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Spiced Apple Cider Donut Loaf

Spiced apple cider donut loaf is a tender, cinnamon-sugared quick bread baked until the center stays soft and the crust turns deep golden. It’s made by reducing apple cider for concentrated flavor, then coating the warm loaf in a buttery cinnamon sugar crust.
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Prep Time 20 minutes
Cook Time 1 hour 5 minutes
Total Time 1 hour 25 minutes
Servings: 10 servings
Course: Breakfast
Cuisine: American
Calories: 360
Ingredients Equipment Method Notes

Ingredients
  

Dry ingredients
  • 2 cup all-purpose flour
  • 2 tsp baking powder
  • 0.5 tsp baking soda
  • 2 tsp cinnamon
  • 0.5 tsp nutmeg
  • 0.25 tsp allspice
  • 0.25 tsp cardamom
  • 0.25 tsp salt
Wet ingredients
  • 0.25 cup apple cider Reduced to 1/4 cup
  • 0.5 cup vegetable oil
  • 0.75 cup granulated sugar
  • 0.25 cup brown sugar Packed
  • 2 eggs
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract
  • 0.5 cup sour cream
Cinnamon sugar coating
  • 4 tbsp melted butter
  • 0.333 cup sugar
  • 2 tsp cinnamon

Equipment

  • 1 sheet pan
  • 1 Dutch oven

Method
 

Reduce the apple cider
  1. Reduce apple cider by half over medium heat, then cool completely.
Preheat and prepare the pan
  1. Preheat the oven to 350F and grease a 9x5 loaf pan.
Mix the dry ingredients
  1. Whisk together all-purpose flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg, allspice, cardamom, and salt until evenly combined; the mixture should look uniformly speckled (visual cue: no streaks of spice).
Mix the wet ingredients
  1. Whisk vegetable oil, granulated sugar, brown sugar, eggs, vanilla extract, reduced apple cider, and sour cream until smooth, glossy, and free of sugar lumps (visual cue: smooth batter with a light sheen).
Combine and bake
  1. Fold the flour mixture into the wet ingredients until just combined, leaving the batter thick (visual cue: no visible dry flour pockets).
  2. Bake at 350F for 60-65 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean (visual cue: top looks deep golden and springs back slightly).
Coat while warm
  1. Remove the loaf from the pan while warm and brush all sides generously with melted butter (visual cue: butter sheen covers the surface).
  2. Roll or sprinkle immediately in cinnamon sugar to coat completely (visual cue: an even cinnamon-sugar crust forms over the entire loaf).

Notes

Pro tip: reduce the apple cider to the specified amount and cool it before mixing so the loaf bakes with even spice and moisture. Store covered at room temperature up to 2 days or refrigerate up to 5 days; rewarm briefly for best texture. Freezing is yes—wrap slices and freeze up to 2 months, then thaw and refresh in a 300F oven for 10 minutes. For a lighter option, swap the sour cream with plain Greek yogurt for similar tang and moisture.