CA-012Apple cider donut cakeCake · Bundt, one bowl

Rev 022026-09-271 / 3

Apple cider donut cake

A Bundt that eats like a cider donut — boiled cider, brown butter, nutmeg, two sugar coats.

SourceHouse formula · OriginalContainsWheat · Milk · EggLast changeRev 02 · Issued to the binder as trial

Equipment10-cup Bundt pan · Light-colored saucepan · Pastry brush · Microplane for nutmeg · Probe thermometer

Yield · slices16

Batter1,419 g

Boiled cider · % flour36%

Plan2.5 h

Oven · 350 °F175 °C

Formula

% · flour = 100

Boiled cider: King Arthur (≈ 7 : 1). Or reduce 1 L fresh cider to 150 g, about 25 min at a hard simmer; weigh, don't eyeball.

Butter for A: weigh 200 g before browning. Scrape every brown speck into the batter.

Pan: 15 g soft butter brushed on, 20 g sugar dusted, extra tapped out. Outside the formula.

Altitude, 4,700 ft: powder and soda are already set −15% from sea level (8 / 3.5 g). Run C before changing them.

† Doesn't scale in a straight line past 2×.

Scale by pan

10-cup Bundt× 1 · 16

12-cup× 1.2 · 20

9 × 13 in× 1 · 40 min

Two 9 × 5× 1 · 45 min

	Ingredient	%	Grams
A Batter
	All-purpose flour	100.0	330
	Baking powder †	2.1	7
	Baking soda †	0.9	3
	Fine salt	1.5	5
	Ground cinnamon †	1.2	4
	Nutmeg † · fresh grated	0.6	2
	Unsalted butter · browned	60.6	200
	Granulated sugar	45.5	150
	Light brown sugar	42.4	140
	Eggs · 3 large	45.5	150
	Vanilla extract †	2.4	8
	Boiled cider	36.4	120
	Unsweetened applesauce	54.5	180
	Buttermilk	36.4	120
	Batter	430.0	1,419
B Cider-sugar crust · outside the formula
	Unsalted butter · melted	—	45
	Boiled cider	—	30
	Granulated sugar	—	100
	Ground cinnamon · and nutmeg	—	4

Continues on pages 2–3: method, done when, fixes, trials, revisions, batch log →

CA-012Apple cider donut cakeCake · Bundt, one bowl

Rev 022026-09-272 / 3

Method

Tick each step as done

Brown butter and the sugar coat are what set this apart. Don't skip the second coat.

Ordered ingredient · King Arthur boiled cider, 16 oz. Keeps a year in the fridge.

01
Prep. Rack in the lower third; heat the oven. Butter the Bundt, dust with sugar, tap out the extra.
—
175 °C 350 °F
02
Brown. Cook the butter until it foams, quiets and the solids go deep brown. Scrape into a bowl; cool.
6–8 min
Solids brown
03
Dry. Whisk flour, powder, soda, salt, cinnamon and nutmeg until no streaks of spice remain.
—
04
Wet. Whisk sugars and eggs until thick. Whisk in brown butter, cider, applesauce, buttermilk, vanilla.
1 min
Butter ≤ 50 °C
05
Fold. Add the dry in two adds; fold with a spatula just until no flour shows. Do not beat.
—
Don’t overmix
06
Bake. Pour into the pan; smooth. Bake until a skewer is clean and the top springs back.
45–55 min
96 °C inside
07
Rest. Cool in the pan 15 min, no longer, or the sugar coat welds it in. Invert onto a rack.
15 min
08
Brush. Warm butter and boiled cider together; brush the whole warm cake, ridges and all.
—
Warm, not hot
09
Coat. Spoon cinnamon-nutmeg sugar over every surface; re-brush the bare spots and coat again.
—
Two coats
10
Cool. Fully, on the rack. The crust sets as the cake cools; cut only when cold.
Until cold
1–2 h

Done when

And how it keeps

Done when

Inside96 °C; skewer clean

TopSprings back; edges pull from the pan

CrustDry and sandy after cooling

Keeps

Room temp2 days, covered; crust softens by day 2

Frozen1 month, sliced; do not re-coat

If it goes wrong

Most likely cause first

Stuck in the panCooled past 15 min, or sugar dusted too thick. Hot towel on the pan base

Sugar slid offCake too hot when brushed, or butter mix too thin. Wait 5 min, brush again

Gummy band at baseUnderbaked, or brown butter still hot at step 04. Probe; cool the butter

Dense, tight crumbOvermixed at step 05, or leavening old. Fold only until no flour shows

CA-012Apple cider donut cakeCake · Bundt, one bowl

Rev 022026-09-273 / 3

Trials

Change one variable per trial

A is the sheet as written.

B swaps 30 g of buttermilk for 30 g more boiled cider. Sharper apple, slightly tighter crumb.

C tests the altitude rule for 4,700 ft.

Variable	Trial A	Trial B	Trial C
Date
Change	As written	Cider +30 · buttermilk −30	Powder 8 · soda 3.5
Bake time
Rise · crust
Staff rating 1–5

Revisions

Newest last

Rev	Date	Change	From
Rev 01	2026-09-26	First issue	—
Rev 02	2026-09-27	Issued to the binder as trial	Review

Batch log

Fill in by hand

Date

Batch ×

Boiled cider used

Oven

Bake time

Inside °C

Rise

Notes