4 Ingredient Apple Cider Donuts with Spice Cake Mix

Every fall we drive out to the Patterson Fruit Farm, fill a bag with apples, and buy a dozen apple cider donuts on the way to the car. The donuts rarely survive the ride home.

One year I decided we should try making them ourselves. These baked apple cider donuts start with a box of spice cake mix, and my kids can make most of the batch on their own. Four ingredients go into the batter. Spice cake mix, eggs, oil, and apple cider. That is the whole list.

this …

No hot oil, no thermometer, no standing over a pot while little ones circle the kitchen. Just a donut pan and your oven.

Why You’ll Love These Apple Cider Donuts

• Four ingredients in the batter, you may already have them in your kitchen
• Baked instead of fried, so there is no hot oil in a kitchen full of kids
• Ready in about 25 minutes from start to glaze
• The box mix has simple instructions, so children can help
• Freezes well, which makes them a fine make-ahead breakfast

The Orchard Trip That Started This Recipe

We have always ended apple picking season the same way, with a warm paper bag of cider donuts sitting on somebody’s lap in the back seat.

I wanted that same taste at home in November, long after the orchard closed. This is what came out of that.

Every year in the fall, we take our kids to a local Apple picking Orchard to get out in the fresh air and enjoy the beautiful changing of the leaves. We bring home tons of fresh, local apples and a dozen of their delicious apple cider donuts with maple glaze.

This year I thought it would be fun if we made our apple cider donuts. Our kids love to bake at home, and this is a perfect recipe for baking together. The doughnut batter is made easily with a convenient boxed cake mix, and the glaze is simple with pure maple syrup, melted butter, and powdered sugar. A box of spice cake mix, effortlessly transformed into delicious cake mix donuts.

After the donuts come out of the oven and they cool on a baking rack, they are so simple to decorate.  Just top with your favorite colorful sprinkles, and you have a fun treat that is a crowd-pleaser for both kids and the entire family.

Baked Cake Donuts vs Fried Apple Cider Donuts

I’ve always wanted to make donuts but didn’t want to deal with cooking them in hot oil. Not only would this be less healthy, but it would also be a burn risk with small children in the house.

I was so happy to find a baked donut pan for my recipe for  Easy Apple Cider Donuts. Using a boxed cake mix for the donut batter simplifies the recipe even more.  With minimal ingredients and a lot of fun, my kids and I can have delicious apple cider donuts in no time. 

We also love frosted donuts with a simple glaze.  Our family’s favorite is Maple glaze the perfect sweet glaze, but a simple vanilla glaze is also delicious. In a pinch, you can also use a store-bought frosting. 

A cider mill donut is fried, so the outside goes crisp and the middle stays soft. A baked cake donut is tender all the way through, closer to a spiced muffin in a donut shape.

The apple cider is doing real work here. It replaces the water the box calls for, so every bit of liquid in the batter carries apple flavor.

Ingredients You’ll Need

• 1 box spice cake mix, I use Duncan Hines
• 3 large eggs
• 1/4 cup light olive oil
• 3/4 cup apple cider
• Nonstick cooking spray for the pan

For the maple glaze

• 2 tablespoons butter, melted
• 1/3 cup pure maple syrup
• 1 cups powdered sugar

Ingredient Notes and Substitutions

• Spice cake mix. This is where all the cinnamon and nutmeg comes from. A yellow cake mix works if you add 2 teaspoons of apple pie spice.
• Apple cider. Fresh cider from the orchard has the most flavor. Bottled cider from the store works too. Apple juice is thinner, and the donuts will taste milder.
• Light olive oil. Vegetable oil, canola oil, or melted butter all work. Use whatever you already have.
• Pure maple syrup. Worth buying the real thing for the glaze. Pancake syrup makes a glaze that tastes flat.
• Powdered sugar. Add it a little at a time. You want the glaze to ribbon off the whisk, not run off it.

Equipment Needed

• Stand mixer or hand mixer
• Donut baking pan
• Large zip top bag, used as a piping bag
• No-hands food storage bag holder
• Cooling rack
• Nonstick spray oil

How to Make Apple Cider Donuts with Spice Cake Mix

Step 1. Heat the oven and spray the pan. Set the oven to 350 degrees. Spray the donut pan well, including the center posts.
Pro tip: Spray the pan before you mix the batter. Once the batter is ready you will want to fill the pan right away.

Step 2. Mix the batter. Beat the cake mix, eggs, oil, and apple cider on medium for about one minute, until the batter is smooth.
Pro tip: Stop as soon as the streaks disappear. Overmixing makes the donuts tough and rubbery.

Step 3. Fill the bag. Spoon the batter into a large zip top bag and seal the top, then snip about half an inch off one bottom corner.

Step 4. Pipe the donuts. Fill each well about half full, no more.
Pro tip: Half full is the whole secret. Fill them higher and the batter closes over the center hole while it bakes.

Step 5. Bake. Bake for 10 to 12 minutes. They are done when a toothpick comes out clean and the tops spring back when you press them.

Step 6. Cool completely. Let the donuts sit in the pan for 5 minutes, then turn them out onto a cooling rack.
Pro tip: Cool them all the way before glazing. Warm donuts drink the glaze straight in and you lose that pretty finish.

How to Make the Maple Glaze

Melt the butter, then whisk it together with the maple syrup and powdered sugar until the glaze is smooth with no lumps.

Dip the top of each cooled donut into the glaze, or spread it on with a small offset spatula. Add sprinkles right away, before the glaze sets.

If it is too thick, add maple syrup half a teaspoon at a time. If it is too thin, add more powdered sugar.

Tips and Tricks

• Room temperature eggs blend in faster and give you a smoother batter
• Set the cooling rack over a sheet pan so the drips land somewhere easy to wash
• Two pans, or one pan baked twice, get you about 12 donuts from one box
• Glaze them the same day you plan to serve them, they look freshest in the first few hours

Variations

• Skip the glaze and roll the warm donuts in cinnamon sugar, the way the cider mill does
• Yellow cake mix with 2 teaspoons of apple pie spice
• Chocolate, funfetti, or strawberry cake mix for a birthday version
• A simple vanilla glaze, or store-bought frosting warmed for a few seconds
• A caramel drizzle over the maple glaze
• Mini donuts in a mini donut pan, baked 6 to 8 minutes
• Holiday sprinkles for Halloween or Thanksgiving

Storing and Reheating Leftovers

Keep glazed donuts in a single layer in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 2 days.

To freeze, leave them unglazed. Wrap them well and freeze for up to 3 months, then thaw at room temperature and glaze the day you serve them.

A glazed donut warmed for 8 seconds in the microwave tastes close to fresh again.

Troubleshooting

• The hole closed up. The wells were filled too high. Half full, every time.
• They stuck to the pan. Spray more heavily next time, especially the center post, and turn them out at 5 minutes instead of waiting longer.
• The glaze slid right off. The donuts were still warm. Let them cool completely.
• They came out dry. Check at 10 minutes. Two extra minutes is the difference between tender and dry.

What to Eat With These Apple Cider Donuts

• Apple Cider Fall Cupcakes
• How to Roast Pumpkin Seeds
• Pumpkin Muffins with Spice Cake Mix

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

Print