This brown butter apple cider bundt cake is super moist and full of flavor from the fall spices and apple cider! It has a crunchy brown sugar pecan ribbon through the middle of the cake and is topped with cinnamon sugar so it looks like a giant apple cider donut and tastes like fall with every bite!
Jump to:
Why You'll Love This Cake!
Growing up in western NC, we were surrounded by apple orchards and there was an "apple festival" every fall right near my house. I loved going to get fresh apples and homemade apple cider; it's the best! So to me, nothing says autumn has arrived quite like this apple cider cake!
- Rich brown butter flavor in the cake and topped with cinnamon sugar!
- Crunchy brown sugar pecan ribbon through the middle of the cake.
- Simple but show stopping dessert for fall holidays (like Thanksgiving or Christmas)!
You might also like this maple pumpkin bundt cake or these apple cider donuts!
Ingredient Notes
You just need a few ingredients to make this brown butter apple cider bundt cake!
Cake Flour - I always use cake flour in my cakes because it makes them super soft and tender, but all purpose flour also works great!
Brown Butter - My favorite ingredient of all time is brown butter!! Brown butter is just unsalted butter that has been melted and gently cooked to bring out a toasty, nutty flavor. If you've never made brown butter before, you can check out this post with all my tips for how to make brown butter!
Apple Cider - Not to be confused with apple juice, apple cider is way more flavorful and can usually only be found in stores during the fall and winter months. We're going to take apple cider and reduce it down so that we can super concentrate the flavor! You of course can skip this step, if you prefer. Just be sure to only add ¾ cup of liquid!!
Applesauce - The applesauce adds both moisture and extra apple flavor to the cake! Unsweetened apple sauce is best!
Spices - I use a blend of cinnamon, nutmeg, and cloves in this apple cake. But you can also substitute 2 teaspoons of your favorite fall spice blend (like apple pie spice, pumpkin pie spice, chai spice, etc.).
Pecans - This recipe works best with plain, unsalted, dry roasted pecans!
The complete list of ingredients and amounts is located in the recipe card below.
How to Make a Bundt Cake
In a small saucepan over medium heat, simmer the apple cider until it reduces down by half so that you have ¾ cup (be sure to stir occasionally). This usually takes about 15 minutes. Set aside and let cool slightly.
Preheat the oven to 350°F.
In a small bowl, mix together the ingredients for the brown sugar pecan ribbon and set aside.
Whisk the cake flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, and salt together in a large bowl.
In a separate bowl, whisk the brown butter, brown sugar, and granulated sugar together until combined.
Then add in the eggs and vanilla extract together until smooth. Then stir in the applesauce.
Stir in about half of the flour mixture.
Then stir in ¾ cup of the apple cider reduction and the rest of the flour mixture and mix until fully combined. The batter will be thick.
Prepare your bundt pan by spraying thoroughly with a vegetable oil based pan spray.
Pour about half cake batter into your prepared pan and spread into an even layer.
Then sprinkle the brown sugar pecan mixture over the top and cover with the rest of the batter.
Bake at 350°F for 40-50 minutes or until a cake tester inserted near the middle of the cake comes out clean. Note: Pans with a darker interior will cook faster, as will a smaller 5-6 cup bundt pan. Start checking at 30-35 minutes in those cases.
Remove from the oven and let the cake rest in the pan for 1-2 minutes.
Use a butter knife and gently slide it between the cake and pan around the edges and the center hole. Place a cooling rack on top of the bundt pan and turn over. It should fall right out but if it doesn’t let it sit for a couple minutes and then tap the top of the pan to gently coax it out of the pan.
Let the cake cool for about 15 minutes.
While the cake is still slightly warm, brush with the brown butter and let it soak into the cake for 1-2 minutes.
Mix together the sugar and cinnamon then generously sprinkle all over the tops and sides of the cake.
Serve the brown butter apple cider cake immediately and enjoy!
Tips for the Best Baked Goods
Use room temperature ingredients! Always make sure ingredients like butter, eggs, milk, yogurt, etc. are at room temperature before baking (unless the recipe indicates otherwise)! This ensures they'll incorporate into the batter more easily and leads to overall better texture. Remove all ingredients from the fridge 30 minutes to an hour before baking for best results.
Measure your flour correctly! It's most accurate to use a kitchen scale, but if you're measuring by volume you want to spoon and level! Fluff up the flour a bit with a spoon, and then spoon flour into the measuring cup. Once it's overflowing, use the back of a knife to level it off. Don't ever pack flour into the measuring cup or you'll end up with way too much! Improperly measured flour can lead to dry, dense baked goods. [Measure cocoa powder the same way!]
Use an oven thermometer! Just because your oven says it's 350, doesn't mean it is! If you oven hasn't been calibrated recently, it can be as much as 30 degrees off, which will negatively affect all baked goods from cakes to macarons! An oven thermometer is the easiest/cheapest way to ensure your oven is always at the proper temperature.
Make sure you baking powder is fresh! Baking powder is important for helping baked goods rise properly, but it has a relatively short shelf life once opened, so it's one of the few items I never buy in bulk! To test if your baking powder is still fresh, add a small amount to boiling water. If it bubbles it's still good to use, but if not it's time to toss it!
