Mini Apple Cider Donuts

Happy November and welcome to a special recipe post! Not only will I be sharing this fun mini apple cider donut recipe, this recipe is part of a virtual tea party I was invited to join in on by Daniela of Tea Cachai!

At the end of this post I will link the rest of the menu from the other tea party chefs so that you can see and create their recipes as well!

If you were around last fall, I made apple cider donuts but I used my large pan! This time, in honor of the tea party I made them mini!

Mini donuts are so awesome because you can eat like 10 of them and it’s as if you only ate one big donut hehe.

For this recipe, I made my own apple cider. It’s super simple. The gist of it is that you cut up a bunch of apples throw them in a pot with enough water and add some spices! I actually had to switch pots after this photo. I have a full post here about how to make your own apple cider.

The changes I made this time were purely out of what I had. I used about 10 tiny honey crisp apples, I added peppercorn, cardamom and cinnamon and didn’t use cheese cloth because I ran out! I also infused this apple cider with oriental beauty oolong instead of green tea.

If you’re thinking - ain’t no body got time for that- you can also just buy apple cider from the store and reduce it a bit so that it’s stronger!

Last time, I used this recipe to make the donuts with a few additions. Check out the recipe here and below I’ll tell you about some of the changes I made.

• 1 and 1/2 cups (360ml) apple cider ——> I made my own tea infused apple cider

• 1/2 cup (100g) packed light or dark brown sugar —-> This recipe called to use 1 cup of sugar, 1/2 white and 1/2 brown. I used light brown sugar for the entire cup.

• 1/2 cup (120ml) milk, at room temperature* ——-> I used chasew Milk

• Bake for 10 -11 minutes ———> while my timing with the smaller pan wasn’t much less, I would suggest baking time of 9-10 minutes

• I used a mini donut pan instead of a larger one.

This recipe is great because it’s super simple. You mix dry ingredients and wet ingredients then combine them and bake!

When pouring the batter into the molds, i suggest something with a spout of a piping bag!

My mini donut pan has 12 spaces and this recipe allowed me to make 5 pans! You could probably stretch it to 6 if you make smaller donuts by not filling the pan entirely.

These are perfect for a tea party because they are simple, quick and a perfect size for a bite sized snack. These are great to dip in your tea, especially if you have a smaller cup and wont fill you up after a few.

Being Mini, there are also so many fun ways to display them! If you’re an apple lover, this is definitely something that you need to try!

But hey, don’t ruin your appetite with only donuts! We have a full menu of delicious treats! Check out all the other recipes that are part of this virtual tea party!

• Chicken roasted red pepper AND Lapsang walnut vegan cream cheese tea sandwiches

  Daniela - Tea Cachai

• Classic English scones

  Lu Ann - The Tea Cup Of LIfe

• Mini pecan pies

  Caroline - Pinch Me I’m Eating

• Shortbread cookies

  Mimi - The Capsule Kitchen

Apple Cider Donuts!

I’ve had trouble finding apple cider donuts this year! Maybe I’m not looking in the right places. I did go to a fall festival which definitely had them but I couldn’t be bothered to wait in the long line. I’ve made matcha donuts, pu’er donuts and apple cider before on my blog so I thought I would give these a shot!.

I based my recipe off this one which is what I think you should follow! I did make some changes which I will note below.

The weather has NOT been cooperating with me so I haven’t been able to get any good photos but will update this post when I do!

Infusing tea into the Apple Cider is very simple. If you buy apple cider, make sure to follow the recipe for the apple cider donuts and boil it down a bit. You could then, while it is hot, fill a tea bag with your desired tea and let it steep for a few minutes. When choosing a tea, do not choose a delicate tea because it will get bitter. Go for a tea that can handle hot temperatures like black tea or rooibos. I used a Lavender spice tea that has rooibos in it for my apple cider.

I’ve also linked a recipe I used for apple cider infused with tea above if you want to make it from scratch! Even if you just boil apples then infuse the tea for a few minutes, it still tastes great! I made my apple cider from scratch for these donuts and it turned out well!

The substitutions I made in the Sally’s Baking Addiction recipe are as follows!

• 1 and 1/2 cups (360ml) apple cider ——> I made my own tea infused apple cider

• 1/2 cup (100g) packed light or dark brown sugar —-> I used 1 cup dark brown sugar instead of 1/2 brown, 1/2 white. I also used brown sugar for the coating.

• 1/2 cup (120ml) milk, at room temperature* ——-> I used Oat Milk

• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract——> I didn’t have this so I didn’t use it and they turned out fine!

Even though these donuts are baked, with the melted butter they almost taste fried!

Enjoy!

Apple Cider Blondie

Owl Cider

I'm back with another Owl's Brew recipe! I loved the apple cider recipe I made last time and decided that it would taste delicious with The Blondie ! 

You can check out my Apple cider recipe here. I made a few changes to it to suit my needs. First, I didn't add any green tea, I used 2 very large apples so that I could yield a smaller batch and I didn't put ginger in with the cloves and cinnamon! Instead of fresh ginger in the apple cider, I used a ginger liqueur in the cocktail! 

All of the flavors are absolutely delicious together! The ginger liqueur gives an extra punch to the raddler and the apple cider. The added cinnamon stick for garnish actually adds a lot to the taste as well!

I don't have a lot of measurements on this recipe and here is why: do it to your taste! I would only advise against using too much of the liqueur because then it might turn out too sweet! I also used smaller glasses but porportions can be changed when using a larger glass!

I made the ginger liqueur the least amount in the drink, then the apple cider, and most of the drink was the actual raddler because it has such a wonderful taste!

Don't forget to mix everything up! 

One last note, in my apple cider recipe I talk about how the apple cider tastes best hot. For this recipe I think it's best to cool the apple cider all the way before adding it to the drink. Enjoy! 

Green Tea Apple Cider

Apple Cider Tea. 

So you can probably tell from my last recipe (matcha pumpkin pie) that fall is in full swing in my kitchen!

One thing that I've always wanted to make is apple cider. I love apple cider but often times, store bought brands are WAY too sweet for my taste and don't taste much like apple. I started to do some research to see the process of how to make my own. 

I was pleasantly surprised to find out that making apple cider is very simple and it requires apples, water and spices. I looked at a bunch of recipes and decided to change up the traditional spices a little bit. I added in ginger and green tea!

The Kukicha twig tea is known to be calming and nutty so I thought it would be the perfect addition to the cider!

You may use whatever apples you want for the cider but I used McIntosh because they are my fav! 

Not only is this recipe very simple to make but while the apples and spices are boiling, a wonderful aroma fills your entire home! 

A few tips: 

• I strained my apple cider through a mesh strainer but there were bits of apple that came through. Personally, I liked it this way so I left it. I would suggest doing several round of straining if you want minimal apple left. You could also put the apple that gets caught in the strainer in some cheese cloth and squeeze out any juice to make sure you are getting the most of your apple cider!

• Don't put the tea in until you're almost done with the cooling process like mentioned in the recipe. You don't want to tea to over brew and give the apple cider a bitter taste.

• Honey or sugar is optional here and based on your own personal taste. I put one tablespoon of honey for the entire pot and thought it was sweet enough, I didn't want to cover the taste of apples!

This cider is such a wonderful treat plain or if you're having a party it can easily be spiked! I really liked the effect of the ginger on the cider as well as the green tea. I wouldn't suggest not putting cloves or cinnamon because it's such a staple in the apple cider taste but I do encourage you to add some spices to experiement ! 

What apples would you choose for your cider?