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An overhead view of pound cake with an apple cider glaze.
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Apple Cider Pound Cake with Apple Cider Glaze

Apple cider is the perfect fall scent. Pick your own apples or go to the store, I won't tell.
Course Dessert
Cuisine American
Prep Time 20 minutes
Cook Time 1 hour 10 minutes
Total Time 1 hour 30 minutes
Servings 16 servings
Calories 437kcal
Author Karly Campbell

Ingredients

For the cake:

  • 3 cups sugar
  • 1 1/2 cups butter softened
  • 6 large eggs
  • 3 cups flour
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
  • 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
  • 1/8 teaspoon ground cloves
  • 1 cup apple cider
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla

For the glaze:

  • 1 cup apple cider
  • 2 tablespoons butter
  • 1 teaspoon cinnamon
  • Dash of salt
  • 1 cup powdered sugar more as needed

Instructions

To make the cake:

  • Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Grease a bundt pan.
  • In the bowl of your stand mixer, beat together the sugar and butter until light and fluffy. Beat in the eggs, one at a time, until well combined.
  • In a medium bowl, combine the dry ingredients.
  • Combine the cider and vanilla.
  • Add dry ingredients alternately with the cider and mix until well blended.
  • Pour into the greased bundt pan and bake for 70 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
  • Cool for 20 minutes in the pan before removing to a cake stand or plate. Cool completely before icing.

To make the glaze:

  • While the cake is baking, bring the cider to a boil over medium heat, reduce heat to low, and simmer for 15 minutes or until reduced down to 1/4 cup of cider.
  • Stir in the butter, cinnamon, and salt. Transfer to a small bowl and let cool while the cake is baking/cooling.
  • Add the powdered sugar to the cider and whisk to combine. For a thicker consistency that will hold it's shape/color better after drizzling on the cake, whisk in up to 1/2 cup more powdered sugar. If the glaze is too thin it will melt into the cake (still delicious but not as pretty), but if you add too much powdered sugar it gets pretty sweet (not a terrible thing, it's dessert and you can balance it with a dash more of salt if needed).

Notes

If you’re unable to find apple cider, you may use apple juice instead.
When reducing the glaze, we just save the measuring dish and pour the reduced glaze back into it to see how far we've reduced it down. It usually takes right at 15 minutes for us, but can vary a bit depending on how high the heat is. 
This glaze is sweet and tart with a strong apple flavor. It's a pretty unique flavor. Feel free to swap the glaze with a simple powdered sugar glaze (add cinnamon for Fall vibes) or a cream cheese glaze. 

Nutrition

Calories: 437kcal | Carbohydrates: 59g | Protein: 5g | Fat: 20g | Saturated Fat: 12g | Cholesterol: 119mg | Sodium: 265mg | Potassium: 98mg | Sugar: 40g | Vitamin A: 675IU | Vitamin C: 0.2mg | Calcium: 28mg | Iron: 1.5mg