Apple Cider Donuts

A recipe for homemade apple cider donuts made with brown sugar, non-alcoholic apple cider, and warm autumn spices. Baked in the oven, brushed with melted butter, and tossed in a spicy-sweet cinnamon sugar coating, these rustic apple cider donuts are the quintessential fall brunch and breakfast treat.

Key Ingredients

• Apple Cider – American apple cider is a cloudy, spiced, non-alcoholic, unfiltered apple juice. It’s not the same as British and Irish ciders (Magners, Strongbow, Thatchers, etc.) which are alcoholic beverages made from fermented apple juice. To make cider donuts, you’ll need non-alcoholic American apple cider, not “hard” cider. In the UK, you might find it in a specialty shop catering to Americans, like Panzer’s in North London. Or, use cloudy apple juice instead.
• Raising Agents – These donuts do not contain yeast. Instead, a combination of baking powder and baking soda (bicarb of soda), along with a large egg, give the baked donuts their lift. Do not decrease the quantities of any of these, or your donuts will look flat and dense, rather than tall, puffy, and round.
• Sugars – To sweeten the donut batter and produce the pretty golden brown color, I used a combination of dark brown sugar and granulated sugar. You can experiment with different sugar combinations or try other dark, moist sugars (molasses, muscovado) but do not reduce the overall quantity of sugar; you need the full amount.

• Spices – You’ll need lots of ground spices (cinnamon, nutmeg, allspice, ginger, cardamom) to make the donuts and the sugary topping taste like fall. Use fresh spices, ideally purchased within the past year—old or expired ground spices aren’t dangerous, but they lack flavor. For a shortcut, replace the individual spices with an equal quantity of homemade pumpkin spice seasoning, or store-bought pumpkin pie spice.
• Butter – Melted butter moistens the doughnuts and allows the cinnamon sugar topping to adhere to the dough. I tested this recipe with unsalted butter, but you can substitute salted for a very slight salty-sweet contrast. See my notes and tips for brushing the butter, below.

Notes and Tips

• Buy a donut pan. You will need a standard-sized donut pan for baking, as well as a disposable piping bag to pie the batter. I tested both silicone and nonstick metal pans and preferred the latter; if your pan is properly greased and your donuts properly baked, they’ll tip out onto the cooling rack with ease.

• Plan ahead. It will take about 45 minutes to reduce the cider. A pan with a larger surface area can speed up the reduction time—the smaller the pan, the longer the cider will take to reduce. 
• Fibers are fine. After reducing the cider, you might notice some “threads” or fibers floating on top of the reduction. Do not discard. Pour these into the batter along with the rest of the reduction for maximum apple cider flavor.
• Use a paring knife. For more uniform-looking donuts, use a sharp paring knife to trim any excess batter from the middle holes or outside edges of the baked and cooled donuts.
• Brush the butter. While developing this recipe, I looked at several cider donut recipes that instructed the baker to dunk the donut in melted butter. I don’t recommend this. Dunking produces greasy, dense donuts with too much butter. Instead, use a pastry brush to apply the melted butter, using just enough to moisten the donuts without making them oily.

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Apple Cider Donuts

Recipe by becky

• Total Time1 hour 12 minutes
• Yield12-14 3-inch round donuts 1x

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A recipe for homemade apple cider donuts made with brown sugar, non-alcoholic apple cider, and warm autumn spices.

Ingredients

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Cider Donuts:

Nonstick spray, for greasing tin
480 milliliters (2 cups) apple cider, reduced to 80 milliliters (1/3 cup)
225 grams all purpose flour (1 3/4 cups)
1 teaspoon baking powder
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon fine sea salt
Pinch ground allspice
Pinch ground nutmeg
150 grams dark brown sugar (3/4 cup)
50 grams granulated sugar (1/4 cup)
120 milliliters whole milk (1/2 cup)
30 milliliters canola oil or vegetable oil (2 tablespoons)
1 large egg, at room temperature
1 teaspoon vanilla bean paste

Cinnamon Sugar Topping:

200 grams granulated sugar (1 cup)
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
1/4 teaspoon ground allspice
1/4 teaspoon ground cardamom
60 grams unsalted butter (1/4 cup; 1/2 stick), melted

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Instructions

Generously grease a standard 6- or 12-donut tin with nonstick spray. Set aside.

In a small saucepan, simmer 380 milliliters (2 cups) apple cider over medium heat until reduced to 80 milliliters (1/3 cup), about 45 minutes. Remove from heat.

Preheat oven to 350° F (175° C).

In a large bowl, whisk all purpose flour, dark brown sugar, granulated sugar, baking powder, baking soda, ground cinnamon, fine sea salt, ground allspice, and ground nutmeg. Set aside.

In a separate bowl, whisk dark brown sugar, granulated sugar, whole milk, canola oil, egg, and vanilla bean paste.

With a flexible rubber spatula, fold the wet ingredients into the flour, followed by the apple cider reduction. Do not overmix. Batter will be thick and foamy.

Scoop batter into a disposable piping bag fitted with 1/2-inch round tip. Pipe into prepared tin.

Bake in preheated oven for 12-13 minutes, or until donuts look puffy and spring back lightly when touched.

Cool 5 minutes in tin, then turn out onto wire rack to cool completely. Re-grease donut tin and repeat with remaining batter.

Cinnamon Sugar Topping

Sit wire rack over a tray lined with parchment or wax paper.

In a small bowl, whisk granulated sugar, ground cinnamon, ground nutmeg, ground ginger, ground allspice, and ground cardamom.

With a pastry brush, brush melted butter over both sides of donuts. Dip in cinnamon sugar to coat.

Serve warm or at room temperature. Store leftover donuts in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 1 day.

 

• Prep Time: 1 hour
• Cook Time: 12 minutes
• Category: Breakfast
• Method: Oven

Make-Ahead and Storage Suggestions

Like most donuts, these taste best on the day they are made, and ideally while still slightly warm from the oven. Leftovers will keep reasonably well for one or two days, but will develop a denser, heavier texture over time.

To make ahead: You can prepare the apple cider reduction up to 24 hours in advance. Refrigerate in an airtight container until ready to use.

Other Autumn Apple Recipes You Might Enjoy

Apple Cider Caramels
Date and Apple Squares
Apple, Cheddar, and Rosemary Focaccia
Cherry Apple Hand Pies
Apple Galette

And if you do make these, or any of my recipes, don’t forget to tag me @bastecutfold or use the hashtag #bastecutfold on Instagram. I always love to see what you’re making!