[Recipe] Apple Cider Donut Cake and Vanilla-Bean Applesauce | Celebrating October and Autumn in New England

“I’m so glad I live in a world where there are Octobers.”
― L. M. Montgomery, Anne of Green Gables

I’m pretty sure it was our first October in New Hampshire that made me a bona fide New Englander, one who would never want to leave.

It was 16 years ago this month that we moved from our condo in the quaint (yet crowded) town of Salem, Massachusetts (aka Halloween Town, USA, where October is a whole other experience), to our current home in rural New Hampshire. Surrounded by acres of trees and miles of quiet, our new neighborhood welcomed us with a spectacular show that year, and it has continued to do so every October since. If there is anything else as magnificent as October in New England, well, I’ve yet to see it. The trees begin their glorious multicolored metamorphosis as their leaves change from green to crimson and copper and gold before eventually covering the earth in a magical autumnal-hued carpet. In between the gray, rainy days, which seem to only intensify the colors of the fall foliage, there are picture-perfect days where the sky is impossibly blue and the sun casts golden shadows through the changing leaves onto the ground below. And the air! For someone like me who has a low tolerance for heat and humidity, the October air is a welcome respite from the oppressive heat of the summer: crisp and cool and refreshing. Finally I could hike for miles through the nearby woods or go for a run through our neighborhood without feeling instantly overheated or spent. And perhaps the best part: No more pesky bugs! October quickly became my favorite month of the year to be outside… and really my favorite month of the year, period. And if you live here, or have ever visited here, I don’t need to tell you this, but, friends: New England, and particularly New Hampshire, is magnificent in the fall.

Although our bucolic New Hampshire town is a good half-hour drive from the rest of civilization (restaurants, coffee shops, the bigger grocery stores, and, alas, Target), I was thrilled to discover when we first moved here that we were less than a 15-minute drive from not one but two local farm stands that were open year round, selling seasonal fruits and vegetables that were grown right here, one town over from us. Those farm stands became my go-to source for fresh, local produce, and once we became parents, we also discovered the joys of pick-your-own produce (strawberries! blueberries! apples! pumpkins!) as a fun family activity that spurred on many seasonal traditions and accompanying food rituals that are still going strong to this day. Not an October goes by without at least one family outing to the nearby apple orchard.

Apples are probably my favorite fruit to pick. Unlike, say, picking strawberries, with the 90-degree temperatures and all the bending and squat-crawling and perspiring and complaining, picking apples is less strenuous, with (usually) more comfortable temperatures. And a trip to the apple orchard rewards us with other happy-making extras that engage all the senses: walking through the pumpkin patch; strolling through the sunflower fields; marveling at the mosaic of fiery fall colors; breathing in fall’s signature scent of sweet apples and moldering leaves mixed with a hint of wood smoke; hearing the crunch of crisp, fallen leaves beneath our feet, punctuated by the occasional dull thud of an overripe apple dropping to the ground. We say we’ll stay just an hour, but soon enough, we find ourselves lost among the branches, each of us on a personal quest to find that perfect apple. Before we know it, the sunlight begins to slant lower, casting long golden shadows across the orchard, the air starts to carry a chill, and the end of the day draws near. We warm up with cups of hot apple cider, and before we head back to the car with the fruits of our labor, we cap off the day with the quintessential autumnal treat: apple cider donuts!

If you’ve been to an apple orchard in New England anytime during peak season, then chances are high that you’ve enjoyed one of these little round delights. The apple cider donuts at our local orchard are tender and barely sweet, with a subtle hint of spice, and although I prefer mine plain with a cup of coffee, my boys prefer the ones with the sparkling cinnamon-sugar coating, which inevitably covers their lips… and their clothes… and the seats of the car. Either way, those donuts taste like fall in New England and there’s no better way to end a day at the apple orchard.

This month, we left the orchard with a bushel of apples, a half-dozen apple cider donuts, and a jug of apple cider. The donuts barely made it home, and many of the apples have been eaten simply out of hand with lunch or as part of an after-school snack. A few pounds that miraculously survived the ravenous hunger of my growing boys have been turned into applesauce, and the rest of the apples? Well, they eventually find their way into my oven.

