Easy Sweet Recipes at Home with Cider: Affogato, Sorbet, and More!

Cider is a beverage derived from fermented apple juice; you can find alcoholic and non-alcoholic versions of it. It's an ancient beverage that's as old as time. You may have found some references of cider being made and drunk around Europe in history books. Sometimes pears are also used to produce a cider called perry.

Did you know that World Cider Day is celebrated to honour and appreciate the rich history and cultural significance of cider on June 3? It's a reminder to support local cider producers and to preserve the art of cider-making. There are many Indian brands of non-alcoholic and hard ciders that you can find in the market, and enjoy in the summer or even during the colder months.

In this article, we’re going to make desserts that can use both soft and hard ciders.

Apple Cider Affogato

Ingredients:

• 240 ml apple cider
• 4 scoops of vanilla ice cream

Instructions:

• Warm the apple cider in a saucepan or in the microwave.
• Scoop out the ice cream into serving bowls, then the warm cider over it, and enjoy. 

Apple Cider Pound Cake

Ingredients:

For the cake:

• 170 g butter, softened
• 300 gm sugar
• 120 ml apple cider
• 3 eggs
• 180 gm flour
• ¼ tsp baking powder
• ¼ tsp salt

For the glaze:

• 90 gm confectioners’ sugar
• 3-4 tsp apple cider

Instructions:

• Preheat the oven to 176 C and line a cake tin with parchment paper. You can also grease it with some butter and then sprinkle some flour over it.
• Cream the softened butter with the sugar until smooth and creamy, then incorporate the eggs one at a time.
• Then sift the flour, baking powder, and salt in another bowl. Fold this in batches into the creamed butter and sugar, and finally add the cider.
• Combine everything well without trying to overmix the cake batter.
• Transfer the cake batter into the prepared cake tin and let it bake for about 40 to 50 minutes.
• Let the cake cool once the top is golden brown.
• Prepare the glaze by mixing together the powdered sugar and apple cider. Pour it over the room temperature cake, then slice and serve.

Pears and Cider Sorbet

Ingredients:

• 712 gm pears
• 248 ml apple cider
• 85 gm honey
• 100 gm sugar
• 2 tbsp lemon juice
• ½ tsp salt

Instructions:

• Peel and core the pears, then add them to a food processor along with apple cider, honey, sugar, salt, and lemon juice.
• Blend until you get a super smooth puree. Strain it if you want to remove any fibre.
• At this stage you can adjust the amount of sweetener, tartness, and saltiness too. If you feel like you want a more apple cider forward taste, then you feel free to add more.
• Then transfer this mixture into an ice cream maker and set it on sorbet mode.
• Once done, scoop it out and enjoy.

Apple Cider Doughnuts

Ingredients:

• 430 gm flour
• 240 ml apple cider
• 200 gm granulated sugar
• 118 ml buttermilk
• 5 tbsp softened butter
• 2 eggs
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 tbsp baking powder
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1 ½ tsp ground cinnamon
• ½ tsp nutmeg
• 1 tbsp vanilla extract 

For cinnamon sugar coating:

• 300 gm confectioners’ sugar
• 3 tbsp ground cinnamon

Instructions:

• Heat the apple cider in a saucepan on medium heat until it becomes ⅓ of its original volume.
• Beat the sugar and butter until light and creamy, then incorporate the eggs and continue to beat this mixture.
• Next add the buttermilk, apple cider, and vanilla extract to this mixture, and continue mixing.
• Sift and whisk together all of the dry ingredients in a separate bowl, then add them to the wet mix.
• Once you get a soft dough, you can knead it on a lightly floured surface, then roll out doughnuts of your desired shape and size.
• Once you’ve created the doughnuts, let them rest on a parchment-lined baking sheet for 10 minutes.
• Then heat any neutral oil, and fry the doughnuts until golden brown on both sides.
• Dip them in the mixture of confectioners’ sugar and ground cinnamon. Enjoy them warm.