Week 9: Maple-Pecan Disaster Zone

A month or so ago, I made this ridiculously rich, yummy cake from Sky High: Irresistible Triple-Layer Cakes (story coming later).  It was the first time I had ever baked a cake from scratch.  It was such a success that I thought I'd try another recipe from this book: Maple-Walnut Cake.  Except I hate walnuts.  So I substituted pecans.

Despite the disaster zone issues I detail below, this cake is delicious.  And with the toasted pecans & maple syrup in both the cake & frosting...it just sings fall.

Disaster #1: I managed to put 2 rounds of parchment in pan one, 1 round in pan two, and 0 rounds in pan three. How could I make such an error, you might ask? Seriously, how can you tell the difference between buttered parchment and a buttered pan?  In any case...guess which pan ended up on these plates?

Brett Jr. was extremely concerned as I turned out this layer.  "Mommy! What are you doing to the cake?!"  I was able to turn it around by suggesting we have upside-down cake (frosting on the bottom of our bowls, topped with cake chunks and crumbs).  Brett was suspicious.  But then he ate a bite & gave his standard seal of approval: "It's so good, I can't stop eating."

 

This what the other layers looked like coming out of their parchment-lined pans:

Disaster #2: this frosting was WAY too runny to set.  I could tell the texture was wrong just looking at it, so added an extra 1 1/2 cups of powdered sugar to try to thicken it up.  I also tried refrigerating it for a bit.  I could have easily added another cup or two of powdered sugar without making it too thick, but it definitely would have been too sweet.  So I stopped & used it as-is.  And here's my final 2-layer Maple-Pecan cake with runny maple cream cheese frosting.

You may have to look very closely to detect the subtle differences...but here's what the cake is supposed to look like according to the cookbook:

Lessons learned & recipe thoughts:


1. Adding 2 rounds of parchment to one pan does not make it easier to remove cake from that pan. However, it does make it impossible to remove cake from the pan that has 0 rounds of parchment.

2. Easy cake recipe.

3. Something is very wrong with this frosting recipe.  Or perhaps the recipe is perfect and something is very wrong with the way I made it. Sigh.

Ingredients:

1 1/3 cups walnut halves
3 cups cake flour
1 1/4 cups packed light brown sugar
2 1/4 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 3/4 teaspoons baking soda
3/4 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 sticks (6 ounces) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 1/2 cups pure maple syrup, preferably light amber
1 whole egg
1 egg yolk
1 cup milk

Makes an 8-inch triple-layer cake; Serves 12 to 16

Maple Cream Frosting:

2 sticks (8 ounces) unsalted butter, at room temperature
2/3 cup maple syrup
12 ounces cream cheese, at room temperature
6 cups confectioners' sugar, sifted after measuring

Makes about 4 cups
 
1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Butter three 8-inch round cake pans. Line the bottom of each with a round of parchment or waxed paper and butter the paper.

2. Spread out the walnuts on a small baking sheet and toast in the oven until fragrant and lightly toasted, 7 to 10 minutes. Transfer to a dish and let cool. Leave the oven on. When the nuts are cool, set aside 1/3 cup for garnish. Finely chop the remaining toasted walnuts.

3. Combine the chopped walnuts, flour, brown sugar, cinnamon, baking soda, and salt in a large mixer bowl. With the mixer on low, blend well. Add the butter and maple syrup and beat until blended. Raise the speed to medium and beat until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes.

4. In a medium bowl, whisk together the whole egg, egg yolk, and milk. Add this liquid to the batter in 2 or 3 additions, beating until blended and scraping down the sides of the bowl well after each addition. Divide the batter among the 3 prepared pans.

5. Bake for 32 to 35 minutes, or until a cake tester or wooden toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Let the cakes cool in the pans for 10 minutes, then turn out onto wire racks, gently peel off the paper liners, and let cool completely.

6. To assemble the cake, place one cake layer, flat side up, on a cake stand or serving plate. Spread 2/3 cup frosting over the layer, spreading it evenly right to the edge. Repeat with the second layer and another 2/3 cup frosting. Set the third layer on top and frost the top and sides with the remaining frosting, swirling the frosting decoratively with an offset palette knife or the back of a spoon. Garnish with the reserved toasted walnut halves.

Maple Cream Frosting:

1. Place the butter in a wide medium saucepan and melt over low heat. Add the maple syrup, raise the heat to medium-low, and boil for 5 minutes, stirring frequently so the syrup does not burn.

2. Pour the hot maple butter into a heatproof bowl and let cool to room temperature.

3. Place the cream cheese in a large mixing bowl and beat well with an electric mixer to lighten. Gradually add the confectioners' sugar and beat until smooth. Scrape down the bowl well and continue to beat until light and fluffy. Add the maple butter and mix until completely blended.