October is one of my favorite times of year to bake, especially after an oppressively hot summer when turning on the oven seems like the worst idea ever. And yet, every October, I inevitably have a moment of panic: So many fall things to bake, so little time! I’ve had this apple cider donut cake on my baking to-do list for a couple of years now. (Yes, I have a baking to-do list. Doesn’t everyone? No, just me?) I was waiting for a special occasion to make it, I suppose, but with a jug of local cider and a batch of homemade vanilla-bean applesauce on hand, I decided on an ordinary Wednesday that the time was now. The arrival of October and fall in New England seemed like a good enough reason to celebrate, don’t you think?

As soon as I mixed up the batter, I suspected we were in for a treat, and when that intoxicating cinnamon-apple scent began to waft from the oven throughout the rest of the house, I was quite certain I had made the right decision. That first bite confirmed all of my suspicions: The not-too-sweet cake boasts a very pronounced apple flavor, thanks to both apple cider and applesauce in the batter, and the apple flavor is enhanced, but not overpowered, by just the right amount of cinnamon and vanilla. It’s essentially a giant apple cider donut made a little more wholesome with whole-wheat flour and olive oil—October in the form of a cake, each bite a taste of fall. The cinnamon-sugar coating not only dresses up the cake and makes it sparkle under the golden autumnal light but also adds a welcome textural contrast to the moist, tender cake beneath. It keeps well for several days at room temperature, so it’s a great cake to make ahead; in fact, a few days later, it tastes as good as, if not better than, the day it was made.

I’ve made this cake a few times this month (you know, for research purposes), tweaking a few things here and there, and because I cannot be trusted around a cake that keeps for days under a transparent cake dome on the kitchen counter, I shared several thick slices with our grateful neighbors on a shockingly brisk mid-October morning at the bus stop. It can be a slow adjustment, or a startling one, this transition from summer into fall. And although this year I was fighting it a bit, once I stepped into the orchard and picked that first ruby red apple, I settled right into fall and October and fully embraced all the magical gifts that the season brings. I watched the smiles slowly spread across my boys’ faces as they filled their baskets with their favorite apples, as they stopped to notice a bee crawling across the surface of a giant sunflower, and as they realized that they can reach up higher into the apple trees than they could the year before. I’m reminded of that pure, childlike wonder that so often eludes us as adults. That distinct type of joy—the kind that’s felt when we bite into a freshly picked apple or marvel at the changing beauty of nature or smell a cake as it’s pulled fresh from the oven—is often muffled by our overscheduled days, the hurried pace of our noisy, everyday lives. But on days like these, spent outside under a canopy of auburn leaves and fragrant apple trees, we catch glimpses of wonder, and it’s hard not to feel joyful, optimistic even, and revel in the current season.

As we left the orchard and walked back to the car, toting our haul of apples and cider and donuts, my thoughts skipped ahead to all the things I wanted to make. But then my 8-year-old grabbed my hand, looked up at me and said, “I just feel so happy right now. I really love fall.”

Me too, buddy. Me too.

Now let’s go have some cake.

Apple Cider Donut Cake

 

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This not-too-sweet, moist and tender cake boasts a robust apple flavor, thanks to both apple cider and (homemade) applesauce in the batter. Baked in a Bundt pan, it’s essentially a giant apple cider donut made a little more wholesome with whole-wheat flour and olive oil, gently spiced with cinnamon and kicked up with vanilla—October in the form of a cake, each bite a delectable taste of fall. It happily straddles the line between dessert and an afternoon snack with a cup of coffee or tea, and, some might argue, is just healthful enough for breakfast.

