Maple Walnut Cake

As you know, I’m originally from Québec, also known as “La Belle Province”. Besides being largely French-speaking, this province has a lot of traditions and events unique to it like Saint-Jean Baptiste on June 24th, corn roasting 🌽, Winter Carnival, and others, including sugar shacks!
 
March is the beginning of this delicious event! People gather in large rustic log cabins, sitting down at long wooden tables covered with red-and-white checkered tablecloths. While live music 🎵 plays in the background, traditional Québec dishes are served to the patrons.
 
Most “cabane à sucre” (sugar shacks) offer an all-you-can-eat menu. You’ll find Pea Soup, Baked Beans, Omelets or Scrambled Eggs with maple-baked Ham and Bacon 🥓 plus sausage soaked in maple syrup, Creton, boiled potatoes, Tourtière (meat pie), Oreilles de Crisse (deep-fried pork rinds), foie gras, plus condiments like ketchup, pitchers of maple syrup (like it’s not sweet enough as it is, lol 😅), fresh Crusty Bread, butter, etc.
 
When it comes to dessert 🍰🍩, there is a long list of delicious options such as Pouding Chômeur (poor man’s pudding), Tarte au Sirop d’Érable (maple syrup pie), Grand-Pères (maple syrup dumplings), Maple Ice Cream, Crêpes, Butter Tarts, and many more, plus stepping outside to get maple taffy on snow rolled on a small popsicle stick… yum!
 
Here’s another sweet treat for the occasion… my Maple Walnut Cake! With a good dose of maple syrup, this incredibly scrumptious cake fits right in with the sugar shack event. With a nice, creamy Maple Syrup Frosting along with some Maple Glazed Walnuts, this is a dessert perfect for any maple syrup lover 💖!
 
Being the main star ⭐, maple syrup is everywhere; in the cake, frosting, and decoration. Table Syrup or Pancake Syrup is far from the real Maple Syrup… here’s why.
– First, there’s no maple in it!
– Second, they’re often made with corn syrup and high-fructose corn syrup, along with preservatives and additives like cellulose gum (thickening agent) and sodium hexametaphosphate (for texture). Maple syrup has only one ingredient… guess what it is?
– Third, they don’t taste the same. Maple syrup has a clean, complex, deep, and rich flavor with hints of caramel, vanilla, and a light buttery background. I prefer dark color for a more robust taste.
– Lastly, there are no health benefits in table syrup or pancake syrup. On the other hand, maple syrup has lots of minerals and antioxidants such as manganese, potassium, calcium, zinc, and iron, plus it’s natural 💚.
 
Price point… of course, the commercial ones are cheaper. The reason why the “real stuff” is so pricey is due to harvesting. After the maple is extracted from the trees 🌳, it is then boiled to create the final product. It takes about 40 gallons of maple water to produce one gallon of it.
 
I know it’s more money 💰, but it’s so worth it! If you think that’s too much, skip Starbucks for a week or bring your lunch to work. I believe making compromises to eat better is a responsibility towards ourselves and helps prevent illness.
 
Back to the making of the Maple Walnut Cake…
After greasing two 3×8-inch cake pans with butter, parchment paper rounds are placed at the bottom. My method is different from most people, so you might want to check by clicking the link: Parchment Paper Rounds for Cakes.
 
After the batter is evenly divided between the cake pans, it’s baked for 26 to 28 minutes ⏰. It takes more time than regular cake batter for one simple reason… the added maple syrup.
 
While they’re in the oven, the Maple Glazed Walnuts are made. This is a quick and super easy recipe as it takes only 6 to 7 minutes for the caramelization to be done with just 3 ingredients. Besides using them as a cake decoration, they’re also amazing with a charcuterie board or just by themselves 😉.
 
The final step to making this cake is the Maple Syrup Frosting. This takes a little longer, but the end results are so delicious 😋! It’s important to add the sugars a little at a time and process until nicely blended – that’s the part that takes time.
 
At one point, the mixture will get very, very dry, and this is when we add half of the maple syrup. When we’re left with a little of both sugars, we then add the remaining ingredients, including vanilla extract, which can be substituted with maple extract. If the frosting is too thick, add a tablespoon of maple syrup 🍁 at a time to achieve the desired consistency.
 
