another (dry) pastry brush.
6. Slice up your cake and enjoy!

Notes

A Note on Flours

My go-to flour blend is Dove's Free From Plain Flour which is easily found on the shelf in the UK and in the USA by mail order. When I don't have Dove's on hand I will use one of my own blends depending on what I'm baking (some gluten free flours are better for one thing than another) but both King Arthur and Bob's Red Mill gluten free flour blends should work well in this recipe, just make sure whatever gluten free flour you use is plain and not self raising.

A Note on Sugars

I used a blend of organic cane sugar, Swerve granulated monkfruit and real organic brown sugar here. This recipe works well entirely sugar free using Swerve granulated and Swerve brown sugar, but I chose to use some organic cane sugar in a blend for this because the "real" sugar does some chemical magic adding moisture and structure, not just sweetness, so if sugar free isn't a need, blends do best.

A Note on Eggs

I made this using large pastured eggs, but this recipe is easily made vegan by subbing the eggs for a vegan egg replacer like JUST Egg or aquafaba.

A Note on Apple Cider

Use the best, freshest, no sugar added, cider you can get your hands on. This cake is all about the quality of the cider! Have leftover cider? Boil it down and reduce it to a syrup. You can then use that syrup in everything from cakes to a drizzle over yogurt or oatmeal to making some stellar cocktails.

A Note on Vanilla Bean Paste

Any time having black flecks of vanilla bean won't be a problem in a recipe, I prefer to use vanilla bean paste over extract for the rich vanilla taste it imparts. If all of you have is vanilla extract, it'll do the trick, but like the rest of the ingredients, quality counts when it comes to the finished product. My favorite vanilla brand (paste, extract and beans) is Native Vanilla which is easy to find online.

A Note on Bundt Pans

I used a Nordic Ware Snowflake Pan I got at Williams-Sonoma ages ago and and never got around to using, but any bundt pan – classic or decorative – will work so long as it has about a 12 cup capacity so there's room for your cake to rise in the pan a bit, which it will. You could also do this as individual mini bundts or as 6" cake layers (see the Layer Cake note below). If you're using a very decorative bundt, be sure to prepare your pan well with lots of fat (butter or oil) and a light dusting of flour. It's always the deep nooks and crannies where the cake will get stuck and break. A little prep goes a long way.

A Note on Cake Storage & Serving

This cake will keep well wrapped and sealed up on a cool counter or in the fridge, but because of the high moisture content (applesauce!) I recommend keeping it in the refrigerator if you don't plan to finish it in a couple of days. It would also freeze well, sliced or whole if wrapped properly. Bring it to room temp to enjoy. Better yet, warm a slice in a low oven and add a little extra cinnamon sugar sprinkled on top for best results and ultimate enjoyment.

Can You Make This Vegan?

YES! See the Note on Eggs.

Can You Make This a Layer Cake?

YES! Divide your batter between three or four 6" x 3" round pans (depending on the size layer you'd like) and bake at 325 degrees F checking at about 40 minutes for doneness. Let the layers cool for an hour in the pan before inverting to a parchment lined rack to continue cooling. This cake would pair especially well with Cinnamon Swiss Meringue Buttercream.

Recommended Products:

Nordic Ware Snowflake Pan

Swerve Sweetener, Brown, 12 ounces (3 Pack)

KitchenAid 7-Speed Digital Hand Mixer with Turbo Beater II Accessories and Pro Whisk

© Clean Made 2022

Apple, Fall, Holiday, Thanksgiving, Cake, Bundt, Vegan

Dessert, Cake

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—> Looking for a great vanilla? Here’s where to buy my favorite Vanilla Bean Paste from Native Vanilla.