Maple Cake Recipes

MAPLE CAKE

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 F. Grease and flour three 6-inch (or two 8-inch) cake rounds and line with parchment paper.1 Set aside.
• In a medium bowl, whisk flour, baking powder, and salt together. Set aside.
• In a measuring cup, stir together maple syrup and milk. Set aside.
• In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, mix butter and sugar on medium-high speed until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes). Turn speed to low and add eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition.2 Add vanilla and mix until combined. Scrape down the sides of the bowl as necessary.
• Alternate adding flour mixture and maple mixture, beginning and ending with flour (3 parts flour and 2 parts maple). Mix well after each addition.
• Bake for 30-35 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out with little to no crumbs.
• Let cakes cool in the pan for 10 minutes, then turn on to a wire rack to cool completely. Prepare the frosting.
• In the bowl of a stand mixer with a paddle attachment, beat the butter and cream cheese together on medium-high speed until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Add the maple extract, vanilla extract and salt, and beat until combined, about 1 minute more.
• With the mixer on low, slowly add in the confectioners' sugar and beat until combined, about 1 minute. Scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl if necessary.
• Place the first cake on a plate, then top with a scoop of frosting and spread evenly. Top with the second layer and frost again (repeat if doing three layers). Finish by frosting the outside of the cake with the remaining frosting. Garnish with pecans (or spiced pecans).

MAPLE CAKE

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
• Grease and lightly flour (I use Recipe #78579) two 9-inch cake pans, then line the bottoms with waxed paper.
• In a large bowl, mix together the flour and the ginger and set aside.
• In a large bowl, cream the butter and the sugar until fluffy.
• Add the eggs one at a time, beating until well combined.
• Beat in the maple syrup gradually.
• Add the flour mixture in thirds, alternating with the water, beating after each addition until smooth.
• Pour the batter into the prepared pans; prepare a hot water bath to be placed on the rack underneath the cake pans. Bake for 30-35 minutes or until cake tests done (the toothpick test).
• Let cakes cool in pans for 10 minutes. Remove from pans and cool completely on wire rack.
• To make the original frosting: In the top of a double boiler, combine first five ingredients. Cook over boiling water, beating constantly on the medium-high speed of an electric mixer, until mixture stands in peaks (about 5-7 minutes). Remove the pot from heat. Add the vanilla and the maple extracts and continue beating 1 minute more until thick enough to spread.
• To make the buttercream frosting: mix butter, extract and syrup till smooth. Add powdered sugar (a few tablespoons at a time), beating on high speed (my handmixer has three speeds) till frosting reaches desired consistency.
• When cake has cooled, ice between the layers. Ice top and sides of cake, sprinkling the top with chopped walnuts.

MAPLE WALNUT CAKE

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350°. Line bottoms of 3 greased 9-in. round baking pans with parchment; grease parchment., Cream butter and brown sugar until light and fluffy, 5-7 minutes. Add eggs, 1 at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat in maple flavoring. In another bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt; add to creamed mixture alternately with buttermilk, beating after each addition., Transfer to prepared pans. Bake until a toothpick inserted in center comes out clean, 11-13 minutes. Cool in pans 10 minutes before removing to wire racks; remove paper. Cool completely., For candied walnuts, in a large skillet, melt butter over medium heat; saute walnuts until toasted, about 5 minutes. Stir in maple syrup and salt; cook and stir 1 minute. Spread onto foil; cool completely., For frosting, beat butter until creamy. Beat in maple flavoring and salt. Gradually beat in confectioners' sugar and enough cream to reach desired consistency., Place 1 cake layer on a serving plate; spread with 1 cup frosting. Sprinkle with 1/2 cup candied walnuts and drizzle with 1 tablespoon maple syrup. Repeat layers., Top with remaining layer. Frost top and sides of cake. Top with remaining walnuts and syrup.

MAPLE LAYER CAKE

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Butter two 9-by-2-inch round cake pans, and dust with flour. Tap out any excess flour, and set pans aside.
• In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the butter until creamy. Add the maple syrup, and beat until combined. Add the eggs, and beat until combined.
• In a large bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, salt, and ginger. Add the flour mixture to the butter mixture, and beat to combine. Beat in the milk and vanilla extract until combined. Stir in 3/4 cup chopped walnuts.
• Divide batter between the two prepared pans. Bake until golden and a cake tester inserted into the centers comes out clean, about 40 minutes; rotate the cake pans halfway through baking time to ensure even baking. Transfer pans to a wire rack to cool.
• Turn out cakes, and place one, top-side up, on a cake stand or platter. Spread 1 1/2 cups maple buttercream frosting evenly over the top. Place the second cake layer on top, and spread the remaining 2 1/2 cups frosting around the sides and over the top. Using your hands, gently press the remaining 3/4 cup walnuts onto the sides of the cake.

MISO-MAPLE LOAF CAKE

Steps:

• Center a rack in the oven and heat oven to 350 degrees. Butter an 8 1/2-inch loaf pan and dust with flour, or use baker's spray.
• Whisk together the flour, baking powder and baking soda in a medium bowl. Put the sugar, salt and zest in the bowl of a stand mixer or a large bowl that you can use with a hand mixer. Reach in and rub the ingredients together until the sugar is moist and fragrant; it may even turn orange. Add the butter, miso and maple syrup to the sugar. If using a stand mixer, attach the bowl and fit it with the paddle attachment.
• Beat on medium speed for about 3 minutes, scraping down the bowl and beater(s) as needed, until the mixture is smooth and creamy. One by one, add the eggs, beating for a minute after each goes in. Beat in the vanilla. The mixture might curdle, but this is a temporary condition. Turn off the mixer, add the dry ingredients all at once and pulse to begin the blending, turning the mixer on and off in very short spurts on the lowest speed. Then, beat on low speed until the dry ingredients are almost incorporated. With the mixer still on low, pour in the buttermilk and blend well. Scrape the batter into the pan, working it into the corners and smoothing the top.
• Bake for 50 to 55 minutes, checking the loaf after 40 minutes and covering the top loosely with a foil or tented parchmentif it's browning too fast. The loaf is properly baked when it pulls away from the sides of the pan and a tester inserted into the center comes out clean. Transfer the pan to a rack and let the bread rest for 5 minutes, then run a table knife around the edges of the loaf and unmold onto the rack; turn it right side up.
• If you'd like to glaze the loaf, stir the marmalade or jam with 1 tablespoon water and heat the mixture in the microwave or over low heat until it comes just to a boil. Using a pastry brush or a spoon, cover the top of the loaf with the glaze. Allow the loaf to cool to room temperature before slicing. Wrapped well, the cake will keep for about 4 days at room temperature. If it becomes stale - and maybe even if it doesn't - toast it lightly before serving. If you haven't glazed the cake, you can wrap it airtight and freeze it for up to 2 months; defrost, still wrapped, at room temperature.