Apple Cider Donut Bundt

A few weeks ago, a friend of mine gave me a bunch of beautiful, lovely, much needed hand-me-downs for my Mackenzie! I was so blessed by this wonderful gift, I promised my friend a cake. Time went by and I realized that I still needed to make that promised cake!

After discussing what her family might enjoy, I browsed my pinterest page for ideas. I found the PERFECT option (thank you to Martha Stewart) : Apple Cider Donut Bundt. The write-up sounded like this cake was right up my friend’s alley. I made a few changes, but- stayed true to the recipe otherwise.

When I baked the cake, the smell from my oven was AMAZING! It was all I could do to not take a warm chunk! But, I resisted the urge and got the cake to my friend quickly! Within minutes of giving her the cake, I got a text! They loved it! She did say that maybe it wasn’t quite the texture of a donut- so, I’m gonna work on that a little bit! Otherwise this may be a contender for the “keeper” list!

***** Hey, friends! When week 26 is completed, I’m going to post a “half-way-thru-the-year” review of my favorite cakes! I would LOVE to hear from you if you’ve tried any cakes and loved them! By the end of week 52 I would like to have a list of “best” cakes to draw on… you know, in case I go into business and need to create a menu of sorts! 🙂 ***********

Here is the recipe! Seriously, you really might want to try this one!

Apple Cider Donut Bundt Cake

Ingredients:

2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted, plus more for pan (I used 1/4 cup of butter)
2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour, plus more for pan
1 cup whole-wheat flour (I used only all-purpose flour this time)
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
3/4 teaspoon kosher salt
1 3/4 cups natural cane sugar (I used regular, every day sugar)
1 cup apple cider (I used part apple juice, part sparkling cider -because I dare you to find real cider in June.)
3/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil (I used vegetable oil)
3/4 cup unsweetened applesauce
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
3 large eggs, room temperature

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Butter and flour a 12-cup Bundt pan. In a large bowl, whisk together both flours, baking powder, 1 teaspoon cinnamon, baking soda, and salt. In another bowl, whisk together 1 1/2 cups sugar, cider, oil, applesauce, vanilla, and eggs. Add egg mixture to flour mixture; whisk until combined. Transfer batter to prepared pan.
Bake, rotating pan halfway through, until a tester inserted in center comes out clean, 45 to 50 minutes. Transfer pan to a wire rack set over a rimmed baking sheet; let cool 15 minutes. Meanwhile, mix together remaining 1/4 cup sugar and 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon.
Invert warm cake onto rack. Brush with melted butter, then sprinkle liberally with cinnamon sugar. Let cool completely before serving. Cake can be stored, covered, at room temperature up to 2 days. (While working on this coating, I painted butter on a small section of the cake, sprinkled cinnamon-sugar immediately, and then moved onto another section.)