These Apple Cider Glazed Doughnuts are soft & fluffy brioche doughnuts that are finished with a perfectly sweet-tart apple cider glaze. It’s the ultimate fall doughnut!
Sharing another recipe that my friend Erin and I did as a part of a collab last year for Thanksgiving Doughnuts!
These apple cider glazed doughnuts are oh so soft and fluffy, and the apple cider glaze they get dipped in is just unreal. It provides a sweet yet tart flavor that is simply amazing. Whether you serve these for breakfast, brunch, or as a fall dessert, they’re truly one of fall’s greatest pleasures.
We’re using a pretty straightforward brioche dough for today’s doughnuts and you only need a few ingredients to begin. Here’s what you’ll need:
There are two key components to these apple cider glazed doughnuts: the brioche doughnuts and the apple cider glaze (obviously).
Start by adding the milk, yeast, eggs, flour, salt, vanilla bean paste, and sugar to a large bowl and stir until just combined. Then you’ll knead the dough until a firm, but slightly tacky ball is formed; resist the temptation of adding too much flour! Once the dough has formed, you’ll slowly add the softened butter in a little at a time, allowing each bit to incorporate before you add the next. Once all the butter is incorporated, you’ll knead for another 10 minutes or so.
Once the dough is kneaded and smooth, place it in a lightly greased bowl to rise for about 60-90 minutes. Note: Instead of using warm milk to mix the dough, you can use room temperature milk and refrigerate the dough immediately after mixing. Under refrigeration, the dough continues to rise, just much more slowly. This means you can mix the dough up to 12 hours ahead, let it rise slowly overnight, and wake up ready to fry in the morning.
To shape the doughnuts, you’ll roll the dough out to about ½-inch (1.2-cm) thick. Using a round pastry cutter (we used a 2½-inch circle), cut out circles of dough and place on a parchment paper-lined baking sheet, leaving room between each one. (You will need two baking sheets.) Cut holes from the middles of the circles using a 1” pastry cutter, and ta-da! You’re ready to let your doughnuts proof.
The apple cider glaze is the star of the show here. And you only need 3 ingredients… could this be any easier?!
The first step to making the apple cider glaze is to reduce some apple cider in a saucepan. You might be annoyed with me for requiring the extra step of boiling the cider before you make the glaze; I was annoyed myself, honestly, but trust me when I say it’s necessary and worth it. The flavor concentrates and it’ll make your home smell like fall heaven. If you try making the apple cider glaze with non-reduced apple cider, you’re going to be missing out on SO much flavor.
Once you have your reduced cider, you’ll simply whisk powdered sugar, heavy cream, and the cider together until smooth. A fork or mini whisk is helpful since the mixture is so small. Give it a taste and add a pinch of salt if desired. (I usually add a small pinch.) Then you’re ready to dip your doughnuts into it!
APPLE CIDER GLAZED DOUGHNUTS: FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
Can I halve this recipe?
Yes! You can easily halve the recipe and make these small batch. You can adjust the ‘servings’ slider from 14 to 7 in the recipe card to get the proper measurements. Just keep the amount of yeast the same.
Can I bake these doughnuts instead of frying them?
Unfortunately, no. This recipe was developed to be fried and if you attempt to bake them, you’ll end up with something closer to a hamburger bun than a doughnut. I have some baked donut recipes here though.
Can I store these doughnuts in the fridge?
I wouldn’t recommend it. The doughnuts are best at room temperature and putting them in the fridge can dry them out. I would recommend eating them on the day they’re made, however, you can store them in an airtight container at room temperature for 1 day. Any longer than that, and they’ll start to dry out and get tough.
APPLE CIDER GLAZED DOUGHNUTS: TROUBLESHOOTING
Help! My doughnuts are oily! What did I do wrong?
It sounds like your oil wasn’t hot enough! Many fearful fryers set the oil temperature too low thinking that it will make frying more forgiving. Frying at too low a temperature, however, will result in greasy doughnuts with a tough crust. Next time, watch the oil’s temperature carefully as you fry and adjust the heat as needed to maintain a temperature between 350°F (175°C) and 360°F (180°C). It’s better to add doughnuts to slightly warmer-than-desired oil, as the dough will bring the oil temperature down a few degrees, than too-cool oil.
If your oil temperature was fine, then it’s possible you didn’t properly drain the doughnuts. Drain the doughnuts over the pot of oil for at least 10 seconds (a gentle shake will force oil off the doughnut). Move the fried doughnuts to a paper towel-lined sheet pan, where the towels will wick away leftover oil. And then finally move the drained doughnuts to a cooling rack so that they aren’t sitting in a pool of their own oil before filling them.
Help! My doughnuts are dense! What did I do wrong?
Dense doughnuts that don’t puff up much when fried are the result of under-proofing. To check if your doughnuts are ready to be fried, lightly poke/prod the first doughnut you cut/rolled. If the indentation immediately bounces back and disappears, the dough isn’t ready yet. If it stays, however, it’s ready to be fried!
Help! My doughnuts are raw in the middle! What did I do wrong?
The most common reason your doughnuts would be raw in the middle is from frying them in oil that is too hot. When the oil is too hot, the outside cooks much quicker before the inside has a chance to catch up. I’d recommend using a thermometer to monitor your oil temperature to avoid this problem!
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Dough is rising. I love your recipes. I'm an Illinois girl who moved to Key West, Florida and people here just don't understand how important an apple cider donut is! Can't wait to see how these turn out.