Baked Apple Cider Doughnuts

Autumn is cool, crisp air; the smell of and warmth from a wood burning fire; vibrant red, orange and yellow landscapes; caramel apples; golden cornfields set against a blue sky; Indian corn, gourds, and pumpkins; apple picking season; and, of course, apple cider doughnuts. On a beautiful fall day, a friend and I drove up to an apple orchard in northern Illinois on a near perfect day. With the air filled with the intoxicating aroma of apple cider doughnuts and trees dripping in apples, we were beyond giddy with excitement. Needless to say we left with more than some freshly picked apples. Although buying only a single cinnamon sugared apple cider doughnut to savor on the ride home may have been the most questionable decision of the day.

With the taste of that cinnamon sugared apple cider doughnut still lingering on my palate, the decision to make some here at home wasn't at all that surprising. Instead of making a ninety minute doughnut run drive, all I needed to do was walk into the kitchen. In less than an hour, I had a platter of eighteen of the most beautiful, delicious, mouthwatering, cakey mini baked apple cider doughnuts. 

If you haven't yet been swayed to buy a doughnut pan, these Baked Apple Cider Doughnuts should be what finally motivates you to get one, or two, of them.

These Baked Apple Cider Doughnuts have an incredible cake-like texture and spiciness to them. Due in large part to the thick batter, the use of two (versus one) teaspoons of baking powder and the use of multiple spices. In fact this batter was so thick I would loosen it up with a slight increase in the amount of buttermilk. Instead of using only a half-cup of buttermilk, I recommend using a half-cup plus no more than an additional two tablespoons. While the batter will still be on the thick side, it should be easier to pipe into a prepared doughnut pan.

The apple flavor in these doughnuts comes from an apple cider reduction. One cup of fresh apple cider is reduced to a quarter cup over medium-low heat. In approximately 15-20 minutes the cider will reduce and have a thin syrupy consistency. When buying apple cider, make certain your don't buy an apple cider blend (meaning it has been somewhat diluted) as it will not have the same depth of flavor as a 'real' apple cider.

Instead of using only cinnamon and nutmeg in the batter, I used a homemade apple spice blend. The combination of the cinnamon, nutmeg, allspice, cloves and hint of cardamom adds a flavor dimension not found in the use of cinnamon/nutmeg only.

Both granulated and brown sugar are ingredients in the doughnut batter. For the brown sugar, you can use light brown sugar, dark brown sugar, or a combination of the two. I used a combination of the two.

Using a mini-doughnut pan, these Baked Apple Cider Doughnuts bake in a preheated 400 degree (F) oven for 10-12 minutes (or until they are lightly browned and are springy to the touch). Once baked, the doughnuts should be flipped onto a cooling rack.

Instead of giving these doughnuts only the more traditional cinnamon-sugar finish, I decided some of them should have a cinnamon sugar glaze. The glaze is made with sifted confectionary sugar, brown sugar, a quarter teaspoon of cinnamon, a pinch of kosher salt and some whole milk. And honestly, I can't decide which of these finishing touches I prefer. Both are seriously luscious.

Once the glaze has set, the doughnuts can be stacked on a platter and served. If not serving immediately, store in a tightly covered container or cover tightly with a strong plastic wrap. They will retain their freshness for up to 2 days if properly stored although they are not likely to last that long.

At least one more trip to an apple orchard is planned in the weeks ahead, however, the number of batches of these Baked Apple Cider Doughnuts to made has yet to be decided. More than one, but less than a hundred. And after you make your first batch of them, you too are more than likely to make them again. If not for their aroma while baking in the oven or for their ridiculous cuteness, but for their insane scrumptiousness! Let me know if you can walk after eating just one of them!

