Enchanted Grove Maple Walnut Cake
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This Maple Walnut Cake is a true tea time treat, perfect for celebrating the maple sap harvest during the end of winter. This recipe tastes like a delicious warm hug, or a stack of pancakes dripping with maple syrup. The lovely crunch of walnuts adds a pleasant creamy texture and rich, nutty flavor. This fluffy sponge cake pairs wonderfully with an easy cream cheese frosting.
A splendid dessert to make for a party or celebration, my Maple Walnut Cake recipe is just as enjoyable to eat for a treat after lunch or during your coffee hour. You can add some spring whimsy to your cake’s final presentation by decorating with edible flowers like pansies or violas and fresh springtime fruits like strawberries or blueberries!
gathering ingredients to make maple walnut cake:
To make this delicious Walnut Cake, you will need to gather a few key ingredients. As you wander down to the enchanted Maple and Walnut grove, have your list at the ready to remember all that you might need to place into your basket!
Cake Flour. For an incredibly light and fluffy cake, I like to use cake flour in place of all-purpose flour. King Arthur has an excellent cake flour that is unbleached and unenriched.
Butter. For this recipe, you will need salted butter that has been softened to room temperature. There is also butter in the frosting recipe!
Maple Syrup. To sweeten this cake, I used a combination of granulated sugar and maple syrup. The sugar is creamed into the butter, followed by the delicious nutty notes of maple syrup.
Eggs. For this recipe, the eggs are separated. The yolks are first beat into the butter and sugar, while the whites are whipped separately to stiff peaks and the folded into the final batter. This gives the cake some natural lift and helps to give it added softness and moistness.
Walnuts. The delicious addition to this cake are walnuts. Any type of walnuts will do. I used English walnuts, but black walnuts are quite delightful as well!
Cream Cheese. The frosting for this cake is made with cream cheese. If that feels too heavy for you, this cake is quite lovely with a whipped cream frosting as a replacement.
how to make a super moist cake:
Have you ever found yourself so excited to cut into a super moist and fluffy cake only to find that it’s dense and almost bread-like? Try using a few of these tips while baking up your Maple Walnut Cake.
Use Cake Flour. Cake flour is made specifically for cake baking. It has low protein and is milled to be superfine, giving you a light and fluffy crumb. However, if cake flour isn’t in your pantry currently you don’t have to use it. You can certainly make a substitute flour by combining 14 tablespoons (110 g) all-purpose flour and 2 tbsp (15 g) cornstarch.
Use Acid. If your cake uses baking soda, adding an acidic liquid ingredient will activate the baking soda and give the cake lift. As a bonus, using a thicker creamy ingredient like sour cream or yogurt will give your cake extra moistness and a lovely fluffy crumb.
Cream the Butter 1-2 Minutes. When creaming the butter, which should ideally be at about 65° F (18° C), which is considered “room temperature.” When you cream the butter, only beat the butter and sugar together for about 1 to 2 minutes. This will ensure that there is enough air in the butter without over-creaming the ingredients.
Check 1-2 Minutes Before the Timer Ends. Before your timer goes off, give your cake a little peek through the oven door or even a poke with your cake tester. Over-baking your cake will result in a dry cake. As oven temperatures vary, keeping an eye on your cakes can help you determine when it is truly done. After testing the cake with a toothpick or cake tester, it should come out clean or have a few moist crumbs.
tips for decorating your whimsical cake:
After you have finished baking your lovely Maple Walnut Cakes, it’s time to decorate! I love creating whimsically inspired desserts. For this particular cake, I wanted to keep the decorations a bit more simple and easier to achieve. You can decorate this cake as elaborately as you desire, but here are my tips for decorating a whimsical cake yourself!
Use Fresh Fruit. There is nothing more springy or summery than delicious and bright fresh fruit. For this cake, I wanted to touch on the fruits that are available in the spring and early summer: strawberries and blueberries! This cake can truly be topped with any fruit that fits the season, as maple and walnuts are enjoyed all year long (if properly stored).
