Baked Apple Cider Donuts
Donuts are usually fried, however, this delicious apple cider donut is so easy to make and less messy. There is no deep-frying. The key ingredient is the concentrated apple cider which you can make ahead of time.
Ingredients
- 2 1/2 cups fresh apple cider
- 2 cups all purpose flour
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 3/4 tsp baking soda
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1 tsp cinnamon grounded
- 1/4 tsp cardamom
- 1/8 tsp nutmeg
- 1/2 cup white sugar
- 1/2 cup dark brown sugar or packed brown sugar
- 1/2 cup milk at room temperature. Any milk (dairy or non-dairy) works with this recipe. Buttermilk is also ok.
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 egg
Topping
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 1 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1/4 tsp nutmeg
- 1/8 tsp cardamom powder
- 6 tbsp melted butter unsalted
Instructions
- Add apple cider into a saucepan and heat over medium flame. Bring it to a boil and then simmer, stirring occasionally, until it reduces to about 1/2 cup. Depending on the temperature it could take from 20 - 25 minutes. keep it aside until it cools down.
- Preheat the oven to 375°F (190°C) (190 degrees C). Grease two 6-cup doughnut pans with butter or non-stick spray. Set aside.
- Whisk all dry ingredients. In a large mixing bowl, combine flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, 1 teaspoon cinnamon, cardamom, and nutmeg. Keep away until needed.
- In a separate bowl, whisk together 2 tablespoons of melted butter, 1/2 cup white sugar, 1/2 cup brown sugar, milk, egg, and vanilla extract until well combined. Pour the reduced apple cider and then add dry ingredients. Whisk together to make a little thick batter. Do not overmix the ingredients.
- To make it easier, use a large Ziploc bag to pipe the batter into the prepared doughnut pans, filling them about ¾ th. Add the batter into a large Ziploc bag and cut a corner off the bottom of the bag and pipe the batter halfway into each doughnut cup.
- Bake in the preheated oven for 10 to 12 minutes, or until the tops are lightly browned and the donuts bounce back slightly when touched. Allow cooling in the pans for 10 minutes before transferring to a cooling rack.
- Optional: In a shallow dish, combine the granulated sugar and cinnamon. While the donut is still warm, brush or dip both sides of each donut in the melted butter, then toss in donuts to coat lightly.
Notes
- If you don't have the special donut pan you can use a standard 12-cup muffin pan. Just grease the pan or use muffin liners, fill each hole with 3/4 full of batter. Bake at 350 degrees for about 20 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the center come out clean.
- If you don't have nutmeg and cardamom powder you can replace it with apple pie spice. Simply replace nutmeg and cardamom with 1/2 tsp apple pie spice.
- You can freeze any leftover donuts for up to 3 months. When you want to use it, just thaw it in the refrigerator and warm up in the microwave.