Best Apple Cider Pound Cake Recipe - How To Make Apple Cider Pound Cake - Delish.com

Hot take: September might be the best month of the year. While everyone else is bummed about summer ending, I am celebrating the incoming wave of produce that autumn brings: namely, apples. If you love apples, I think you'll fall head over heels for this pound cake that is infused with apple cider and heavenly apple goodness in every bite.

The secret ingredient is...apple peels.

In order to capture the pure soul of our fragrant fruit, this recipe calls for simmering apple cider with sugar, lemon juice, lemon zest, as well as apple peels. As the cider reduces with the sugar into a thick syrup that resembles honey, the lemon juice perks up the darker caramel notes with sweet acidity while the zest and peels deepen the apple flavor. Pick an apple that smells most like the essence of apple—while I don't enjoy eating the softer-fleshed varieties raw, I find that their peels are the most fragrant: Macintoshes are great for this purpose. Be sure to reserve the translucent, candied peels for garnish the cake with: They transform into delightful apple gummies once cooled.

Smooth, silky pound cake.

If you love the classic store-bought fine-crumbed pound cake (holler at my girl Sara Lee), this particular version will hit the sweet spot. By using a liquid version of sweetener in the form of the reduced apple cider syrup instead of granulated sugar, we forgo the traditional creaming of butter and sugar and avoid aerating the batter into a fluffy structure. The addition of cream cheese, which has stabilizer gums like carob and guar, guarantees a smooth, even crumb structure. A little bit of sour cream will introduce slightly more richness into the cake and make the apple flavors more pronounced while taming sweetness.

Make it extra apple-tastic.

As soon as the cake leaves the oven, brush it evenly with more reduced apple cider syrup to ensure the loaf can be its best, most moist self. While the cake cools, prepare the finishing touch on this beauty: a thin but potent brown butter glaze. To serve: Pour the glaze onto a cooled cake, sprinkle on some candied apple peels, let the glaze set a bit, then slice and enjoy!

This cake will keep for 4 days at room temperature in an airtight container—the apple flavor intensifies a day or two later! You can also keep it stored in the refrigerator for longer—just be sure to warm it up before eating.

If you've made this recipe, drop us a rating and comment down below to let us know how you liked it! For more fall-time favs, check out our collection of sweet and savory fall recipes!

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Yields: 10 - 12 servings

Prep Time: 0 hours 15 mins

Total Time: 2 hours 45 mins

For the apple cider syrup

2 c.

apple cider

1 1/2 c.

granulated sugar

Peel of 2 large apples

2 tbsp.

lemon juice

Zest of 1 lemon

For the cake

1 c.

(2 sticks) butter, softened

2 oz.

cream cheese, softened

2 tbsp.

cornstarch

1 tsp.

ground cinnamon

1 tsp.

baking powder

1 tsp.

kosher salt

large eggs

1/4 c.

sour cream

2 c.

all-purpose flour

For the brown butter glaze

2 tbsp.

butter

2 tsp.

apple cider

1/2 tsp.

lemon juice

Pinch kosher salt

1/3 c.

powdered sugar

Whipped cream, for serving (optional)

In a medium pot over medium heat, bring apple cider, sugar, apple peel, lemon juice and zest to a simmer. Stirring occasionally, let reduce by half, until big syrupy bubbles grow to the top of the pot and apple peel has turned translucent, 23 to 25 minutes. Set over an ice bath to cool completely, then remove and reserve candied apple peels for garnish.
Preheat oven to 325°. Grease an 8 ½”-x-4 ½” loaf pan with cooking spray and line with parchment.
In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment or in a large bowl using a hand mixer, beat butter and cream cheese until lightened and fluffy, scraping down occasionally, about 3 minutes. Add in cornstarch, cinnamon, baking powder, and salt, and beat until fully combined, 1 minutes.
Add in eggs one at a time, mixing until fully incorporated before adding the next. Continue beating until mixture is lightened and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Beat in sour cream until fully combined.
Alternate whisking in 1 cup apple cider syrup and flour in two batches, until combined. Pour into prepared loaf pan and smooth top.
Bake until top is deeply golden and a toothpick inserted into the middle of the loaf comes out with a few crumbs, about 1 hour 15 minutes.
Brush top of hot cake with remaining 3 to 4 tablespoons reduced apple cider and let cool completely.
Meanwhile, make brown butter glaze: In a small pot over low heat, melt butter and stir until toasty and lightly browned. Remove from heat. Whisk in apple cider, lemon juice, a pinch of salt, and powdered sugar until completely smooth.
Drizzle glaze on top of cooled cake, then garnish with candied apple peels if desired. Serve with whipped cream, if desired.

June Xie

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June Xie Test Kitchen Manager After working in numerous restaurant kitchens throughout NYC, June Xie joined the Delish team as Test Kitchen Assistant and chief baking expert with a passion for bread dough, peanut butter, whipped cream, and gluten free cookies.

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