Delicious Apple Cider Doughnut Cake

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Cider doughnuts are popular among the Amish and among the non-Amish.   One of the best memories I have in all my years of exploring Amish settlements is visiting a small Amish-owned orchard in southern Michigan.  Every Friday they’d sell these delicious, melt-in-your-mouth cider doughnuts.  Wow, oh, wow.

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• 🙋 FAQ
• 🍎 Delicious Apple Cider Doughnut Cake Ingredients
• 📋 Instructions
• 🎂 More Amish Recipes Using Cake Mix
• 🖨️ Full Recipe

Now this Delicious Apple Cider Doughnut Cake recipe is not an Amish recipe per se, a Facebook friend posted it and it reminded me enough of baked goods that I’ve had in Amish homes that I had to share it.  And, yes, you will find boxed cake mixes in Amish kitchens.  I mean, some Amish will make their own mixes from scratch, and scratch-made cakes are definitely still king in Amish kitchens. But if you peek in the pantry of most Amish kitchens you’ll find a box of Duncan Hines in there somewhere.  There’s just a lot you can do with boxed cake mix in a pinch.

The Amish and apples have a long history.  There are many Amish-owned apple orchards and many very skilled growers.  There is actually a variety of heirloom apple called “Black Amish”, I’d love to taste it sometime.  The Black Amish is described as a:

 wonderful apple and quite stunning in appearance. Although not mentioned in any old catalogs or other apple literature, it is believed to have originated in Pennsylvania. A very dependable annual bearer of dark red apples which hang well on the tree. Fruit is large to very large with varying shades of red and deep maroon depending on the amount of sun exposure. The yellowish flesh is crisp, fine-grained and very juicy with a refreshing tangy-sweet flavor. Ripens September to October.

You can read more about Black Amish heirloom apples here.

Okay, back to this apple cider doughnut cake. If you decide you want the delicious taste of apple cider doughnuts but don't want to deal with making doughnuts, well, you can get the same taste in a cake. Thanks to Vicky for sharing her photos and recipes with us!

You can build on this recipe. For instance, I'd probably add more cinnamon to the cake, geez, 1 /4 a teaspoon barely registers. But I love cinnamon. You could probably add some honey or even molasses to it to add additional zip without ruining the baking chemistry.

🙋 FAQ

The grated apple in the batter is a great tip to really bring home the taste of autumn in every bite!

🍎 Delicious Apple Cider Doughnut Cake Ingredients

Cake:

• 15.25 ounce Box Yellow Cake Mix
• ¾ cup apple cider
• 1 /4 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1 /2 cup apple sauce
• 3 large eggs
• 1 tablespoon brown sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1 teaspoon nutmeg
• grated and peeled apple
• cinnamon sugar for sprinkling

Topping

• 2 tablespoons cinnamon
• 1 /4 cup sugar
• 1 /4 cup unsalted butter

📋 Instructions

1. Mix cake ingredients together in a bowl until well combined.
2. Spray a bundt pan with cooking spray.
3. Sprinkle cinnamon-sugar throughout the pan.
4. Pour cake batter into the pan.
5. Sprinkle batter with cinnamon sugar
6. Bake at 350 for about 35 minutes.
7. Cool then run a spatula around the pan and let it out on a cake platter.
8. Using the last topping ingredients melt the butter, then mix the cinnamon and sugar together. Mix to fit your taste and put it in a salt shaker.
9. Brush the cake with the melted butter then try to get the cinnamon sugar all over it.
10. Let it sit for 20 minutes and repeat the cinnamon sugar.
11. Serve. Store cake in a tightly covered container.

🎂 More Amish Recipes Using Cake Mix

Cake Mix Cinnamon Rolls

Cherry Dump Cake

Cake Mix Cookies

🖨️ Full Recipe