What do you get when you layer one of the best treats of fall with spiced apples and cream? Sheer, sliceable heaven! It's an Apple Cider Donut Icebox Cake.
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My family and I have been driving all around Vermont to find the best orchards to visit for apple cider donuts. We've been to 13 spots so far! And that means we have a lot of apples and donuts in the house.
We had plenty of those donuts with cups of coffee and tea, and then saved out some to make something really special: this Apple Cider Donut Icebox Cake!
This dessert is perfect for September and October when apples are in season and cider donuts are fresh from the fryer at the orchards. However, you can also make it with store-bought or homemade donuts any time of the year.
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What is an apple cider donut?
A New England fall favorite, cider donuts are made using real apple cider that's boiled down to thicken it and concentrate the flavor. The cakey donut batter gets its light texture from baking powder and sweetness from brown sugar. The spices in these donuts are classic apple pie spices like cinnamon, nutmeg, and allspice.
Fried cider doughnuts have a deep brown color. They often have a sparkly coating of sugar or cinnamon sugar, or they may be left plain so you can really take in the appley flavor.
Everyone agrees that apple cider donuts taste the very best when they're warm. The prospect of scoring a warm apple cider donut is a fantastic reason to go apple picking at a New England orchard. You'll get to see beautiful fall color on the trees, eat one or a few fresh apples off the tree, and enjoy cups of warm cider with apple cider donuts on the side.
Apple picking is a favorite family activity and also a great excuse to don your favorite plaid flannel shirt or wool sweater!
What's an icebox cake?
Icebox cakes, or refrigerator cakes, are old-fashioned, no-bake desserts made by layering ingredients into pie plates or baking pans and letting them set up overnight in the fridge until they become firm, sliceable treats.
In reading through my vintage cookbooks I found many different recipes for these cool cakes. Though there are numerous variations, in general, icebox cakes are made with layers of:
- Something already baked (like leftover cake, cookies, or crackers)
- Something sweet and creamy (pudding, custard, whipped cream)
- Very often layers of fruit (like berries, mango, and peaches)
The overnight chill allows the layers to meld, forming a firm, chilled dessert that's easy to slice and serve!
In this icebox cake, the baked layer is made of apple cider donuts!
I have other ones to try, like Strawberry Cream Cheese Icebox Cake and Lemon Icebox Cake with Lavender.
So, what's an icebox??
Why, it's your fridge, of course! I like that retro name though—icebox.
Starting in the late 1920s, more and more households were buying the coolest new appliance on the market (literally)—the electric refrigerator.
Before that, families had iceboxes: tall, metal-lined, wooden cabinets that held large blocks of ice to keep everything stored inside the icebox cold. And because iceboxes needed ice, there was a whole business around ice deliveries. Blocks were delivered by horses pulling the enormous pieces of ice on carriages.
Despite the upgrade in the '20s to electric refrigerators, for many decades folks still referred to their fridges as iceboxes. Remember in 1984's "Ghostbusters" when Dr. Venkman tells Dana Barrett about the evil deity named Gozer? (He was very big in Sumeria.) "Well, what's he doing in my icebox??" she asks. Dana's talking about her fridge!
Why you'll love it
There are apple cider donut cake recipes out there, but in my humble opinion, this one beats them all! The apple and cinnamon flavors are just scrumptious, and the layers combine creamy and cakey textures, plus a light bite from the cooked apples.
It has layers of cider donuts along with Spiced Apple Topping—my own recipe that literally takes 10 minutes to make.
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The apple icebox cake has creamy layers too, made with cream cheese, whipped cream, and toffee bits—it's almost like a rectangular donut trifle! The cake is easy to assemble the layers in a loaf pan.
Your icebox cake needs an overnight rest to set properly (a must for icebox cakes,) and then it's ready to decorate and serve.
A fall icebox cake is a wonderful recipe for September and October gatherings, Halloween parties, as a special treat for your family, or to bring to work for a potluck.
🔪 How to make Apple Cider Donut Icebox Cake
Ingredients:
- Apple cider donuts: Ideally from a local orchard, but storebought will work
- Cream cheese: It should be very soft
- Toffee bits: Mine have chocolate on them, but plain toffee bits are good too
- Cooked apples: Use my recipe to make them in only 10 minutes
- Graham crackers: They will form the bottom layer of the cake
- Heavy cream: To make homemade whipped cream
- Milk: Just a little
- Confectioner's sugar: The creamy layer will be sweetened with this sugar
- Cream of tartar: It will help the whipped cream stay firm
Step 1: Make the cream
Beat the heavy cream and cream of tartar on high speed until stiff peaks form. Separately, beat the softened cream cheese with the sugar. Fold in the whipped cream and toffee bits.
Step 2: Turn donuts to crumbs
Use a food processor to grind the apple cider donuts into very coarse crumbs. Stir in the milk until the crumbs are moistened.
Step 3: Assemble the cake layers
Assemble the icebox cake layers in a loaf pan lined with plastic wrap. Add donut crumbs first. Add a layer of apples and cream, and repeat these layers again. End with graham crackers.