Bundt Cake Tips
Using a high quality non-stick bundt pan will increase your odds of the cake sliding cleanly out of the pan! I only use Nordic Ware bundt pans because they’re extremely well made and won’t break the bank. You can also find them on sale all the time! For this brown butter apple cider bundt cake I used my classic 12 cup bundt pan.
You also want to use a good pan spray! I love Everbake Pan Spray or Baker's Joy, but any vegetable oil spray will work. You do not want to use butter though as the milk solids can solidify during baking and cause your cake to stick in some of the smaller crevices.
This recipe is designed for a 10-12 cup bundt pan. Simply halve the recipe to use a 5-6 cup bundt!
Recipe FAQ's
This apple cider bundt cake will keep at room temperature for up to 3 days. I recommend getting an airtight bundt cake keeper for best results.
The type of pan you're using and the nonstick spray are usually the biggest culprits! See the above notes on what I recommend to ensure your cake slides right out of the pan!
Nope! I love the extra flavor that brown butter adds to the cake, but you can use regular unsalted butter if you prefer.
Tips for Success!
For best results I always recommend using weight measurements (especially when baking) because it's the most accurate. Kitchen scales are super affordable and also reduce the number of dishes you have to do! However, all my recipes also include US customary measurements for convince. Use this chart to convert measurements for common ingredients!
Substitutions: In all my recipes, I've included substitutions that I know will work, but I cannot guarantee results if you substitute ingredients that I have not recommended. [For example, granulated sugar and honey are indeed both sweeteners but they have very different properties so they can not always be swapped 1:1. Using honey in a cookie recipe that calls for granulated sugar will yield a giant mess.] In the recipe card you'll find links to the specific ingredients/brands that I use.
A note on salt: I almost exclusively use Diamond Crystal Kosher Salt because it's the best all-purpose salt for cooking and baking. If you're not using kosher salt, consult this handy guide for a conversion chart! When in doubt, if you're using table salt just reduce the amount by half for baked goods. When cooking, I prefer to under-salt because you can always add more! If you've over-salted, adding a little bit of acid (like lemon juice) can help.
More Recipes You Might Like!
If you love this recipe, please leave a star rating at the bottom of the page! This provides helpful feedback to both me and other readers.
Also be sure to add us as a trusted site on Google so that our recipes show up more in your searches!
For more delicious, scratch-made recipes you can subscribe to my newsletter and follow along on social media!
Recipe Card
Brown Butter Apple Cider Bundt Cake
Special Equipment
Ingredients
Apple Cider Reduction
- 1 ½ cups apple cider
Brown Sugar Pecan Ribbon
- ¼ cup light brown sugar
- ¼ cup toasted pecans, finely chopped
- 1 tablespoon unsalted brown butter, melted
Apple Cider Cake
- 2 ½ cups cake flour, substitute all purpose flour
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon ground nutmeg
- ¼ teaspoon ground cloves, optional
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 cup unsalted brown butter, melted
- 1 ½ cups light brown sugar
- ½ cup granulated sugar
- 3 large eggs, room temperature
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- ½ cup unsweetened applesauce
- ¾ cup apple cider reduction
Topping
- ¼ cup unsalted brown butter, melted
- ¼ cup granulated sugar
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
Instructions
Apple Cider Reduction
- In a small saucepan over medium heat, simmer the apple cider until it reduces down by half so that you have ¾ cup (be sure to stir occasionally). This usually takes about 15 minutes. Set aside and let cool slightly.
Apple Cider Cake
- Preheat the oven to 350°F.
- In a small bowl, mix together the ingredients for the brown sugar pecan ribbon and set aside.
- Whisk the cake flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, and salt together in a large bowl.
- In a separate bowl, whisk the brown butter, brown sugar, and granulated sugar together until combined.
- Then add in the eggs and vanilla extract together until smooth. Then stir in the applesauce.
- Stir in about half of the flour mixture.
- Then stir in ¾ cup of the apple cider reduction and the rest of the flour mixture and mix until fully combined. The batter will be thick.
- Prepare your bundt pan by spraying thoroughly with a vegetable oil based pan spray.
- Pour about half cake batter into your prepared pan and spread into an even layer.
- Then sprinkle the brown sugar pecan mixture over the top and cover with the rest of the batter.
- Bake at 350°F for 40-50 minutes or until a cake tester inserted near the middle of the cake comes out clean. Note: Pans with a darker interior will cook faster, as will a smaller 5-6 cup bundt pan. Start checking at 30-35 minutes in those cases.
- Remove from the oven and let the cake rest in the pan for 1-2 minutes.
- Use a butter knife and gently slide it between the cake and pan around the edges and the center hole. Place a cooling rack on top of the bundt pan and turn over. It should fall right out but if it doesn’t let it sit for a couple minutes and then tap the top of the pan to gently coax it out of the pan.
- Let the cake cool for about 15 minutes.
- While the cake is still slightly warm, brush with the brown butter and let it soak into the cake for 1-2 minutes.
- Mix together the sugar and cinnamon then generously sprinkle all over the tops and sides of the cake.
Notes
Nutrition
The nutritional information on this website is only an estimate and is provided for convenience and as a courtesy only. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed.
Comments
No Comments