Baked apple cider doughnuts

A make-at-home version of a favourite autumn treat!

If you’ve ever been apple picking at an orchard or visited a harvest festival, you may have tasted the warm, sugary apple cider doughnuts that seem to be offered at so many autumn events. While I am a huge fan of deep-fried doughnuts, they’re not something I prefer to make at home, so I decided to come up with an easier, oven-baked version. The concentrated cider really makes the flavour of these doughnuts special and it only takes a few minutes to prepare in advance. If you don’t have doughnut pans, use a 12-compartment muffin pan instead. If you’re looking for other great ways to enjoy homemade doughnuts, check out my maple-glazed sour cream doughnut recipe or my baked brown butter doughnuts.

Ingredients

Doughnuts:

• 3/4 cup/177 mL apple cider (to be concentrated down to 1/2 cup/125 mL)
• Neutral cooking oil or cooking spray
• 1 3/4 cups (225 g) purpose flour
• 1 1/4 teaspoons (6 g) baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon (.5 g) salt
• 1 teaspoon (2.7 g) ground cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon (1 g) freshly ground cardamom
• 2/3 cup (151 g) butter, at room temperature
• 1/4 cup (55 g) granulated sugar
• 3/4 cup (165 g) brown sugar
• 2 large eggs, at room temperature
• 1 teaspoon (5 mL) pure vanilla extract

Topping:

• 1/2 cup (110 g) granulated sugar
• 1 teaspoon (2.7 g) ground cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon (1 g) freshly ground cardamom

Method

• Place apple cider in a small pot on the stove, over medium heat. Bring to a boil then reduce heat to medium low and simmer until cider has been reduced to 1/2 cup. Place in refrigerator to cool.
• Heat oven to 350F. Lightly grease 2 (6-compartment) doughnut pans (or a 12-cup muffin tin) with neutral cooking oil or spray. Set aside. Note you can use just one 6 compartment doughnut pan if that’s all you have; you’ll just need to cook the batter in batches and wash/dry that pan thoroughly between batches.
• In a medium bowl, combine flour, baking powder, salt, cinnamon and cardamom; set aside.
• In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment (or a large mixing bowl with a hand electric mixer), cream butter and sugars until fluffy (about 3 minutes). Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition.  Scrape down sides of bowl then add vanilla and beat in.
• Add the flour mixture and mix on low speed until incorporated. With the mixer running, add the cooled apple cider concentrate slowly, until combined. Scrape the bowl and mix for 1 minute longer to ensure all ingredients are blended well.
• Fill the compartments of the prepared doughnut pans about 2/3 full with batter (I like to transfer the batter to a piping bag or a zippered food bag with one corner snipped off – I find this much easier than trying to spoon it into the pans).
• Bake until evenly golden brown and a toothpick inserted into the center of the thickest portion comes out clean, 12 to 15 minutes (15-20 minutes if using a muffin pan).
• While the doughnuts bake, make the topping by combining the granulated sugar, cinnamon and cardamom in a small bowl broad enough to dip the doughnuts in. Let the doughnuts cool for 5 minutes after baking, then carefully remove them from the pan(s) – I find a plastic takeout fork is great for loosening/removing them. While the doughnuts are still warm, dip both sides into the cinnamon-sugar mixture.
• Serve warm or at room temperature.

Makes 12 -15 doughnuts, depending upon the size of your pan.