Step 4: Chill it
Wrap the icebox cake and refrigerate it overnight.
Step 5: Finish the cake
Unmold the apple cider donut dessert onto a serving platter. Top it with the remaining whipped cream, whole cider donuts, and diced apples. Slice the cake and serve.
FAQs
If it's apple season and you have apple orchards nearby, you should be able to find freshly baked donuts there. Otherwise, check the bakery department at your grocery store. Another option is to bake your own donuts, with a mix like this one from Stonewall Kitchen. (affiliate link.)
Tips:
- This icebox cake includes layers of my 10-Minute Spiced Apple Topping using 4 apples. It cooks up in literally 10 minutes, makes about 2 cups which is just right for this recipe, and cools down quickly, too. So make some!
- If you really, really can't make the apple topping, you can substitute canned apple pie filling.
- The cream cheese needs to be really soft, otherwise, it has a curdled texture. Here are some ways to soften cream cheese in a hurry.
Are you ready to sink your teeth into this autumn-time treat?
Find the recipe for Apple Cider Donut Icebox cake below. And do check out some other apple recipes to try!
💬 How did you like this icebox cake? Leave a comment below.
📖 Recipe
Apple Cider Donut Icebox Cake
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Ingredients
For the cream layer:
- 1½ cups whipping cream
- ¼ teaspoon cream of tartar
- 8 ounces cream cheese, very soft
- ¾ cup confectioner's sugar
- ½ cup toffee bits
Other ingredients:
- 8 apple cider donuts
- ⅓ cup milk
- 2 cups Spiced Apple Topping, cooled
- 4 graham crackers
- Optional: extra apple topping or toffee bits to decorate the finished cake
Instructions
- Place the bowl and whisk of a stand mixer in the freezer to chill for 10 minutes.
- Line a 9x5-inch loaf pan with plastic wrap.
Make the cream layer:
- Assemble the bowl and whisk onto the mixer and pour in the whipping cream. Beat the cream on high speed—when it begins to thicken, add in the cream of tartar. Continue beating the cream until stiff peaks form.
- Scoop the whipped cream into a separate bowl and hold it aside.
- Add the softened cream cheese to the bowl; beat the cheese on medium speed until it's very smooth and creamy.
- Pour the confectioner's sugar in, and mix until it's thoroughly combined with the cream cheese.
- Fold the whipped cream into the cream cheese by hand, then stir in the toffee bits.
- Scoop out one cup of the cream, and hold it in a covered dish in the fridge. (This will be to decorate the cake after chilling.)
Prepare the donuts:
- Set two of the cider donuts aside in a sealed bag or container—these will be used to garnish the cake at the end.
- Place the remaining 6 donuts in a food processor, and pulse it to grind the donuts down to very coarse crumbs.
- (If you don't have a food processor, you can crumble the donuts with your fingers.)
- Add the ⅓ cup of milk to the crumbs. Stir until all the crumbs are moistened.
Assemble the cake:
- Divide the moistened donut crumbs into thirds.
- Pour one-third of the cider donut crumbs into an even layer in the bottom of the lined loaf pan.
- Pour half of the cooked apple topping in an even layer over the donut crumbs.
- Pour another third of the donut crumbs into the pan and spread into an even layer.
- Spread half of the whipped cream mixture over the donut crumbs in the pan.
- Spread the rest of the cooked apple topping over the cream layer.
- Spread the remaining third of moistened donut crumbs over the apples.
- Spread the rest of the whipped cream mixture in an even layer in the pan.
- Finally, layer the graham crackers over the cream, fitting them together as tightly as you can. A little overlap is okay. (The crackers will be the base of the cake when it's unmolded.)
Chill the cake:
- Cover the pan with plastic wrap. Lightly press the top of the cake to settle the ingredients together. Place the pan in the fridge.
- Let the cake chill overnight or for at least 8 hours.
Unmold and finish the cake:
- Take the plastic off the top of the pan. Invert the cake onto a serving platter, and gently remove the pan.
- Peel the plastic wrap off the top and sides of the cake.
- Get the reserved whipped cream mixture from the fridge. Spoon it over the top of the cake.
- Finish the cake with the two cider donuts you set aside: You can set the whole donuts on top, crumble them, or break them into chunks to decorate the top of the cake.
- If you want, you can add extra apple topping or extra toffee bits to the top of the cake, too.
- Slice and serve the cake. Store any leftovers covered with plastic wrap in the fridge for up to one week.
Notes
FAQs:
Where can I find apple cider donuts? If it's apple season and you have apple orchards nearby, you should be able to find freshly-baked donuts there. Otherwise, check the bakery department at your grocery store. Another option is to bake your own donuts, with a mix like this one from Stonewall Kitchen. (affiliate link.)Tips:
- This icebox cake includes layers of my 10-Minute Spiced Apple Topping using 4 apples. It cooks up in literally 10 minutes, makes about 2 cups which is just right for this recipe, and cools down quickly, too. So make some!
- If you really, really can't make the apple topping, you can substitute canned apple pie filling.
- The cream cheese needs to be really soft, otherwise, it has a curdled texture. Here are some ways to soften cream cheese in a hurry.
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