This Bundt cake demands a spot in your next brunch spread

We maximized this cake’s apple taste by shredding 1 1/2 pounds of tart Granny Smiths and bolstering their flavour with an intense reduction of apple cider mixed into the batter, brushed onto the warm exterior of the baked cake, and stirred into an icing. (File Photo: Katrin Gilger/Flickr, CC BY-SA 2.0)

Delivering bright apple flavour and a temptingly moist crumb, this simple yet stunning Bundt cake demands a prominent place in your brunch spread.

We maximized this cake’s apple taste by shredding 1 1/2 pounds of tart Granny Smiths and bolstering their flavour with an intense reduction of apple cider mixed into the batter, brushed onto the warm exterior of the baked cake, and stirred into an icing. Using a moderate amount of spices allowed the apple flavour to shine.

Baking this fruity cake in a Bundt pan made all the difference, as the hole through the middle meant the dense batter baked through evenly and completely for a perfectly cooked cake.

For the sake of efficiency, begin boiling the cider before assembling the rest of the ingredients. Reducing the cider to exactly 1 cup is important; if you accidentally overreduce it, make up the difference with water. To ensure that the icing has the proper consistency, we recommend weighing the confectioners’ sugar.

We like the tartness of Granny Smith apples in this recipe, but any variety of apple will work. You can shred the apples with the shredding disk of a food processor or on the large holes of a paddle or box grater.

Cooled cake can be wrapped loosely in plastic wrap and stored at room temperature for up to 3 days.

CIDER-GLAZED APPLE BUNDT CAKE

Servings: 12

Start to finish: 1 hour 45 minutes (plus 2 hours, 30 minutes cooling time)

4 cups apple cider

3 3/4 cups (18 3/4 ounces) all-purpose flour

1 1/2 teaspoons salt

1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon ground allspice

3/4 cup (3 ounces) confectioners’ sugar

16 tablespoons (2 sticks) unsalted butter, melted

1 1/2 cups packed (10 1/2 ounces) dark brown sugar

3 large eggs

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

1 1/2 pounds Granny Smith apples, peeled, cored and shredded (3 cups)

Bring cider to boil in 12 inch skillet over high heat; cook until reduced to 1 cup, 20 to 25 minutes. While cider is reducing, adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 350 F. Grease and flour 12 cup nonstick Bundt pan. Whisk flour, salt, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, and allspice in large bowl until combined. Place confectioners’ sugar in small bowl.

Add 2 tablespoons cider reduction to confectioners’ sugar and whisk to form smooth icing. Cover with plastic wrap and set aside. Set aside 6 tablespoons cider reduction.

Pour remaining 1/2 cup cider reduction into large bowl; add melted butter, brown sugar, eggs, and vanilla and whisk until smooth.

Pour cider mixture over flour mixture and stir with rubber spatula until almost fully combined (some streaks of flour will remain). Stir in apples and any accumulated juice until evenly distributed. Transfer mixture to prepared pan and smooth top. Bake until skewer inserted in centre of cake comes out clean, 55 minutes to 1 hour 5 minutes, rotating cake halfway through baking.

Transfer pan to wire rack set in rimmed baking sheet. Brush exposed surface of cake lightly with 1 tablespoon reserved cider reduction. Let cake cool for 10 minutes. Invert cake onto wire rack and remove pan. Brush top and sides of cake with remaining 5 tablespoons reserved cider reduction. Let cake cool for 20 minutes. Stir icing to loosen, then drizzle evenly over cake. Let cake cool completely, at least 2 hours, before serving.

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Nutrition information per serving: 491 calories; 150 calories from fat; 17 g fat (10 g saturated; 1 g trans fats); 94 mg cholesterol; 440 mg sodium; 80 g carbohydrate; 3 g fiber; 46 g sugar; 6 g protein.