Vegan Apple Cider Donut Cake
Welp, it was 40 degrees when I woke up this morning, and there are a few nights where it’s supposed to drop into the 30s this week. If this was the worst it was going to get and it was only going to last a couple of months, I’d say “whatever” and maybe even embrace the change (maybe). But, that is not how winter works in Boston. It’s going to be five months of relentless gloomy skies and frigidness, which is why every October Aaron and I have long talks about moving to Southern California* and I go all-in on baking in the interim (because carbs). I haven’t made a single thing with pumpkin this Fall (I know. Am I even a real food blogger?!), but I did make this vegan apple cider donut cake!
This simple apple cake came to be because Aaron and I have a yearly apple-picking tradition for our wedding anniversary, where we drive an hour outside of the city to an orchard in Groton, MA and get to pretend we’re country folk for an afternoon (it’s not actually the country—more like the suburbs with a bit of extra land). Last year I used some of our apple haul to make baked apple cider donuts, and this year I just couldn’t stop thinking about apple cider cake in a pretty bundt pan with crunchy cinnamon sugar topping sprinkled all over. In hindsight, I now realize that this cake is basically one GIANT apple cider donut. (You’re welcome.)
I love this recipe because it’s only 10 ingredients and it takes 10 minutes to prep and 35 minutes to bake. I used my very easy homemade cashew yogurt to replace some of the oil (any plain, non-dairy yogurt should work) and I also experimented with different versions using coconut oil, avocado oil, and extra virgin olive oil.** All three tasted great, but I personally find coconut oil to be annoying this time of year because it wants to be a solid when I need it to be a melted-but-not-hot liquid. You can get around this by gently warming your coconut oil and making sure your other ingredients are room temperature to prevent it from solidifying; I prefer the ease of just pouring in avocado oil (which tastes like nothing) or extra virgin olive oil (which isn’t neutral, but I like the flavor). If you want to be even more authentic and indulgent, you could melt some vegan buttery spread and use that instead.
While the cake itself is only a little sweet thanks to the apple cider and a bit of coconut sugar, I went full-on traditional with the topping: crunchy cane sugar + cozy cinnamon, as it should be. And if you aren’t too cold for ice cream, you can’t go wrong serving your cake a la mode.
*In our ideal situation, Aaron and I would split our time between Boston and Newport Beach (and Sonoma? Why not.), but in the real world, these places are beyond expensive. We’re finally getting our act together and working with a financial advisor who’s helping us play out the various scenarios. Hopefully we can work towards a decision instead of being those people who complain about winter while living somewhere that’s winter half the time.
**We have a boatload of cake at our house right now. I froze the extras for safe-keeping although I’m not confident that will be much of a deterrent…
Vegan Apple Cider Donut Cake
Vegan Apple Cider Donut Cake
Serves: one 9-inch cake
Prep Time: 10 mins
Cook Time: 35 mins
Total Time: 45 mins
10 ingredient apple cider donuts in cake form! This simple and vegan Apple Cider Donut Cake is covered in a crunchy cinnamon sugar topping. It's quintessentially fall and takes only 45 minutes to make!
Cuisine: Vegan Servings: one 9-inch cake
Prep Time: 10 mins Cook Time: 35 mins Total Time: 45 mins
10 ingredient apple cider donuts in cake form! This simple and vegan Apple Cider Donut Cake is covered in a crunchy cinnamon sugar topping. It's quintessentially fall and takes only 45 minutes to make!
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350° F. Lightly grease a bundt pan with olive oil and set it aside.
- In a large mixing bowl or stand mixer, combine the flour, baking powder, cinnamon, nutmeg, cardamom, and salt. Add the apple cider, olive oil, coconut sugar, yogurt, and vanilla. Stir until combined, being careful not to over-mix. The batter will be on the thicker side.
- Transfer the batter into the prepared bundt pan. Bake for 35-40 minutes, or until the cake begins to pull away from the edges and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Let sit in the pan on a cooling rack until completely cool.
- While the cake cools, prepare the topping: In a small mixing bowl, stir together the sugar and cinnamon. Set aside.
