Castellon's Kitchen: January 2020

Happy New Year! It's a new year and another opportunity to make a fresh start. I don't usually make resolutions, rather I use the new year to set some intentions and put together my to do list for the year. Number one on my list this year will be to dive back into blogging. I took a little bit of a break from blogging in 2019 as you might have noticed. I spent the year reassessing, refocusing and recovering from 3 surgeries after an abnormal mammogram last May. I'm all recovered and ready to jump back into my creative space of food and fun Halloween ideas and projects. But before I get ahead of myself and dive right into Halloween, I have a 'better late than never' recipe to share. I made them before Christmas and never got around to posting them. So these Apple Cinnamon Donut Cakes are my first post of 2020. A delicious cinnamon sugar coated, 3 bite morsel of apple cinnamon cake! Make a batch. Invite your girlfriends over for coffee, cake and conversation to kick off the new year! Enjoy!

Apple Cinnamon Donut Cakes

Makes ~2 dozen

3 cups all purpose flour
1 1/2 t. baking powder
1/2 t. baking soda
1 T. cinnamon
1 t. nutmeg
1/4 t. cardamom
1 t. salt
1 cup brown sugar, packed
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 cup apple cider
1 cup applesauce
3/4 cup olive oil or canola oil
3 t. vanilla extract
3 eggs
1/2 cup butter melted
1 cup granulated sugar
2 t. cinnamon
1/2 t. nutmeg

Preheat oven to 350 degrees

In a large bowl, combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg, cardamom, and salt. Set aside.
In a medium bowl, combine sugars, apple cider, applesauce, olive oil, vanilla extract, and eggs and whisk until mixed. Combine wet and dry ingredients and whisk until incorporated. Spray mini bundt cake pan with baking spray. Using a medium cookie scoop, fill mini bundt cakes half full, taking care not to overfill. Bake at 350 degrees for about 10-12 minutes. Let cool 10 minutes and then turn out of pan. Cool completely on a wire rack.

Prepare cinnamon sugar. Combine sugar, cinnamon and nutmeg in a small bowl and mix. In a small bowl, melt butter in the microwave.
Brush donut cakes with melted butter and then roll them in cinnamon sugar until completely coated. Serve. Store covered at room temperature for up to 2 days.