Maple Layer Cake Recipes

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.

Steps:

• In a large bowl, combine the flour, sugars, baking soda and salt. Combine the buttermilk, butter, syrup and vanilla; stir into dry ingredients just until combined. Fold in chopped pecans. , Pour into two 6-in. round baking pans coated with cooking spray. Bake at 350° for 20-25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool for 10 minutes before removing from pans to wire racks to cool completely. , In a small saucepan, bring corn syrup to a boil. Cook and stir for 1 minute or until slightly thickened. Remove from the heat; stir in pecan halves until coated. Place in a single layer on a foil-lined baking sheet. Bake at 425° for 2-3 minutes or until golden brown. Cool. , For frosting, in a small bowl, beat the cream cheese, butter and syrup until smooth. Beat in confectioners' sugar. Place one cake layer on a serving plate; spread with 1/2 cup frosting. Top with second layer; frost top and sides of cake. Garnish with glazed pecans. Store in the refrigerator.

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.

Steps:

• For maple-coated pecans:
• Place large piece of foil on work surface. Combine nuts and maple syrup in heavy medium skillet (do not use nonstick) over medium-high heat and bring to boil, tossing to coat. Cook until syrup is dark amber and almost cooked away and thickly coats nuts, tossing often, 3 to 3 1/2 minutes. Scrape nuts onto foil. Working quickly with 2 forks, separate nuts. Sprinkle with coarse salt. Cool until coating is crisp and hard, about 1 hour. DO AHEAD: Pecans can be made 1 day ahead. Store airtight at room temperature.
• For cake:
• Preheat oven to 350°F. Butter and flour two 9-inch-diameter cake pans with 1 1/2-inch-high sides. Combine first 4 ingredients in processor; add ginger. Blend until ginger is finely ground, about 1 minute. Using mixer, beat maple sugar and butter in large bowl until fluffy. Beat in eggs 1 at a time (batter may look curdled). Stir 3/4 cup hot water and molasses in small bowl. Beat dry ingredients into butter mixture in 4 additions alternately with molasses mixture in 3 additions.
• Divide batter between prepared pans (about 21/2 cups each). Bake until tester inserted into center comes out clean, 30 to 32 minutes. Cool cakes in pans on racks.
• For frosting:
• Combine crème fraîche, cream, and both sugars in large bowl. Using electric mixer, beat until very thick and stiff.
• Cut around pan sides to loosen cake layers; turn out onto racks. Place 1 cake layer on platter. Spread with 1 1/3 cups frosting. Drizzle with 3 tablespoons caramel sauce. Top with second cake layer. Spread remaining frosting smoothly over top and sides of cake. Drizzle top of cake with 3 tablespoons sauce. Cover with cake dome; chill at least 1 hour. DO AHEAD: Can be made 1 day ahead; keep chilled. Let stand at room temperature 30 minutes before continuing.
• Cut pecans into pieces or leave whole. Press pecans into frosting on sides of cake. Cut cake into wedges. Spoon sauce over.

Steps:

• Cream butter and sugar well. Add in eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition.
• Blend in maple syrup and vanilla.
• Gradually add sifted dry ingredients by thirds, alternately with the hot water; and ending with dry ingredients. Gently stir in walnuts.
• Pour into 2- 8 inch greased and floured layer pans.
• Bake at 350 degrees for 30-35 minutes.
• Cool on wire rack for 10 minutes. Remove layers and cool completely on wire racks.
• Frost.

Steps:

• Make the frosting: Whisk the egg whites and maple sugar in a heatproof bowl set over a saucepan of simmering water (do not let the bowl touch the water) until the mixture is warm and the sugar dissolves, about 5 minutes. Remove the bowl from the pan and beat with a mixer on high speed until stiff, shiny peaks form, about 5 minutes. Beat in the butter a few pieces at a time, then continue beating until smooth. (Don't worry if the mixture looks separated at first; keep beating and it will come together.) Beat in the maple extract.
• Assemble the cake: Poke holes all over the tops of the 2 cake layers using a toothpick. Spoon the reserved walnut syrup over the cakes, letting it soak into the holes.
• Coarsely chop the walnuts. Transfer 1 cup frosting to a medium bowl; fold in the chopped nuts. Put 1 cake layer on a platter and spread the walnut frosting on top. Top with the second cake layer. Cover the whole cake with the remaining maple frosting. Decorate with more walnuts.
• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Butter two 9-inch-round cake pans and line the bottoms with parchment paper; butter the parchment and dust the pans with flour, tapping out the excess.
• Whisk 3 cups flour, the baking powder and salt in a bowl until combined. Beat 2 sticks butter and the sugar in a large bowl with a mixer on medium-high speed until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Reduce the mixer speed to medium; beat in the eggs, one at a time, scraping down the bowl as needed. Beat in the vanilla. (The mixture may look separated at this point.)
• Mix 1/2 cup water with the cream in a liquid measuring cup or bowl. Beat the flour mixture into the butter mixture in 3 batches, alternating with the cream mixture, beginning and ending with flour, until just smooth.
• Divide the batter between the prepared pans. Bake until the cakes are lightly golden on top and the centers spring back when pressed, 25 to 30 minutes. Transfer to racks and let cool 10 minutes, then run a knife around the edge of the pans and turn the cakes out onto the racks to cool completely. Remove the parchment. Trim the tops of the cakes with a long serrated knife to make them level, if desired.