Recipe
Baked Apple Cider Doughnuts (inspired from multiple sources)
Makes 18 mini-doughnuts

Ingredients
Doughnuts
3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1 1/4 teaspoons apple pie spice* (or 1 teaspoon cinnamon and 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg)
2 large eggs, room temperature
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup dark or light brown sugar (or a combination of both)
4 Tablespoons unsalted butter, room temperature
1 cup apple cider (reduced to 1/4 cup)
1/2 cup plus 2 Tablespoons buttermilk

Cinnamon-Sugar 
3/4 cup granulated sugar
1 heaping teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, melted
pinch of kosher salt

Cinnamon-Sugar Glaze
1 cup confectionary sugar, sifted
1 Tablespoon light brown sugar
pinch of kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon of cinnamon
2-3 Tablespoons whole milk
Sprinkles optional

Directions
1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees (F). Lightly spray a doughnut pan with vegetable spray and set aside.
2. In a small saucepan, reduce the one cup of cider to 1/4 cup over medium-low heat (approximately 15-20 minutes). Allow to cool to room temperature.
3. In a medium sized bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and apple pie spice. Set aside.
4. In a standing mixer fitted with a paddle attachment beat butter, granulated sugar and brown sugar.
5. Beat in eggs one at a time until fully incorporated.
6. Reduce speed to low and blend in reduced apple cider and buttermilk.
7. Add in flour mixture until just incorporated. Do not over beat or mixture will be sticky.
8. Transfer batter to a pastry bag (or a ziplock bag with corner cut), and pipe into prepared doughnut pan.
9. Bake 10-12 minutes until lightly browned and/or doughnuts spring back when pressed lightly. Remove from oven and cool on wire rack.
10. To make Cinnamon Sugar: Combine sugar, cinnamon and salt. To make Cinnamon-Sugar Glaze: Combine confectionary sugar, brown sugar, and salt. Add milk one tablespoon at a time. Stir until smooth. 
11. For a Cinnamon-sugar finish to the doughnuts, brush or dip doughnuts into melted butter. Then toss in cinnamon sugar until evenly coated.
12. For a Cinnamon-sugar glaze finish, dip top of doughnuts into glaze. Allow to set on a wire rack.
13. Serve immediately. Or store in a tightly sealed container. Doughnuts are best eaten with 48 hours (if they last that long).

*Apple Spice Mix: Combine 1 Tablespoon cinnamon, 1 teaspoon nutmeg, 1 teaspoon allspice, 1/2 teaspoon ground cloves, and pinch of cardamom. Store any unused spice mixture in a tightly sealed jar or plastic bag.

Notes: (1) If finishing the Baked Apple Cider Doughnuts in the Cinnamon-Sugar Glaze, double the recipe. (2) The Apple Spice mix gives the finished doughnuts a deeper, more complex flavor. (3) If dipping the doughnuts with the cinnamon-sugar glaze, can make them more festive by finishing them with sprinkles. (4) When buying apple cider, buy fresh and, if possible, organic. These ciders are usually found in the refrigerated section of grocery stores. (5) I used a combination of light and dark brown sugars when making these doughnuts.

Day at the apple orchard.

Autumn Apple Recipe Round-Up

Days getting shorter, air feeling crisper, wind breezes coming through the window, leaves beginning to change the color of the landscape, and apples hanging patiently on branches waiting to be picked. All signs of autumn's much anticipated arrival. And in less than two weeks, I will be spending the beginning of my favorite season in the mountains of Colorado. Be still my heart!! Containing my enthusiasm may prove to be an even greater challenge than figuring out how to travel with only one suitcase (says the Queen of Overpacking). Were it not for a few distractions going on in my life (an upcoming half-marathon), I might not get any sleep in the next two weeks.

It was on a trip to Colorado almost ten years ago where I first discovered and tasted Honey Crisp Apples. In one bite I was smitten. For awhile this sweet, crisp, firm hybrid apple was almost impossible to find at grocery stores. Fortunately, the number of orchards growing this apple have increased significantly over the years, now making them readily available. Honey Crisps are my go to apples to put on a cheese platter and just one of the many varieties of apples used in the cakes, crostatas, pies, crisps, tortas, and galettes coming out of my oven. There have been a number of apple recipes posted to the blog over the years. To celebrate the start of 'apple season' I am re-posting nine of my favorites. Each of the recipes recommend the best apple or apples to use as not all apples are created equal when baked! Note: There are other great apple recipes to be found in the recipe index on the blog as well (although, yikes, you might not be able to judge this by their photos) so look at this round-up as a starting point to inspire you. 

Happy apple baking season, happy autumn, happy September!