VEGETARIAN

Author: Wholesome Family Kitchen

Serves: 12 to 16, depending on how large you cut the slices

Ingredients

For the cake:

• • Nonstick cooking spray or olive oil, for coating the Bundt pan
  
  
• • 3 cups white whole-wheat flour *
• • 1½ teaspoons baking powder
• • ½ teaspoon baking soda
• • 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• • ½ teaspoon kosher salt
  
  
• • 1½ cups natural cane sugar
• • 1 cup pure apple cider
• • ¾ cup light-tasting extra-virgin olive oil **
• • ¾ cup unsweetened applesauce (smooth, not chunky), store-bought or my favorite Vanilla-Bean Applesauce (recipe below) ***
• • 1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract
• • 3 large eggs, room temperature
  
  

For the cinnamon-sugar topping:

• • 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
• • ¼ cup natural cane sugar
• • ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350°F. Spray the interior of a 12-cup Bundt pan generously with nonstick spray, or grease with olive oil, making sure to get into all the crevices.
2. In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt.
3. In a medium bowl, whisk together the sugar, apple cider, olive oil, applesauce, vanilla, and eggs. Add the egg mixture to the flour mixture and whisk until smooth and well combined.
4. Transfer the batter to the prepared Bundt pan. Bake, rotating the pan halfway through baking time, until a tester inserted in the center just comes out clean, about 45 to 50 minutes. Transfer pan to a wire rack and let the cake cool in the pan for 15 minutes.
5. Meanwhile, make the cinnamon-sugar topping: In a small bowl, mix together the sugar and cinnamon. If you haven’t already, melt the butter and set aside.
6. Carefully invert the cake onto a wire rack. (To help contain any mess, set the rack over a baking sheet or a sheet of wax paper or parchment paper.) Using a clean pastry brush (I like to use a silicone brush, like this one), brush the warm cake with the melted butter, then sprinkle liberally with the cinnamon-sugar mixture. (I sprinkle most of the cinnamon sugar over the top of the cake and then try to sprinkle a little bit down the sides. Don’t worry about trying to cover every inch of the cake; it doesn’t need to be completely covered.) Let the cake cool completely before slicing and serving. The cake can be kept, covered, at room temperature, for 2 to 3 days. (I kept mine on a cake plate covered with a plastic cake dome for about a day, then once I sliced into the cake, I stored the leftover slices in an airtight container at room temperature. The cake was still perfectly moist and flavorful even a few days later.)

Notes

* If you’ve followed my blog long enough, you probably know that white whole-wheat flour is my favorite flour to use when baking more-nutritious baked goods without sacrificing flavor or texture. King Arthur Flour makes a white whole-wheat flour that is pretty widely available these days. However, if you have trouble finding it, you can substitute 1 cup traditional whole-wheat flour plus 2 cups all-purpose flour and still turn out a deliciously wholesome cake.

** My favorite olive oil for baking is California Olive Ranch Mild and Buttery Extra-Virgin Olive Oil. It works especially well in this cake, lending a slight buttery flavor without any actual butter. You can certainly use canola oil or another neutral-flavored oil in its place, but if you would like to use olive oil, be sure to use one that is relatively mild-tasting and doesn’t have strong floral or grassy notes, unless you wouldn’t mind those flavors in your cake.

*** I generally don’t like to preach about the benefits of homemade versus store-bought ingredients here on this little blog, because my goal is to develop and share recipes that are approachable and as simplified as possible without compromising the end result, and I’m certainly not opposed to using store-bought ingredients to make my life easier. For example, I’m not going to tell you to roast pumpkins to make your own pumpkin purée for pumpkin bread if all that effort doesn’t improve the final product, or tell you that you must cook your beans from scratch when canned beans will work just as well. But… all that being said, if you want this cake to live its best life, then I’m going to strongly recommend that you make your own applesauce, specifically the Vanilla-Bean Applesauce below. Because here’s the thing: I’ve made this cake with this homemade applesauce and with store-bought applesauce, and although the one made with store-bought applesauce was still delicious, the one made with the homemade applesauce was noticeably better with a more robust apple flavor and a more tender crumb. And homemade applesauce takes less than half an hour to make, perhaps even less time if you can get your kids (or spouse/partner) to help peel and core the apples. And since you need only ¾ cup of applesauce for the cake, your (minimal) efforts will be rewarded with applesauce for days, or weeks, to come.


Recipe adapted from A New Way to Bake, from the Kitchens of Martha Stewart.

