Apple Cider Pound Cake with Apple Cider Glaze

Last week I had a very special treat. My former coworker was visiting Chicago and invited me and the Monkey Scientist to have dinner at her sister's house.  I used to eat lunch with her every day, but now I hadn't seen her in months!  It was great to be able to spend time with her and catch up.  I can't believe how many people I used to work with have had babies since I left.  I miss the flurry of baby pictures I used to get in my email.



As I've mentioned before, my coworker isn't a big chocolate person.  I dug through my recently starred recipes in Google Reader and it seemed like everything was chocolate!  Finally, I came across this cake and I knew it was perfect.  I love cakes that are sweet and this cider glaze was perfect. I knew she'd love it.



Besides that, the Monkey Scientist gave me a bundt pan last Christmas and I still hadn't used it until now!  His mom makes a few really amazing bundt cakes, so I never wanted to compete with her.  Fortunately, this cake was far enough from her chocolate chip cake that I wasn't too worried. However, after the first 70 minutes I could tell the cake wasn't going to keep its shape and was going to become a pool of dough.  I threw it back in the oven for another 20-30 minutes, though, and it really did the trick.  So even if your cake is starting to turn brown around the edges, don't fret! Let it cook all the way through! (Especially if you have a silicon bundt pan).



To no big surprise, this cake came out really delicious. It's sweet without being too sweet, and has a nice subtle apple cider flavor.  I love the warmth of the cinnamon throughout.  I didn't reduce the cider quite enough so the glaze looks pretty white compared to what it should have looked like.  It didn't matter though - I liked the white color and it tasted great.



Apple Cider Pound Cake with Apple Cider Glaze
very slightly adapted from Buns in My Oven

Ingredients
For the cake:
3 cups sugar
1 1/2 cups butter, softened
6 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
1/2 - 1 cup powdered sugar
2 tablespoons butter, melted and cooled
dash of salt
1/4 tsp cinnamon

Instructions
1. Preheat the oven to 325 and grease a bundt pan.
2. In the bowl of a standing mixer, cream the butter and sugar.  With the mixer on low speed, add the eggs one at a time until incorporated.
3. In a large bowl, whisk to combine the dry ingredients.  In a measuring cup, combine 1 cup of apple cider with 1 teaspoon vanilla.
4. With the mixer on low speed, add the dry mixture and cider a bit at a time, alternating between which you are adding.  When everything in incorporated, spoon the batter into your bundt pan.  Bake for 70 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean (I used a silicon bundt pan and it took closer to 90 minutes).
5. Remove from the oven and let the cake sit for at least 20 minutes in the bundt pan.  Remove from bundt pan and allow to cool completely.
6. Add the remaining 1 cup cider to a small saucepan and bring to a boil.  Allow to boil for at least 10 minutes or until the liquid reduces by half (I don't think mine reduced enough, so it wasn't dark in color).
7. Add the butter, salt, cinnamon, and powdered sugar.  If it isn't thick enough, continue to add powdered sugar until it reaches desired consistency.
8. Allow to cool slightly, and then pour over cake.  I recommend doing this over a jelly roll pan so you can collect the drippings and pour it over again if you like (I did this 3 times).  Serve at room temperature.