This 3-layer cake contains over one and a half cups of maple syrup! You’ll find maple syrup in the cake layers and in the buttercream frosting!
My birthday was on Election Day a few weeks ago. I took the day off from work and skated, went to the mall, and made myself (and my family) dinner. The meal I made was fresh spinach pasta and I also made a bolognese sauce to go with it.
Addie was adamant about baking my birthday cake this year, but unfortunately, she caught a virus. After several days of no improvement, we took her to the doctor, and they confirmed that she had something called adenovirus. Since she wasn’t feeling her best, I took over in the kitchen and baked my own cake (not that I mind doing this anyway!).
I initially was skeptical about the amount of butter needed for both the cake and the frosting, but I am glad I stuck with the recipe. Trust me when I say that you’ll need ALL of the butter for the frosting. I thought that all that powdered sugar and butter would make way too much frosting, but it was barely enough! There was plenty for a crumb coat plus to cover and decorate the cake.
This cake is HUGE. I barely had enough room to store it in the refrigerator while I was letting the crumb coat set. But, I guess this means that there is plenty of cake for sharing.
What I loved about the cake was the soft, tender crumb. There are NO dry cake bits here! What my family and I all agreed could use some improvement is the (lack of) maple flavor. While there is an entire cup and half of maple syrup in the cake itself, the flavors were too subtle. I think that it could be enhanced by a teaspoon or two of maple extract.
I hope you try this cake and enjoy it as much as we did!
Husband’s rating: 4.5 out of 5
Addie’s rating: 4 out of 5
My rating: 4.5 out of 5
Maple syrup cake with maple buttercream
Ingredients
Maple cake
- 3 and ½ cups all-purpose flour
- 2 and ½ teaspoons baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 and ¼ cups (2 and ½ sticks or 20 Tablespoons) unsalted butter room temperature
- ¼ cup granulated sugar
- ½ cup brown sugar pacjed
- 3 Tablespoons shortening
- 4 large eggs
- 2 large egg yolks
- 1 and ½ cups real maple syrup please do NOT use imitation
- ⅔ cup buttermilk I made my own by adding 1 teaspoon of white vinegar to 1 cup of milk
- 1 and ½ teaspoons vanilla extract
Maple buttercream
- 2 and ½ cups (5 sticks or 40 Tablespoons) unsalted butter softened
- 7 cups powdered sugar
- 2 teaspoons maple extract I used real maple syrup instead, and probably used about ¼ cup
- ¾ teaspoon salt
Instructions
Bake the cake
- Preheat your oven to 350℉. Generously grease and line three 9" round pans and set aside.
- In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment or in a large bowl if using a handheld mixer, cream the butte, granulated sugar, brown sugar, and the shortening on medium high speed until light and fluffy, about 2-3 minutes.
- Turn the mixer to low and add in the 4 eggs and 2 egg yolks. Mix for another minute. Your batter may look curdled, but that's OK.
- Turn off the mixer and scrape down the sides of the bowl. Turn it back on to low again and add in the maple syrup, buttercream, and vanilla. Mix well. Your batter may still look split or curdled, which is OK.
- Slowly add in the dry ingredients until no dry streaks remain. Turn the mixer to medium speed and mix for 1 more minute.
- Evenly distribute your batter to your prepared baking pans. Bake in your preheated oven for 23 minutes (start checking around 20). A toothpick inserted in the center should come out clean. The cake should not be wobbly in the middle. My cakes took closer to 32 minutes before they were done (my oven has been malfunctioning).
- Allow the cakes to cool completely before frosting.
Make the frosting
- In the clean bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment or in a large bowl if using a handheld mixer, cream the butter on medium high speed until light and fluffy, about 1-2 minutes.
- Turn the mixer to low and slowly add in the powdered sugar about ½ cup at a time. Add the maple syrup and the salt and mix well. If the frosting appears too thick, add more maple syrup. If it's too thin, add more powdered sugar. Set aside until ready to assemble the cake.
Assemble the cake
- If your cakes domed, use a serrated knife to cut off the bumpy part. Eat the scraps as a snack!
- Place one layer of cake, flat side down, on a cake plate. Spread about 1 and ⅓ cup of frosting on top.
- Top with another layer of cake, and then another layer of frosting.
- Top with the final layer of cake, flat-side UP.
- Put a thin layer of frosting all around the cake and then place it in the refrigerator to chill for about 20 minutes. This is the crumb coat.
- Once the crumb coat has hardened, place a thicker layer of frosting on the top and sides of the cake. Decorate as desired.
- Slice and serve.