- Remove the cake from the pan (if it doesn't come right out, you can use a small rubber spatula or knife to gently go around the edges of the pan to loosen any stuck sides). Carefully transfer the cake onto a serving plate. Brush the top with olive oil and sprinkle with cinnamon sugar. Serve with a scoop of non-dairy vanilla bean ice cream, if you like.
Notes [4]
For the yogurt, I recommend my homemade cashew yogurt recipe. It’s super easy and low in sugar.
I’ve tested this recipe with coconut oil and it works well. I prefer extra virgin olive oil (or avocado oil) when the weather is colder, since coconut oil tends to solidify. If you use coconut oil, it should be melted but not hot. Make sure your other ingredients (flour, apple cider, etc.) are room temperature when you mix in the coconut oil.
The cake can be stored covered at room temperature for a couple of days, or in the fridge for up to a week.
Recipe lightly adapted from my Vegan Apple Cider Donuts.
Copyright © 2022 Amanda Maguire for Pickles & Honey
Oh heck yeah! I live for apple cider donuts in the fall so turning them into a cake is brilliant! Love the ingredients in this!
I agree! Fall doesn’t feel complete without an apple cider donut-type dessert.
Beautiful and your photos just scream fall! I can’t wait to make this!
Thanks! I hope you enjoy!
I just adore your recipes and writing, Amanda. I made your lemon yogurt cake last week (it was fantastic) and I can’t wait to make your apple cider doughnut cake next. Wishing you and Aaron a very happy anniversary!
Oh, I’m so happy you loved the lemon yogurt cake! It’s one of my favorites. Thank you for the anniversary wishes!
Will definitely have to try this recipe! By the way, as a born and raised Southern Californian, we wish for real seasons and crisp Octobers! It’s seriously 80 degrees all this week in San Diego. The grass is always greener, right? At least I can pretend it’s real fall with your beautifully autumnal cake!
80 degrees sounds verrry good to me right now! haha (It’s like 40 in Boston) You’re absolutely right that the grass is always greener!
This is perfect for fall! I have to bake something for my daughter’s Halloween party and I think your apple cider donut cake will be just the thing! Stunning photos as always.
Awesome! I hope your daughter and her classmates enjoy the cake!
Do you think I could freeze this? We always buy the frozen apple cider donuts at the orchard and it is so good in December!
I do! I would probably just double wrap the cake (in plastic wrap and then in a freezer-safe bag), then defrost overnight in the fridge. Or however you store/defrost the donuts from the orchard should work! 🙂
Hi Amanda — I Love many of your recipes and this is the first cake of yours I’ve made. I was interested to see you don’t use vinegar to react with the baking powder in order to leaven the cake. My cake was very, very dense. Possibly over mixed it. I’ll try it again — I do love that it’s not too sweet. In fact my husband made (fried) apple cider donuts last week and we think the cake is tastier.
Hi Winnie, I’m sorry the cake turned out dense! I’ve made it a handful of times and my mother-in-law actually just made it last week with good results, so I’m wondering if perhaps your flour could have been a bit packed down when you measured it? Over-mixing would also have made it more dense/tough. Either way, let me know what happens if you try it again. 🙂 I’m very flattered that you and your husband thought the cake was tastier than fried apple cider donuts—that’s quite the compliment!
Just made this recipe, but I had to make a few small changes.
1) I used vanilla coconut milk yogurt since I did not have plain.
2) I baked the cake in a loaf pan since I do not own a bundt pan.
3) I added a tablespoon of apple cider vinegar with the wet ingredients since a person in the comments mentioned it and I was curious to see the results.
Right now the cake is baking but I’ll add my results. I really liked the recipe though! It came together in 10 minutes and used only minimal dishes!
Update: the cake is not dense. It is pretty crumbly but overall not dry. I baked it for 40 minutes and let it cool before adding a glaze.
I think the cake could use more sugar. I would at least increase it to 1/2 cup– maybe more. That said, I used cane sugar and not coconut (forgot to mention that before) and I’m not sure if one is sweeter than the other.
Overall, I like the cake!
Thank you for sharing all of your changes, Angel! I’m glad the cake held up well. 🙂 As I mention in the post, the cake is only a little sweet (while the topping is VERY sweet ha!), but of course you could certainly increase the sugar for a sweeter cake. Totally up to you!
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