Maple Syrup Cake
I have to say, I have been very excited about the last few cakes in the butter-type cakes section of the vintage cake book I have been baking my through and I have not been disappointed yet. This cake delivered all it’s syrupy goodness to perfection. Admittedly though, I was unable to make the frosting it called for. Which asked for maple sugar. I maybe could have acquired some if I had called around town as we have a couple stores that stock things like that, but I didn’t have time to run into town to get it even if anyone had it. So I made a brown sugar buttercream. I was in a huge hurry because I had spent the morning and afternoon helping my sister-in-law, Natalie, move out of our home and into her own place. Which is excited and sad all at the same time, I am just glad she decided to stay here in town! So since I was in town already I had a couple stops I needed to make before coming home and in the midst of it my loving husband called to let me know he had invited people over for dinner. He gave me a lot more warning than normal which was nice, he called at 2pm rather than 5pm. So I got home at 5pm and needed to ice and photograph this cake, make dinner, and mop my floor because two turkeys and a chicken had wandered in to the dinning room earlier in the day and I felt the floor needed a good bleaching. So I didn’t have time to fiddle around with heating and cooling frosting with incorrect ingredients and have it possibly not turn out. So I went with a tried and true buttercream and just used brown sugar and a little maple syrup and called it good. I think I will go ahead and include both frosting recipes so you can choose what you want to do. The brown sugar buttercream was a little grainy so I probably should have done something a little differently but it actually tasted amazing and we all loved it. Even my husband loved it which I was not expecting because he detests maple syrup.
FOR THE CAKE- 2⅔ cups cake flour
- 1 tablespoon baking powder
- ¾ teaspoon salt
- ¾ cup butter, softened
- ⅔ cup firmly packed brown sugar
- 7 egg yolks
- ⅔ cup milk
- ⅔ cup maple syrup
FOR THE BROWN SUGAR BUTTERCREAM - 1 cup butter, softened
- 3-4 cups brown sugar
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 2 tablespoons maple syrup
- ¼ cup heavy cream
FOR THE MAPLE SUGAR FROSTING - 1 cup sugar
- 1 cup firmly packed maple sugar
- 1 cup thick sour cream
FOR THE TOPPING - ½ cup pecans
- ½ cup maple syrup
- TO MAKE THE CAKE
- Preheat your oven to 350˚ and prepare 3 - 8" round cake pans. Smear with sift butter and then place a disc of parchment into the bottom, set aside.
- In a medium mixing bowl, sift together the cake flour, baking powder and salt.
- In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment cream the butter on high for 7 minutes.
- Add the brown sugar and cream together on medium for 3 additional minutes, until nice and fluffy, set aside.
- Using a clean mixer bowl, (I had to move the creamed butter to a different bowl and wash my mixer bowl since I don't have an extra one laying around) place the egg yolks and beat on high until they are thick and lemon colored.
- Fold the butter mixture into the egg mixture in thirds, beating thoroughly after each addition.
- Then combine the milk and maple syrup in a small bowl.
- Alternate adding the flour mixture with the milk mixture, with 4 flour additions and 3 milk additions and beginning and ending with the flour and beating only until smooth between additions.
- Pour the batter into the prepared cake pans and bake until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
- Allow to cool in the pans for about 20 minutes and then run a knife around the edge and turn out onto a wire rack to cool completely.
TO MAKE THE BROWN SUGAR BUTTERCREAM (or you can try making the Maple Syrup Frosting and let us all know how it tastes!) - In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment cream the butter and vanilla extract on high for 7 minutes.
- Add the sugar and cream on high for an additional 3 minutes.
- Add the maple syrup and beat on medium until blended.
- Add a couple tablespoons of the heavy cream until you get a good spreading consistency.
TO MAKE THE MAPLE SUGAR FROSTING - Combine both sugars and sour cream in a medium saucepan.
- Stir over low heat until sugar is dissolved.
- Increase heat and bring to boiling.
- Put a candy thermometer in place.
- Continue cooking without stirring. During cooking, wash the sides of the pan with a pastry brush and water to get the sugar crystals off the side of the pan.
- Cook until the mixture reaches 238˚ (soft ball stage).
- Remove the pan from heat and place on cooling rack (or a cold burner) and cool to luke warm (About 110˚) without stirring or moving the pan.
- Beat vigorously with a wooden spoon or electric mixer until mixture begins to loose it's gloss and is of spreading consistency.
- Use immediately. If frosting becomes to thick you can loosen it up with a couple drops of cream.
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