Brown Butter Caramelized Apple Crisp

Apple Cider Doughnut Cake

Torta di Mele (Apple Cake)

The French Laundry's Cranberry and Apple Kuchen with Hot Cream Sauce

Apple Galette

Baked Apples ala Mode

Baked Apples with Oat Crumble

Fresh Apple Cake

Rustic Apple Crostata

Peanut Butter and Chocolate Espresso Doughnuts

The earliest description of or reference to the doughnut first appeared in print in 1809. In his book "A History of New York, from the Beginning of the World to the End of the Dutch Dynasty", Washington Irving wrote "Sometimes the table was graced with immense apple-pies, or saucers full of preserved peaches and pears; but it was always sure to boast of an enormous dish of balls of sweetened dough, fried in hog's fat, and called dough-nuts, or oly koeks: a delicious kind of cake, at present scarce in this city, excepting in genuine Dutch families." While there hasn't been any debate regarding a doughnut's deliciousness over the past two centuries, apparently there has been some contention over whether or not it should be spelled doughnut or donut. The AP Stylebook (the journalists bible) and Grammarly (the site for grammar nuts) prefer the word 'doughnut', while the internet skews significantly toward the spelling 'donut'. Which means if you are doing an exhaustive search for 'doughnut' recipes on the internet, you may come up short if you don't also look for 'donut' recipes. Because we sometimes look for a scapegoat in times of conflicts, the finger has often been pointed at Dunkin' Donuts for popularizing the shortened spelling. Yet regardless of which spelling camp one falls in, time would be much better spent on making and eating these confections. Right?

So let's talk about why you should be making these Peanut Butter and Chocolate Espresso Doughnuts, why you need them in your life.

There may be no better doughnut flavor combination than a deep rich chocolate and creamy, salty peanut butter one. It's classic, it's timeless, and we have H.B. Reese, a farmer working for Hershey's to thank for giving us this winning combination. 

Do you think it's delusional to believe dipping a chocolate expresso baked doughnut into peanut butter icing is a way to ensure we get our daily intake of protein? Which means the icing actually makes them good for you, right? I suppose the answers depend on how gifted one is at rationalizing the irrational. 

Unlike the earliest doughnuts, these are baked and not fried. Which, if you think about it, makes them one of the healthier versions, right? (Again, you decide what you want your answer to be. There is no right or wrong here.) After combining the dry ingredients with wet ingredients, the batter is spooned or piped into a doughnut pan. Either method works. This recipe will make 18 mini-doughnuts. If for some reason you only want 9 of them (which I can't' for the life of me figure out why you would), you can halve the ingredients. 

The mini-sized doughnuts bake for 13-15 minutes in a preheated 325 degree (F) oven. After short three to four minute rest, the doughnuts are carefully turned out onto a cooling rack. 

Once you make this peanut butter icing, you will be making it all of the time. Just remember to sift your confectionary sugar before mixing all of the icing ingredients together. This doughnut deserves to be glazed with a smooth icing.

The doughnuts can be dipped once they have cooled to room temperature (approximately 20-30 minutes).

While the icing on the doughnuts is still wet, top with sprinkles. Chocolate sprinkles, colored sprinkles, chocolate and colored sprinkles, any kind of sprinkles. Just sprinkle them!

From beginning to end it takes a little more than hour to make these almost too pretty to eat Peanut Butter and Chocolate Espresso Doughnuts. I won't tell you how long it will take for all of them to be eaten. 

Regular sized doughnuts are 'too big' for me. The mini doughnuts are just the right size. Big enough for a couple of satisfying bites and small enough to eat two (without feeling too much guilt) if I wanted. Bring these Peanut Butter and Chocolate Espresso Doughnuts to your next meeting or put them on a platter and serve to family, friends or co-workers and watch them disappear! 

Recipe
Peanut Butter and Chocolate Espresso Doughnuts (slight adaptations to the Baked Espresso Glazed Doughnuts from Shutterbean and Joy the Baker's Mini Peanut Butter and Chocolate Baked Donuts)
(makes approximately 18 mini-doughnuts)

Ingredients
Doughnuts
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup cake flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa
1 Tablespoons espresso powder
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1 cup low-fat buttermilk
1 1/2 cups light brown sugar, firmly packed
2 large eggs
1/2 cup vegetable oil
2 teaspoons vanilla
Substitution Note: Can use 2 cups of all-purpose instead of 1 cup of all-purpose flour and 1 cup of cake flour)

