Bake this Apple Cider Cake for Rosh Hashanah today and the aromas of apple and cinnamon will fill your home. It’s just as easy as your favorite 9×13 cakes, with spectacular results.
Suri Brody has been making a version of our 9×13 Amaretto Cake (or, as we call it, Orange Juice Cake) for years.
One day she decided, “Why make the same version over and over again? If the base of this recipe works, why not change it up?”
Hence began her cake project which she named, “The Magic Cake Project.” She began trying different variations, collecting the successful versions, typing up her notes, and compiling her photos. Then, she shared her “cake collection” with us. We had fun browsing all the possibilities and creativity–there were so many different flavors and variations from one recipe!
This was one version that really caught our attention. Replacing the orange juice with apple cider and adding a cinnamony streusel made so much sense! We could smell the cake baking even just from reading the recipe.
And when we tried it, it was just as good as we imagined it would be. It’s the perfect way to step up your 9×13 cake for Yom Tov.
First, whisk together the flour, sugar, pudding, oil, and eggs (the “base:) in a bowl.
This recipe uses apple cider instead of orange juice.
Add that as well and whisk until smooth.
Now comes the added flavor.
This cake also includes cinnamon (of course) and nutmeg (we’re grating it in fresh because Renee keeps whole nutmeg on hand, but you can use ground of course).
Add in a diced apple too. (If you don’t enjoy cake with fruit inside, you can omit the apples.) It smells so good already.
Another bonus here is a cinnamony streusel on top. Combine all ingredients in a bowl.
Knead to form crumbs.
Since we want things to be more special for Yom Tov, we’re baking this cake in a loaf pan instead of in a 9×13 pan. It’s just as easy but looks so much fancier. Add the batter to a greased and floured loaf pan. This 4×13 loaf pan will fit the whole batter, but the cake will be taller and prettier.
Sprinkle the streusel on top.
If you’re baking this in a loaf pan like this (vs. a 9×13 or bundt), you won’t need all of the crumbs.
It was worthwhile to make this just to smell it baking. Now it’s finally ready.
Oh, yum.
Perhaps you want to make two. One for Yom Tov. And one for slicing right now.
Enjoy!
Thank you Suri! Note that while we used the 9×13 Amaretto Cake as the base for this cake, Suri uses the full 2 cups of sugar and full 1 cup of oil in the recipe below.
You can also add a glaze to take this even another step up: Combine 3/4 cup confectioners’ sugar, 1 Tbsp apple cider, and 1 tsp oil. Drizzle on cooled cake.
The Apple Cider Cake
Ingredients
- 2 cups flour
- 1 ¾ cups sugar
- 2 tsp baking powder
- 1 80 gram instant vanilla pudding (we used Osem brand)
- ⅔ cup oil
- 4 eggs
- 1 cup apple cider
- 1 tsp cinnamon
- ¼ tsp nutmeg
- 1 Granny Smith apple, peeled and diced small
For the crumb:
- ½ cup flour
- ⅓ cup sugar
- ⅓ cup brown sugar
- 3 tablespoons oil
- ½ teaspoon cinnamon
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F.
- Combine flour, sugar, baking powder, and vanilla pudding in a bowl. Mix with a whisk to just combine. Add oil, eggs, apple cider and mix until well combined and you have a smooth batter. Add the cinnamon and nutmeg. Mix once more. Fold in the diced apples and pour into a greased and floured pan. You can bake this cake in a bundt pan, 9×13 pan or 2 round pans.
- Combine the crumb ingredients in a small bowl using a fork. Sprinkle liberally over the batter. (If using a loaf pan, it's likely that you will have too many crumbs as there’s less surface.)
- Bake for 55 minutes to 1 hour or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean.
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