This Maple Walnut Cake is incredibly scrumptious! With a gorgeous maple flavor, this dessert is perfect for celebrating 🥳 the sugar shack season in Québec. It’s also a delightful sweet treat to welcome the Spring season!
Bon Appétit! 🍽
 
Check out these other scrumptious cake recipes… 😀
– Mango Cake
– Lamington Cake
– Pecan Caramel Cheesecake
– Chocolate Beet Cake
– German Plum Cake • Pflaumenkuchen
– Red Velvet Cake
– Tropical Pineapple Upside Down Cake
– Blueberry Cake
– Black Forest Cake
and for even more dessert recipes 🍩🍰, click on this link… Recipe Category • Dessert
 

 
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Maple Walnut Cake

This gorgeous Maple Walnut Cake is perfect for celebrating the sugar shack season in Québec and welcoming in the Spring season!

4.77 from 17 votes

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Servings 12

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Prep Time 20 minutes mins

Cook Time 30 minutes mins

Passive Time 30 minutes mins

Ingredients

  

1x2x3x

CAKE

• 2 1/2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
• 1 tbsp. baking powder
• 1 tsp. baking soda
• 1/2 tsp. ground Himalayan pink salt
• 1/2 cup unsalted butter, room temperature plus more for cake pans
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 3 large free-range eggs, room temperature
• 1 cup good quality maple syrup tips & tricks
• 1 tsp. pure maple extract
• 1/3 cup buttermilk tips & tricks
• 3/4 cup walnuts, chopped and toasted

MAPLE GLAZED WALNUTS

• 1 cup walnuts see Recipe

MAPLE SYRUP FROSTING

• 1/2 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
• 1/8 tsp. fleur de sel
• 2 1/2 cups confectioners' sugar, sifted tips & tricks
• 1/2 cup maple sugar, sifted
• 7 to 8 tbsp. good quality maple syrup tips & tricks
• 1/2 tsp. pure vanilla extract

Directions

 

CAKE

• Preheat oven to 350ºF and line 2 8-inch greased cake pans with parchment paper rounds (see footnote); set aside.
• In a mixing bowl, combine flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Whisk well and set aside.
• In the bowl of a stand mixer, add butter and brown sugar. Using the paddle attachment, cream the ingredients on medium speed for 3 minutes.
• While the appliance is running, add eggs, one at a time, mixing well between each addition; clean the sides and the bottom of the bowl when needed.
• Add maple syrup and pure maple extract; mix for only 30 seconds.
• Add half dry ingredients and process on low-speed until just combined.
• Add the remaining half dry ingredients and the buttermilk. Process until just blended, cleaning the sides and the bottom of the bowl. Fold in the toasted walnuts.
• Evenly divide the batter between the prepared cake pans and gently tap on the counter to dislodge any trapped air bubbles.
• Transfer to the preheated oven and bake for 26 to 28 minutes or until a cake tester inserted in the center comes out clean with just a few crumbs.
• Remove from the heat, transfer the cake to a wire rack and let them cool for 15 minutes before unmolding; allow to cool completely on the wire rack.

MAPLE GLAZED WALNUTS

• Make the Maple Glazed Walnuts recipe

MAPLE SYRUP FROSTING

• In the bowl of a stand mixer with the paddle attachment on, add butter and salt. Whip on high for 4 minutes.
• Working in batches, add ½ cup confectioner’s sugar and 2 tbsp. maple sugar.
• Process on medium-low until blended, cleaning the sides and the bottom of the bowl as needed. Repeat with the same amounts.
• When the mixture is getting very dry, add half maple syrup and process until the texture is smooth.
• When sugars are added, pour the remaining maple syrup and add pure vanilla extract. Process once again until smooth, cleaning the sides and the bottom of the bowl.

TO ASSEMBLE

• When the cakes are at room temperature, place one on a stand and spoon on the frosting, enough to cover the surface.
• Place the other cake on top of the first one, pressing down gently to adhere, and spread the remaining frosting covering the top and sides; smooth it out evenly using an angle spatula or a bench scraper.
• Decorate the cake with the Maple Glazed Walnuts.

Notes

Footnote: Here's the link to learn my parchment paper rounds for cakes method.

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