Arden asked for a Maple Cake again for her birthday this year. It's a very special cake that I only make for very special girls on very special occasions due to its extreme deliciousness. I cannot for the life of me remember where I got the recipe. I thought it was from Martha but I couldn't find it anywhere on the site so…Here goes!
Maple Cake
16 tblsp (2 sticks) butter, plus more for pan, room temperature
2-1/2 cups flour (spooned and leveled), plus more for pan
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
3/4 + 1/4 cup pure maple syrup
1/2 cup sugar
2 large eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract
3/4 cup sour cream
2 tblsp butter, melted
1-1/2 cups confectioner's sugar
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Butter and flour a 9-inch square baking pan; set aside. In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt to combine; set aside.
2. In a large bowl, with an electric mixer, beat 2 sticks butter, 3/4 cup maple syrup, and sugar until light and fluffy. Add eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition; mix in vanilla.
3. With a mixer on low speed, alternately add flour mixture in 3 parts and sour cream in 2 parts (begin and end with flour mixture). Transfer batter to prepared pan; smooth top. Bake until a toothpick inserted in the center of the cake comes out clean, 35 to 40 minutes. Cool 10 minutes in pan. Turn out of pan and cool completely on rack, right side up.
4. Make maple glaze: Combine 1/4 cup maple syrup and 2 tblsp butter, melted. Sift in 1 to 1-1/2 cups confectioner's sugar; whisk to combine. Adjust consistency with syrup or sugar, if necessary. Pour over cake, spreading to edges (it may drip down sides). Let set, at least 15 minutes, before serving.
I kind of screwed it up this time, though, because I cooked it for a little too long and I didn't add as much maple syrup to the batter or to the frosting—big mistakes! If done correctly, this cake should taste sort of like a richer, tastier, butterier version of a maple doughnut. Heavenly.
