Maple Cake
Mélusine | Cécile McLorin Salvant
There was life before maple cake and life after maple cake. Every time I am about to make a cake, I think to myself, should I make maple cake instead? This cake takes all of the best things about waffles with maple syrup, converts into cake form, and adds cream cheese frosting. Plus, it is unbelievably easy, and uses oil rather than butter, meaning it’s healthier than many other cakes out there. Mélusine includes Cécile singing in four languages: French, Occitan, Haitian Creole, and English. The beautiful, lyrical album tells the legend of the spirit of Melusine. This cake is adapted from America’s Test Kitchen’s The Perfect Cake, but the frosting is from Pattie (Pattie’s Carrot Cake). It’s a great fall treat that can be whipped up quickly with ingredients from the pantry and enjoyed as a snacking cake.
Maple cake makes a wonderful dessert for fall, or really any time of year. It’s a great cake to make with ingredients already on-hand. It’s also easy for kids of almost any age to pitch in and help since the recipe requires almost no equipment and the method is as simple as mixing with a whisk. It has a moist, dense crumb that is always satisfying after a great meal. Everyone in our household can attest that it also makes a superb afternoon snack, so hop on the snacking cake train and give it a try.
Album Pairing: Mélusine | Cécile McLorin Salvant
🎵 Listen to the album while you cook or eat 🎵
Maple Cake
Ingredients
CAKE
- 2 ½ C all-purpose flour
- 2 tsp baking powder
- ½ tsp salt
- ¾ C plus 2 Tbsp canola oil
- 1 ¼ C maple syrup
- 3 large eggs
- 4 tsp vanilla extract
CREAM CHEESE FROSTING
- 8 oz brick cream cheese softened
- ½ C unsalted butter or Smart Balance softened
- 1 tsp vanilla
- 2 C powdered sugar
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 325ºF.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together 2 ½ C flour, 2 tsp baking powder, and ½ tsp salt.
- In a large bowl, whisk together ¾ C plus 2 Tbsp canola oil, 1 ¼ C maple syrup, 3 eggs, and 4 tsp vanilla.
- Add flour mixture to wet ingredients, whisking until smooth.
- Grease two 9-inch round cake pans and line with parchment. Grease parchment. Divide batter in half among the two pans.
- Bake 22 to 25 minutes until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Let cakes cool in pans on wire rack for 10 minutes, and then remove from pans and finish cooling on wire rack for 1 hour.
- Meanwhile, make cream cheese frosting. In a mixer, combine 8 oz cream cheese and ½ C butter on medium speed until smooth. Add vanilla. On low speed, add the 2 C powdered sugar and combine until smooth.
- Frost and assemble cake.
Notes
Love this recipe-album pairing? Get a copy of Dads Jazz Cookbook, including this and many other delicious treats!
