Searching for Cider Doughnuts

Last weekend, Patrick and I drove an hour and a half to Winchester. We passed many apple orchards but we were heading to Hill High farms. We weren’t there for apples, we wanted apple cider doughnuts. I don’t like doughnuts, never did, until Patrick took me to New Hope the fall of 2004. We went to an orchard that offered fresh hot apple cider doughnuts and I was addicted. These doughnuts also had a nice coating of cinnamon and sugar.

Unfortunately, Hill High farms did not have any apple cider doughnuts. I had a very, very sad face. So we walked around and visited the cows, goats, and chickens. Then we bought some cider and pumpkin pie fudge that tasted more like cinnamon. We did not give up the doughnut dream. We drove around the country side and stopped at a few farmstands and orchards. No one had doughnuts.

We picked our own apples at Rinker orchard. It was a beautiful fall day that was sunny with a nice breeze. We brought home our half bushel of apples and I got to wondering what to do with all those apples. Patrick likes to make applesauce which has never interested me all that much. He is a wonderful pie maker but I am trying to avoid wheat. So I started to think about apple ice cream. I found a few recipes but didn’t have cream so I made up my own.

My first attempt of the day was a failure as the apple cider curdled the milk. The second attempt was a delicious success. First I washed, peeled, and cored three apples. I put the apples in a pot on medium heat with some butter, salt, nutmeg, cinnamon, cardamom, and one cup of sugar. I let the apples go with occasional stirring until the apples were tender. I left them to cool then added them into a blender with two cups of milk. I blended them, chilled the mixture thoroughly, and then churned in my Kitchen Aid ice cream maker.

This ice cream came out wonderfully without cream or eggs. Patrick was in love with its bright apple flavor. I have decided to call this applesauce ice cream. I am still searching for apple cider doughnuts. I plan to visit another orchard later this month in Charlottesville that claims to have apple cider doughnuts. I will definitely call them before I make the two hour trip.