Peanut Butter Icing
1 1/2 cups confectionary sugar, sifted
1/4 to 1/2 cup smooth peanut butter (Recommend Jif Peanut Butter) 
2 teaspoons vanilla
4-6 Tablespoons whole milk
generous pinch of kosher salt

Chocolate and/or colored sprinkles for decorating

Directions
1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees (F). Spray a mini-doughnut pan with cooking spray and set aside.
2. In a medium sized bowl, sift together the flour(s), baking soda, espresso powder, unsweetened cocoa, and kosher salt. Set aside.
3. In another bowl, whisk together the buttermilk, egg, vegetable oil and vanilla until blended and smooth.
4. Add wet ingredients to dry ingredients, whisking until well blended and all ingredients are well incorporated.
5. Spoon doughnut batter into a pastry bag (or into a large resealable plastic bag) and squeeze batter into the prepared doughnut pan (about 2/3 full). Bake for 13-15 minutes or until doughnuts spring back when lightly pressed.
6. Allow doughnuts to cool in pan for at least 3 minutes, then turn carefully out onto a rack to cool. Allow the doughnuts to cool to room temperature before icing.
7. For the peanut butter icing: Combine all of the icing ingredients in a medium sized bowl. Whisk until smooth. Transfer frosting to a smaller bowl. Note: Begin mixing frosting with 4 Tablespoons of whole milk. Add additional milk, one tablespoon at a time, if frosting is too thick.
8. Dip the tops of the cooled doughnuts into the icing. Return to cooling rack  and top each of the cupcakes with chocolate sprinkles, colored sprinkles, or a combination of both.
9. Allow the icing to set. 

Notes: (1) Make sure to sift your confectionary to ensure the creamiest, smoothest icing possible. (2) I used 1/2 cup of creamy peanut butter, but will try reducing to 1/4 cup the next time to determine which I like better. (3) I love adding the espresso powder to these doughnuts as it deepens the flavor of the chocolate, but you can leave it out if you want to. (4) I absolutely love the NordicWare non-stick mini-doughnut pan but I still prepare the pan with cooking spray when making these doughnuts.

Fruits and vegetables aren't the only things found at the Farmer's Market.

Italian Plum Torte

Looks can be deceiving. And if you look at the list of ingredients for this Italian Plum Torte you might easily think 'doesn't look like anything special to me'. That reaction would be, as they say 'a fatal mistake'. Okay that may sound a bit overdramatic, maybe only a teensy-tiny bit. Because this rather ordinary list of ingredients torte is anything but. Given the number of textures (a little bit crunchy, a little bit custardy-like, a little bit cake like) and flavors in this Italian Plum Torte, it is almost impossible to believe it isn't one of those highly technical cakes. The kind requiring hours and hours of preparation, having a lengthy list of ingredients, and directions so complex it would be easier to put together a piece of furniture from IKEA without the instructions rather than bake the cake. While this Plum Torte has only been around for the past 33 years, it has all the makings of a classic, timeless dessert.

So why did I gussy it up with flowers and fruit? In the absence of a virtual taste test or access to scratch and sniff software, I was hoping this Italian Plum Torte would grab your undivided attention. No, that's not entirely true. I wanted you feel almost compelled to immediately run out to the market to pick up some Italian Prune Plums so you could make it. More than likely you have all of the other ingredients in your refrigerator and pantry. Shamelessly I wanted to draw your attention away from all of the other recipes posted to foodblogs, appearing in new issues of cooking magazines, or tabbed in any recently purchased cookbooks. At least temporarily until you had a chance to bake and eat this torte.

Other than telling you how easy and inexpensive it is to make or how the yellow flesh Italian prune plums turn into brilliant fuchsia colored pools of sweetness, I resorted to appealing to your visual sense in an effort to influence you and potentially set off a shortage of Italian prune plums.

Italian prune plums (sometimes called Empress Plums) are a petite, egg-shaped fruit characterized by a deep purple, often powdered blueberry colored smooth thin skin, and yellow flesh. Unlike other clingstone plums (meaning the pit is difficult to separate from the flesh), these plums are free-stone (meaning very easy to pit). Italian prune plums are firmer and less juicy than other plums. Which means they hold their shape better in baked goods and yield a more intense flavor. Having a relatively short season, they arrive in late summer and all but disappear by the end of September, early October. This means you only have the next couple of months to make this Italian Plum Torte. Once you taste it, you are more than likely to want to make it again. If for whatever reason you decide to put off making it until the Italian prune plum season is almost over, the year long wait will seem excruciatingly longer.