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Vanilla-Bean Applesauce

 

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I know people say this about a lot of homemade foods, but in this case, it’s absolutely true: Homemade applesauce is infinitely better than store-bought, and it’s definitely worth the (very minimal) effort. And don’t think of applesauce as just a baking ingredient or as a food only for babies and young children. Although my kids love it, I’ve been enjoying it this fall just as much as they have, swirling it into yogurt and topping it with granola (as in these Apple Crisp Yogurt Parfaits), or simply eating it off a spoon when I need a little something to take the edge off my late-afternoon hunger.

There are dozens of ways to make applesauce, and although I’m sure the Internet doesn’t need another applesauce recipe, I’m sharing mine here if for no other reason than it works perfectly in the Apple Cider Donut Cake recipe above. I keep it pretty simple: local McIntosh apples (for classic applesauce flavor), lemon juice (not for lemon flavor, but just to “wake up” the apple flavor a little bit), and a hint of cinnamon. But then I turn up the volume with a whole vanilla bean, and it really makes this applesauce worth writing about. I don’t add any sweetener, as in-season apples really don’t need any, but feel free to add a bit of maple syrup or other sweetener to taste if your apples are less sweet than you’d like. (If using the applesauce solely for baking, however, I’d recommend keeping it unsweetened.)

And if you’re just here for the cake, this recipe will leave you with plenty of applesauce even after making the cake, so feel free to scale the recipe back as your apple supply and applesauce cravings dictate. But keep in mind that the applesauce freezes beautifully, so you can make a full batch and preserve that signature taste of fall just a little bit longer.

Yield: about 6 cups

VEGAN, GLUTEN-FREE

Author: Wholesome Family Kitchen

Ingredients

• • 4 pounds of apples (about 8 large or 10 medium apples), peeled, cored, and cut into chunks/wedges, about 8 pieces per apple (I use McIntosh apples for that classic applesauce flavor, but feel free to use whatever apples you’d like, either a single variety or a mix of varieties. Keep in mind, though, that some varieties are more applesauce-friendly than others. If you’d like some guidance, this is a helpful place to start.)
• • 1 cup water
• • 2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
• • ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
• • 1 vanilla bean (or 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract)

Instructions

1. In a large Dutch oven or other large heavy pot, combine the apples, water, lemon juice, and cinnamon. With a sharp paring knife, split the vanilla bean lengthwise, scrape the seeds into the pot, and add the pod. Set the pot on the stove and bring to a boil over high heat. Then turn the heat down to low, cover, and simmer, stirring occasionally, until the apples are very soft, cooked through, and starting to fall apart, about 15 to 20 minutes. (McIntosh apples tend to cook down more quickly than other apple varieties, so if you’re using another variety, they might take a little longer to cook down. If the apples start to stick to the bottom of the pot at all and are in danger of scorching, add a splash more water. When I can mash the apples easily against the side of the pot with a fork, then I know they’re ready.)
2. Remove the pan from the heat and let the apples cool slightly. Fish out and discard the vanilla bean pod. At this point, you have several options: If you want a chunky applesauce, simply mash the apples with a potato masher to their desired consistency. If you want a smooth applesauce (if you’re using the applesauce for baking, then you do indeed want a smooth sauce), you can purée the apple mixture a few different ways, depending on what tools you have in your kitchen and how many dishes you want to dirty: Either purée the apples right in the pot with an immersion blender; press the apples through a food mill or a wire sieve; or transfer the mixture to a blender or food processor and let the machine do the work. (If you use a standing blender, purée the apples in small batches and don’t fill the blender jar more than halfway, especially if the apples are still warm, or too much steam could build up and you might end up with a mess on your hands. Or so I’ve been told.)
3. Serve the applesauce right away, or let it cool completely before storing. The applesauce will keep in an airtight container in the refrigerator for about 5 to 7 days, or in the freezer for up to 3 months. (If you freeze it, be sure to allow about an inch of headroom in your containers for expansion.) I like to freeze the applesauce in small (2-cup) containers, so when we’re running low on homemade applesauce in the fridge, I take out a container from the freezer and let it thaw overnight in the fridge.

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