Use Edible Flowers. Edible flowers add a touch of whimsy in the most delicate way. I love how they bring vibrant color and freshness to a dessert. Edible flowers that are generally available in the spring include pansies, violas, dandelions, lilacs, and violets.
my favorite cake baking supplies:
If you are looking for some lovely cottagecore cake bake supplies and fairycore dishes and plates, I love to share my finds in my Amazon Storefront. Many of my dishes and tools are thrifted, though, and you can find so many amazing things while you are out on the hunt. I love to look for anything that looks like it would belong in a Beatrix Potter tale or a fairy’s home!
recipe notes:
This Enchanted Grove Maple Walnut Cake is quite delightful and was a quick and easy bake! With its simple naked layers and sweet cream cheese frosting, there’s not much that can go wrong. This is an excellent quick tea time dessert that you can make in a couple of hours. Here are my notes for success for this walnut cake recipe:
Watch Your Weights. The success of this recipe truly comes from weighing out the ingredients rather than eyeballing them with measuring cups. The cake is light and soft with a springy crumb, but that will depend on how much flour you used. Make sure to sift your ingredients, too, to help with the lightness of the crumb!
Chop the Nuts Finely. If you are not a big fan of nuts in your baked goods, I feel that they are hardly noticeable in this recipe if you chop the walnuts finely.
Don’t Overfold the Egg Whites. After you have beaten the egg whites to stiff peaks, you will need to fold them gently into the cake batter, which is rather thick. Try to only fold in the whites until they are no longer visibly separate from the cake batter. You do not want to deflate the beautiful air bubbles that you made. Use a silicone spatula or wooden spoon for this part.
final thoughts:
I hope that you enjoy this delightful tea time Maple and Walnut Cake recipe! I’ll be enjoying a slice myself alongside a strong cup of English Breakfast tea. If you are looking for a new cake recipe to enjoy during these early spring days, I know that you will absolutely adore this one. With every creamy, nutty bite of sweet maple syrup and crunchy walnuts, I hope that you feel as if you spent time in the Enchanted Maple and Walnut Grove.
xoxo Kayla
Enchanted Grove Maple Walnut Cake
Ingredients
- 2 1/2 cups (314 g) all-purpose or cake flour
- 2 tsp (9 g) baking powder
- 1 tsp kosher salt
- 1 cup (232 g) salted butter, softened
- 3/4 cup (150 g) granulated sugar
- 1/4 cup (60 ml) maple syrup
- 4 large egg yolks, beaten
- 1/3 cup (80 ml) milk
- 2 tsp (10 ml) vanilla extract
- 1 1/4 cups (146 g) chopped walnuts
- 4 egg whites
- 1/4 tsp cream of tartar
- 4 oz (113 g) cream cheese, softened
- 1/4 cup (58 g) salted butter, softened
- 2 cups (236 g) powdered sugar
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- Pinch of kosher salt
- Walnuts, for decorating
- Toasted coconut, for decorating
- Fresh fruit, for decorating
- Edible flowers, for decorating
Instructions
- Begin by making the Maple Walnut Cake. Grease and flour 2 8-inch (20-cm) cake pans and set these aside for now. Preheat the oven to 325° F (164° C).
- In a large bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, and salt. Set this aside for now. Then, in the bowl of a standing electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, cream the butter and sugar together until light and fluffy, about 6 minutes. Beat in the maple syrup, egg yolks, milk, and vanilla for another 2 to 3 minutes.
- Then, slowly begin to incorporate the flour until the cake batter comes together and there are no longer any dry lumps. Mix the batter on medium speed for about 1 minute being careful not to over mix. Gently fold the chopped the walnuts into the batter.
- In a separate large bowl, add the egg whites and cream of tartar. Whip the egg whites with an electric mixer until they come to a stiff peak, about 6 minutes. Then, gently fold the egg whites into the cake batter until fully incorporated, about 2 minutes.
- Divide the cake batter between the prepared cake pans. Bake the cakes for 30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center of each cake comes out clean. Let the cakes rest in their pans for a further 10 to 15 minutes before transferring to a wire cooling rack. Allow the cakes to cool fully to room temperature before frosting.
- While the cakes are cooling, make the Cream Cheese Frosting. In a standing electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, cream together the cream cheese, butter, powdered sugar, vanilla, and salt until smooth, about 6 to 8 minutes.
- Spread about half of the frosting on one layer of cake. Layer the next cake on top of the frosting, then spread the remaining frosting over the top of the second cake layer. Decorate the top of the cake with walnuts, toasted coconut, fresh fruit like blueberries and strawberries, and edible flowers like pansies or violas. Serve the cake at room temperature.
Nutrition Facts
Calories
769Nutritional information is only an estimate. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed.
