Baked Apple Cider Mochi Donuts

4.72 from 28 votes

A warm and comforting recipe for apple cider mochi donuts that includes a cinnamon sugar topping.

Prep Time1 10

Cook Time10

Course: Dessert

Cuisine: Asian

Keyword: apple cider donuts, apple cider mochi donuts

Servings: donuts

Calories: 183kcal

Heat apple cider over medium low heat. Simmer until the apple cider has reduced down to 1/2 cup (~40-45 minutes). Set aside to cool for 20 minutes.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
Grease 2 donut pans and set aside.
Add sweet rice flour, baking powder, cinnamon, and nutmeg to a small bowl. Mix and set aside.
In a separate bowl, whisk together butter, vanilla extract, milk, light brown sugar, and granulated sugar. Add in the eggs and whisk until combined. Finally, add the apple cider concentrate from step 1 and mix.
Sift dry ingredients from step 4 into the bowl with the wet ingredients. Use a spatula to combine until you get a wet dough.
Spoon the dough into a pastry bag or Ziploc bag. Pipe the dough into the donut pans. I used a donut pan with donut molds that are 3 inches in diameter.
Smack the donut pan 1-2 times on a flat surface to get rid of some of the air bubbles.
Bake for 9-11 minutes until a toothpick comes out clean.
While the donuts are baking, make the cinnamon sugar topping. Combine sugar and cinnamon in a bowl. Mix and set aside.
Once out of the oven, cover the donuts in cinnamon sugar. Use 2 forks if the donuts are too hot to handle.
Cool on a cooling rack for 10 minutes before serving.

Reduce apple cider down to a concentrate - The first time I tested this recipe I use apple cider straight out of the bottle. It worked fine, but I couldn't really taste any apple flavor. So I did some research and found that a good way to concentrate the apple flavor is to reduce down the apple cider. Most of the liquid evaporates in this process, and you're left with a more concentrated version of the apple cider. This helps the apple flavor come through in the final product.
Use a Ziploc bag to pipe donuts into donut pan – I tried to spoon the batter into the donut molds, but I ended up making a mess. That’s how I ended up using a ziploc bag to pipe them into the molds. It’s a lot quicker, and there is less mess.
Coat the donuts with the cinnamon sugar while they're still hot - I tried to coat these donuts after they cooled down, and the cinnamon sugar didn't stick as well as when they were piping hot. So definitely make sure to coat them right after they come out of the oven. Use forks if the donuts are too hot for you to handle.