This article was written for Annabel & Grace, which is now part of Rest Less.
Are you a fan of Instagram? Well apparently women of our age are increasingly checking it out on our mobiles. And I’m glad I did because I spotted this whopper of a cake on our friend Bumble’s Instagram page.
Maple & Pecan Layer Cake
Course: Sweet Treats10-12
servings25
minutesIn the good old days, pre Covid, I would visit one of the Hummingbird bakeries in London and happily queue for their signature Red Velvet Cup Cakes. Utter heaven in every bite. I already owned their book ‘Cake Days’, but it had remained unused on my bookshelf as my mantra then was “why bother to bake, when you can buy?” From March onwards it was a different story. I swiftly began to pine for proper cake. Some tasty morsel that would remind me of The Hummingbird Bakery sponge. With their book and the only small supplies of flour and caster sugar that I had, the cake that I was going to bake had to be super special. Not complicated and absolutely no long lists of ingredients. A cake that was easy and shouted “eat me”!
Maple and Pecan Layer Cake did just that, and so I am urging you to bake this yourself. It’s 3 layers of really moist sponge with texture and bite from the chopped pecans. (I’m drooling as I type 🤤).
I made half the quantity of ‘Frosting’ which amply covered the inside layers. If you want the whole experience, then definitely ignore the previous sentence! You’ll need 3 20cm (8″) diameter loose bottomed sandwich tins.
Ingredients
For the sponge
120g unsalted butter, softened
400g caster sugar
360g plain flour
1 1/2 tbsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
360ml whole milk
40ml maple syrup
3 large eggs
100g pecans, chopped
For the frosting
240g unsalted butter
750g icing sugar
60ml whole milk
1 tbsp maple syrup
Pecan halves to decorate
Directions
- Preheat the oven to 170c/325F/gas mark 3 and line 3 x 20cm loose bottomed sandwich tins with baking paper.
- Combine the butter, sugar, flour, baking powder and salt with an electric mixer at low speed until the mixture reaches a crumb-like consistency.
- In a jug, whisk together the milk, maple syrup and eggs. Pour this mixture into the dry ingredients and mix with an electric mixer until well combined. Fold in the chopped pecans with a spoon.
- Divide the cake batter equally between the 3 baking tins and bake for 20-25 minutes until the sponges are a golden brown and bounce back when lightly pressed. Leave them in the pan for a few minutes, then turn out and allow to cool completely on a wire rack.
- Using an electric whisk or freestanding mixer with the paddle attachment, slowly mix the butter and icing sugar until fluffy and sandy in texture. In a jug mix together the milk and maple syrup, pour this into the butter and icing sugar while mixing on a low speed. When all the liquid is incorporated, adjust the speed to high and beat until it becomes soft and fluffy.
- Once the sponges are cold, place the first layer on a plate, top with 3-4 tablespoons of the frosting, and smooth it down using a palette knife (adding a little more if needed).
- Sandwich the second layer on top and cover with frosting, followed by the third layer of cake. If you like, frost the sides and top of the cake and decorate with pecan halves.
You can buy a copy of this fabulous cookbook HERE
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