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!

Puerh Donuts with Orange Glaze

Glazed Donuts.

I was brainstorming about what to make with this dark night orange spice puerh blend that Plum Deluxe sent me and a light bulb went off! DONUTS! I reworked my Mini Matcha Donut recipe to create larger donuts and added a glaze!

Spring is here and we've been having such beautiful weather, it's been making me crave donuts. Not sure why! These aren't traditional donuts that you would get at a bakery, they are baked and much smaller. Although I used a larger pan from michaels they are still relatively small for donuts. 

I chose an orange glaze to compliment the fruity aroma and taste of the puerh blend. The blend has orange peel, rose hips and hibiscus which I think all go together well with orange! Make sure you use an actual orange for the juice, not store bought juice!

Ah yes, the tea infused milk staple. I used 1 cup of milk to infuse but only use 2/3 cup in the recipe because during the heating process some of the milk is lost. 

I made two batches of these donuts to show you the different between "firm" and "spongy." The donuts on the left were the result of filling the molds about 3/4 way and baking for 8-9 minutes. The donuts on the right were filled almost to the brim and cooked for about the same time. They are both still very soft on the inside the ones on the left are just a bit firmer, which in a taste test I actually preferred!

A note on the glaze, as mentioned before, use less juice if you want a more solid glaze. I tried 2 TBSP and I just didn't like the consistency. I like how when I added one additional TBSP (to equal 3) that this is what happened when I dunked the donuts. When you let them sit they still harden but I think 3 TBSP made it easier to glaze. To each their own!

Puerh tea is so interesting and I found this to be a unique opportunity to create a fruity donut with a very flavorful tea. These donuts are definitely sweet but they are super fruity, specifically orange. I suggest making extra glaze for dipping :) 

Mini Matcha Donuts

Mini. 

I recently fell in love with Matcha and although I've tried it several times and wanted to try something new. I have tried many tea infused sweets and have been itching to try all these delicious sounding matcha recipes! After much research, I decided on matcha donuts!

At first, I was really disappointed that I couldn't find a regular donut pan but then I found a mini donut pan at Marshalls! 

You might be thinking, mini donuts? Why would you want MINI donuts? The answer is obvious, mini donuts means I can eat MORE donuts! 

How freaking cute are these??!

Recipe

• 3/4 cup cake flour. If you don't have cake flour you can fill a measuring cup with 2 tablespoons of cornstarch then the rest with regular flour. Make sure to sift it together.

• 2 tablespoons brown sugar

• 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

• 1 tablespoon Pumeli Matcha

• 1 large beaten egg

• 1/3 cup milk

• 2 tablespoons salted melted butter

• 1 tablespoon honey

For the icing

• 1/4 cup chocolate chips

• Sprinkles (optional)

1. Preheat oven to 350

2. Mix all the dry ingredients together

3. Add in all of the wet ingredients

4. Fill icing bag with the batter and fill your molds 3/4 of the way through

5. Bake for 8-10 minutes or when a toothpick inserted in the donut comes out clean

6. Let the donuts cool and then dip into the melted chocolate and top with sprinkles if desired. Tip: if you don't have a double boiler you can just stack pots to melt the chocolate or you can even fill a bowl with boiling water and place another bowl on top and mix chocolate chips until they are melted!

These were delicious! I highly suggest trying them! If you do try them, let me know how you like them!