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
• Grease and lightly flour two 9x2-inch round cake pans, then line the bottoms with waxed paper.
• To make the cake: In a large bowl, sift together the flour and the ginger and set aside.
• In a large bowl, cream the butter and the sugar until fluffy, about 3 minutes. 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. Divide the batter between the prepared pans and bake for 30-35 minutes or until a cake tester inserted into center of cake comes out clean.
• Let cakes cool in pans for 10 minutes. Remove from pans and cool completely on wire rack.
• To make the 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.
• When cake has cooled, ice between the layers. Sprinkle about 1/3 cup chopped walnuts over the frosting. Then ice top and sides of cake, sprinkling the top with the remaining chopped walnuts.

Steps:

• You will need two 8" (20cms) cake tins; greased and lined with baking paper. Pre-heat oven to 160C/325F/Gas 3.
• Beat the butter and sugar together until light, fluffy and pale golden brown - this is essential to make the mixture light and aids the cake to rise. It can take up to 15 minutes by hand or 5 to 10 minutes by hand-held mixer!
• Add the baking powder to the flour, and the milk and maple syrup to the beaten eggs.
• Gently fold in a large spoon of flour, followed by a spoon of egg mixture - mix gently but thoroughly between each addition of flour and egg mixture. Continue to add, fold and mix until the flour and the egg mixture is finished. If the mixture is a little stiff, add some more milk.
• Add the chopped walnuts and gently mix through the cake mixture evenly. You should have a fairly stiff consistency that drops easily.
• Put the cake mixture equally in to the prepared cake tins, smoothing slightly on top, with a slight indent in the middle, then bake for between 25 and 35 minutes in a pre-heated oven. Different ovens vary; these cakes normally take 30 minutes to bake in my oven. (They are cooked when they are well-risen, golden brown and when a wooden skewer comes out clean after being inserted into the middle of the cake.).
• Allow them to cook in the tins for 5 minutes, before carefully taking them out of the tins and allowing them to cool completely on a wire cooling tray/rack.
• While the cakes are cooling, make the fudge frosting/icing. Place all of the ingredients, except the icing sugar, into a saucepan and gently them all together until the sugar is dissolved. Allow to cool slightly and then add the icing sugar, beating to a smooth and glossy finish.
• Place one of the cakes on to a serving plate or tray, if you wish, you can cut each cake in half to make a multi layer cake. Spread some of the frosting/icing on top of the cake and scatter some chopped walnuts over the top if using. Place the other cake on top and pour the remaining fudge frosting/icing over the top of the cake, allowing it to drizzle down the sides. Decorate the top of the cake with walnut halves.
• Serve cut into slices - this cake makes about 8 to 10 slices. Preparation time includes the time to make the fudge frosting/icing.

Steps:

• For candy:
• Line baking sheet with aluminum foil; brush foil with vegetable oil. Stir maple syrup, sugar, and apple cider vinegar in heavy medium saucepan until sugar is moistened. Attach candy thermometer. Without stirring, bring mixture to boil over medium-high heat and boil until temperature registers 300°F, occasionally brushing down pan sides with wet pastry brush and swirling pan, about 7 minutes. Remove pan from heat; mix in baking soda, then nuts (mixture will foam up).
• Immediately pour maple candy out onto prepared baking sheet and spread to even 1/2-inch thickness (candy begins to firm quickly). Let stand until candy hardens, at least 30 minutes. (Can be made 1 day ahead. Cover baking sheet tightly with plastic wrap and store candy at room temperature.)
• For cake:
• Preheat oven to 350°F. Spray two 8-inch-diameter cake pans with 2-inch-high sides with nonstick spray. Line pan bottoms with parchment paper; spray parchment. Whisk flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon in medium bowl to blend.
• Using electric mixer, beat butter in large bowl until fluffy. Add golden brown sugar and beat until blended and fluffy. Gradually beat in maple syrup (batter may look curdled). Beat in eggs 1 at a time, then vanilla extract. Beat in dry ingredients in 3 additions alternately with buttermilk in 2 additions. Divide batter between prepared pans.
• Bake cakes until tester inserted into center comes out clean, about 30 minutes. Cool cakes 5 minutes. Turn cakes out onto racks, peel off parchment paper, and cool cakes completely. (Can be made 1 day ahead. Wrap tightly; store at room temperature.)
• For buttercream:
• Bring maple syrup to boil in small saucepan. Meanwhile, using electric mixer, beat egg whites in large bowl until stiff peaks form. Without letting hot maple syrup touch beaters, pour 1/4 cup syrup into egg whites, beating to blend. Gradually beat in remaining hot maple syrup. Continue to beat until whites are stiff and cool, about 15 minutes. Add butter, 1 slice at a time, beating to blend after each addition (buttercream may deflate and separate; keep beating until smooth again).
• Chop enough maple candy into 1/4-inch pieces to measure 1 cup; wrap remaining maple candy tightly in plastic. Place 1 cake layer on platter. Spread 1 cup buttercream over cake. Sprinkle with 1 cup maple candy pieces; press candy lightly to adhere. Top with second cake layer. Spread remaining buttercream smoothly over top and sides of cake. (Can be made 1 day ahead. Cover with cake dome; chill. Bring to room temperature before continuing.)
• Chop enough of remaining maple candy into 1/4-inch pieces to measure 2 cups. Mince enough maple candy to measure 2 tablespoons. Press 1/4-inch pieces onto sides of cake. Sprinkle minced maple candy on top edge. Serve cake within 2 hours.