My daughter works in the healthcare industry and we all know how busy healthcare workers are right now. I thought it would be fun to bake up a batch of mini-donuts for the folks that work in her department. I’m told these were a big hit.
These couldn’t be any easier to make. The maple glaze is ABSOLUTELY DELICIOUS!
I found the recipe here:
Several weeks ago, a local orchard hosted a day of free apple-picking. Our family took a leisurely ride out to the farm and picked oodles of gorgeous red apples in the late summer sunshine. After it was all said and done, we had picked nearly seventy pounds of apples. Our canvas bags were overflowing as we loaded them into the car and headed to the farmhouse for a hearty lunch. As we waited for our table, I thought about all of the delicious treats I could make with our lot. I would make applesauce in the pressure cooker, several spicy applesauce quick breads, a special Bundt cake that holds an array of wonderful fall flavors, peanut butter and apple slice sandwiches, and lots of other apple flavored items.
This cake is one of our family favorites. I often bring it along to various outdoor parties hosted during the autumn months. It’s a great Thanksgiving dessert. Served up with a piping hot cup of tea or coffee, this one is a winner!
Apple Cider Donut Cake
1 box yellow cake mix
¾ cup apple cider
½ cup butter, melted
1 teaspoon vanilla
4 eggs, slightly beaten
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1 cup coarsely shredded peeled tart apples (2 medium)
Cinnamon Sugar Topping
3 tablespoons butter, melted
¼ cup sugar
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
Heat oven to 350°F. Generously spray a Bundt cake pan with cooking spray.
In large bowl, beat together the first 6 ingredients. Stir in apples. Pour into prepared cake pan.
Bake 35 to 40 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Remove from oven. Let stand 20 minutes; loosen Cake and remove from pan to cooling rack or large, round cake platter.
Brush top and sides of cake with 3 tablespoons melted butter. In small bowl, mix sugar and 1 teaspoon cinnamon until blended. Carefully and generously distribute sugar and cinnamon mixture over the top and sides of the cake. Cool completely, about 1 hour.
This recipe is adapted from a recipe found here:
https://www.bettycrocker.com/recipes/apple-cider-doughnut-cake/7d9dadd5-834d-469e-9485-3356d8f028c4
A beautiful day for a drive…
Beautiful red delicious apples…
For the longest time, I’ve wanted to try making baked donuts. This past Christmas, I ordered two donut baking pans to put under the tree as a gift to myself. (How many moms out there have done that before?)
I did my homework before ordering the pans… I wanted something that was non-stick and had no seams in the donut bed so that the batter could lay evenly without getting trapped in the metal seam. I found the perfect pans at Norpro.
This past week, as my oldest daughter celebrated a birthday, I decided to make a tray of donuts in lieu of a traditional cake. She was scheduled to have back surgery the afternoon of her birthday and I wanted to bring a special bite-sized treat along so that she could nibble on a mini-birthday-donut the morning of the procedure.
As I scoured my cookbooks and kitchen files for a suitable recipe, I spied a boxed muffin mix that carried a small picture of a basket of mini-donuts posted on the back of the package. To my surprise, the recipe posted beside the picture was for baked donuts. I thought…well, let’s give this a try.
So after a few alterations, I came up with this recipe adapted from Krusteaz Guilt Free Baked Donuts.
Sweet Cranberry and Pecan Glazed Donuts
Donuts:
1 package Krusteaz Cranberry Orange Fat Free Muffin Mix
1 can cranberries (enclosed in the box), drained and liquid reserved
3/4 cup orange juice
1 teaspoon almond extract
Icing:
1 cup powdered sugar
2 tablespoons milk
1/4 teaspoon almond extract
Reserved cranberry liquid
1/2 cup finely chopped pecans
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Lightly spray with cooking spray, the donut baking pans. For the donuts: In a medium bowl, carefully stir together the muffin mix, cranberries, orange juice and extract. Combine just until blended. Place the batter in a gallon-sized sealable bag (or a pastry bag). Snip the plastic bag 1/8″ from the corner. Evenly pipe the batter into the mini-donut baking pans. Bake 8-12 minutes or until donuts spring back when touched. Cool and remove to wire rack.
For icing: Place all icing ingredients (except nuts) in a small bowl and whisk until smooth. Drizzle or dip donuts into the icing then sprinkle with chopped nuts.
Note: I also used the regular sized donut baking pan for this recipe. Alter baking time by adding 10 minutes or until light golden brown and donuts spring back when touched.
Simply Made Kitchen and Crafts 