Unlike other stone fruits, the cutting and pit removal of these prune plums is almost effortless. Thanks to these plums, my stone fruit cutting confidence has been restored.

The base of the torte is a nothing more than a simple butter cake made with only five ingredients. When butter, sugar, eggs, salt, flour and baking powder combine to create incredible scrumptiousness, why mess with perfection. Before making this cake I considered adding some vanilla to the cake batter. However, my instincts said that wasn't such a good idea, at least not with this cake. Trusting my instincts served me and this cake well.

At the risk of leaving just one plum half out, forget trying to make a pattern with the plums. In other words do as I say (I really mean suggest) not as I did. Not just because there is no such thing as a torte with too much fruit. As this cake rises beautifully around the shrinking, flavor intensified plums (think 'plum puddles') any well intentioned design gets a little lost in the baking.

Allegedly an early version of the recipe called for one tablespoon of cinnamon. Apparently this was an error as the intended amount was one teaspoon. Over the years the recipe was published by the New York Times and other foodbloggers, the amount of cinnamon seemed to switch back and forth between one tablespoon and one teaspoon. Deb Perelman (SmittenKitchen) thought one tablespoon worked. And if you are a lover of cinnamon, I think she may have been right. I took the midway approach and used two teaspoons. The next time I might use a generous two teaspoons or go all in with one tablespoon. Use whatever works for your cinnamon loving palate. Squeezing a little lemon juice (about 2 teaspoons) over the top of the cake gives it a sprinkle of pixie dust before the torte goes into a preheated 350 degree (F) oven.

It takes slightly less than an hour (my baking time was 58 minutes) for the Italian Plum Torte to bake. And you only have to wait about 45 minutes before you can cut your first slice.

Some cakes/tortes are best on the day they are made, others are best the next day. It's almost impossible to have to decide which camp this Italian Plum Torte falls in. So I won't. If you are lucky enough to have any leftovers the next day, let me know what you think.

If you take the eggs and butter out the night before and get up a little earlier than usual, you can make the Italian Plum Torte for breakfast. Regardless of the time of day or day of the week you decide to make it, your life needs a slice (or two). Really it does.

Recipe
Italian Plum Torte (an ever so slight adaptation to Marian Burros's Plum Torte recipe published in the New York Times)

Ingredients
1 cup all purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder (recommend Rumford Baking Powder)
Generous pinch of kosher salt
1 cup granulated sugar
8 Tablespoons (1/2 cup) unsalted butter, room temperature
2 large eggs, room temperature
12 small purple Italian Prune Plums, cut in half, pits and stems removed
2 teaspoons or up to 1 Tablespoon cinnamon
2 - 3 Tablespoons granulated sugar
1-2 teaspoons freshly squeezed lemon juice

Directions
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees (F).
2. In a small bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder and salt. Set aside.
3. In a small bowl, mix together the 2 tablespoons of sugar and 2 teaspoons of cinnamon. Set aside.
4. In a medium sized bowl, cream together one cup of sugar and butter until light and fluffly (approximately 3-4 minutes).
5. Beat in eggs, one at a time until blended.
6. Mix in dry ingredients until combined. Do not over beat.
7. Scrape batter into a 9" springform pan. Using an offset spatula, smooth the top.
8. Press cut plums into the cake batter (skin side up).
9. Sprinkle top of cake with cinnamon-sugar mixture.
10. Squeeze 1-2 teaspoons from a 1/2 lemon over the top of the cake.
11. Bake for 50-60 minutes or until top is golden and/or a cake tester inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean. Note: My baking time was 58 minutes.
12. Remove from oven, place on rack and allow to cool.
13. Cut into slices. 
14. Store torte at room temperature. Be sure to cover any leftovers.

Serving suggestions: Serve as is, sprinkle top with confectionary sugar, and/or serve with some cinnamon ice cream.

Notes: (1) Use a 9" springform pan, it's the perfect size. If your pan is non-stick, even better. (2) Some say you can replace the prune plums with regular plums. I am not so sure. (3) This torte would be perfect for breakfast, brunch, as a lunch dessert, or served as an afternoon indulgence.