Mini Apple Bundt Cakes

This mini apple bundt cake recipe is perfect for sweater weather. In New England, the end of September means one thing—apple picking season! If you find yourself with a half bushel of fresh apples in your house after a trip to the farm, then it’s time to start baking. These mini bundt cakes are made with real apples and are topped with maple icing (made from real maple syrup.) They are a delicious after-dinner dessert in autumn, but would also make a great addition to any brunch table or potluck gathering in the fall.

The short, printable version of this recipe can be found below, but read on if you want a more detailed step-by-step guide.

First, you’ll want to be sure that you have a mini bundt cake pan for this recipe. The one that I have is from HomeGoods and is a 6-count pan, though you can find it on Amazon or JoAnn Fabric. Other stores, such as Target and Williams Sonoma have similar pans. I’ve also seen mini bundt cake pans sold individually, though I’ve never experimented with these before. This recipe yields 6 mini bundt cakes, but you can double the recipe if you have two 6-count pans and want to make a dozen.

Grease your pan with cooking spray and set aside. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees and then gather the following ingredients for the apple batter:

• 1 stick of butter, softened
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 2 eggs
• ½ cup half and half
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1 ½ cups diced green apples (about two medium sized apples)

In a Kitchen Aid mixer, add the softened butter and granulated sugar and mix on medium speed.  To soften my butter, I pop it in the microwave for 20 seconds. Once combined, add in eggs, half and half, and vanilla extract. Beat on medium speed until incorporated.

With the wet ingredients combined, it’s time to add in the dry ingredients next. Add the flour directly into the mixer, along with the salt and baking powder. Mix on medium speed until smooth, then set aside.

Now comes the fun part! Gather about two medium sized green apples. Personally, I’m not entirely sure what kind of green apples I used for this recipe, as I got a variety while apple picking. I believe I used a combination of Granny Smith and Golden Delicious though. If you prefer a specific type of apple to bake with, then try out what you know you like! I do adore honey crisp apples, but I did not use them for this recipe. Bon Appetit and Midwest Living have lists of their favorites for reference too.

One of the trees I got my apples from while apple picking at Smolak Farms in North Andover, Massachusetts.

You can manually peel, core, and slice your apples, but if you want to make it a lot easier on yourself, use an apple peeler. I have Mrs. Anderson’s Triple-Action Apple Machine, which can be found on Amazon and at Bed Bath & Beyond, but you shouldn’t have trouble finding one at most department stores.

With the apples peeled, cored, and sliced, the next step is to dice them. After dicing one apple, I like to put the contents into a glass measuring cup and see how much of the next apple I have to dice to get to the 1 ½ cup mark. I only used about ¾ of my second apple, but of course it depends on the size of the apples as well.

When you have 1 ½ cups of diced apples, add it to your mixer and combine on slow speed just until the apple pieces are blended in with the batter. With the batter complete, the next step is to transfer the mixture to the mini bundt pan.

Using a tablespoon, scoop the batter into each individual bundt, filling them up about ¾ of the way. Next, use a frosting spatula or butter knife to smooth the batter out so it’s not lumpy on top. Set aside for just a moment.

In a small bowl, quickly make cinnamon sugar by combining:

• ⅓ cup granulated sugar
• 1 Tbsp cinnamon

Stir together using a butter knife until combined.

Then, sprinkle about 1 Tbsp of cinnamon sugar on top of each batter-filled bundt mold. This will add some crunchy texture to the bottom of the bundts once they’re baked. Note: you will likely have cinnamon sugar left over.

Once the bundts are sprinkled with cinnamon sugar, they’re ready to bake! With your oven heated to 350 degrees, place your mini bundt pan in the middle rack and bake for 20-22 minutes.

While the bundts are baking, gather the following maple icing ingredients:

• 1 Tbsp melted butter
• ½ cup powdered sugar
• 1 Tbsp half and half
• 1 Tbsp real maple syrup

In a small bowl, melt 1 Tbsp of butter in the microwave for about 10-15 seconds. Next, add the powdered sugar, half and half, and maple syrup and whisk for about 30 seconds until combined.

I live in New Hampshire, so it would be a sin to use anything but real maple syrup ever. I’ve never tried making this icing with pancake syrup. If real maple syrup is not an option, I’d almost be more apt to recommend using ¼ tsp of maple extract in place of the maple syrup. If you try it out, let me know how it tastes in the comments!

Set the icing aside until your bundts are done baking. You’ll know they’re ready when a toothpick inserted into each comes up clear of any batter. You should expect the bundts to rise to the tip of or even over each mold. Once they’re ready to come out of the oven, let them cool in the pans for about 10 minutes.

Once cooled, use a butter knife to loosen the edges of each bundt and gently remove from the pan using your hands. Some of the cinnamon sugar might fall off the bundts as you transport them to a plate.

If you plan on serving your mini bundts right away, then grab your maple icing and pop it in the microwave for 7 seconds to get it gooey. If you’re planning on serving them later, then put some saran wrap around the top of the bowl containing the icing and wait to glaze the bundts until right before you plan on eating them.

After heating the maple icing up, remove from the microwave and stir with a teaspoon. Then, scoop small amounts of the icing up with the spoon and let it drip on the bundts as you move the spoon back and forth.

Once you’re done coating them in the maple icing, your bundts are ready to be served! They’re best paired with a glass of apple cider.

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