by: Kate McMillan
Cook Time
22 minutes
Prep Time
10 minutes
Yield
12 skull cakes
Total Time
22 minutes
Prep Time
10 minutes
Yield
12 skull cakes
summary
Baked in a skull cake pan, this cider donut cake recipe is the perfect way to get into the Halloween spirit. These cakes are so festive, not to mention delicious. Skull cakes get an apple cider donut flavor from the addition of apple cider and applesauce, finished with melted butter and cinnamon sugar.
ingredients
- Cider Donut Skull Cakes:
- 3 cups all purpose flour
- 1 ½ teaspoons baking powder
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon Kosher salt
- 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
- ¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg
- ¼ teaspoon ground ginger
- ¾ cup dark brown sugar
- ½ cup granulated sugar
- 1 cup vegetable oil
- 3 large eggs
- 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
- 1 cup fresh apple cider (not apple juice)
- ½ cup unsweetened applesauce
- Cinnamon-Sugar Topping:
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
- 4 tablespoons melted unsalted butter
directions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F. Coat the skull cake pan with non-stick cooking spray and set aside.
- In a mixing bowl combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg and ginger. Set aside.
- In a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, combine the brown sugar, granulated sugar and the oil. Add the eggs and the vanilla and combine. Finally, add the apple cider and applesauce and mix until combined. Add the flour mixture to the wet mixture and stir just until combined.
- Spoon the batter into the cake pan, filling each skull about two-thirds of the way. Bake in the middle rack of the oven until a toothpick comes out clean, 22–24 minutes. Allow the cakes to cool in the pan for 15 minutes, and then unmold them and finish cooling completely on a cooling rack.
- In a small bowl, stir together the cinnamon and sugar. Brush the cakes with the melted butter and sprinkle generously with the cinnamon-sugar mixture.
notes
If you don’t have a skull cake pan, use a standard bundt pan and bake the cake for about 40–50 minutes.
Make sure you use apple cider and not apple juice, as they are very different.
Mix the batter until everything is just combined, being careful not to overmix or you will have a tough and dry cake.
Make sure you don’t overfill the skull cake pan.
