Spice cake with maple buttercream

A sweet treat the whole family will love!

This recipe just tastes like it was made by a kindly grandmother who delivered it with the warmest of hugs (and possibly a freshly-knit pair of socks as well). I have adapted an older recipe of mine to eliminate the need for cake and pastry flour, which many people today don’t necessarily keep in their pantries. Instead, you are guided to mix all-purpose flour with a bit of cornstarch to create an equivalent to commercial cake and pastry flour. In addition to having a fantastic texture, this cake is h-so-flavourful, making it great for all sorts of occasions. As a tip, I often make the cake at least a day in advance and freeze the cooled layers as I find frozen cakes are much easier to frost. If you enjoy the maple buttercream recipe below, you might also enjoy my small-batch maple bacon cupcakes.

Ingredients

• 2 cups (250 g) all-purpose flour
• 2 tablespoons (15 g) cornstarch
• 1 tablespoon (14 g) baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 2 tablespoons ground cinnamon
• 2 tablespoons powdered ginger
• 1 teaspoon ground cloves
• 1 teaspoon ground allspice
• 1 teaspoon ground cardamom
• 1 cup (227 g) butter, softened
• 2 cups (400 g) packed brown sugar
• 3 eggs
• 1 tablespoon (15 mL) vanilla extract
• 1 cup (250 mL) milk

Maple buttercream frosting:

• 1 cup (227 g) butter, softened
• 1/4 cup (60 mL) maple syrup
• 1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon maple extract (optional), to taste
• 2 teaspoons (10 mL) milk
• 1/4 teaspoon table salt
• 4 cups (454 g) confectioners’ sugar

Method

• Preheat oven to 350F. Grease and flour two 8 or 9 inch (20 or 22.5 cm) round cake pans and set aside.
• For the cake, combine flour, cornstarch, baking powder, salt and spices in medium bowl. Set aside.
• In a large bowl beat butter and brown sugar with an electric mixer (use a stand mixer if you have one) on medium speed until light and fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time, beating after each addition. Blend in vanilla.
• Add flour mixture alternately with milk (3 additions of each), beating on low speed after each addition, until just blended. Do not overbeat. Pour batter into prepared pans.
• Bake 30 to 35 minutes or until toothpick inserted in centre comes out clean. Let cake layers cool in pans for 10 minutes, then remove them carefully from the pans and place on a wire rack to cool completely.
• While cake cools, make the frosting. Beat butter, In the bowl of a stand mixer (or with an electric hand mixer), on medium speed until very light and fluffy (at least 3 minutes).
• Scrape down the sides of the bowl and add maple syrup, maple extract (if using), milk, and salt; blend to combine. Add 2 cups (227g) of the confectioners’ sugar one cup at a time, beating after each addition.   
• Beat the ingredients together on low speed until the sugar is incorporated, then add the remaining 2 cups (227 g) of sugar. Beat again on low speed till incorporated, then increase the speed to medium. Continue to beat until light and fluffy.
• Depending on the ambient temperature, you may need to add a bit more icing sugar or milk to get the consistency you like for spreading.
• To frost the cake, trim the tops of cake layers to level them. Place 1 cake layer on serving platter. Spread one third of the frosting over the top of the base layer. Place cake second layer on top and spread one third of the frosting on it. Use remaining frosting to cover the sides.  Add decorations if you wish.
• Because the cake is dense and rich, we tend to serve it in thinner slices. Ice cream is a nice accompaniment, though not essential.

Serves 12-14.