Sunday, 22 January 2012

Weekly Bake Off: Maple Syrup Cake




Another week, another weekly bake off challenge. I was not planning to join in due to time constraints but when I saw the choice was a Maple Syrup Cake, I just had to!  I love maple syrup and I've made a similar cake with carrots which was a huge success.  Coincidentally, I was sent this lovely sample box from the people at Clark's so there really was no question about making this cake.



Its a lovely, tall 3 layer cake, so tall that it won't fit into my cake carrier! I'm not sure how to transport it now but I'll worry about that later. I've not had a chance to try the cake so I can't comment on the taste but the topping was very good :) I'm probably the only person that slices into a cake before giving it away so I can photograph it for my blog! I felt it would have been rude to eat a slice as well so I will update you tomorrow on the taste.

*Update: I've decided to slice the cake and bring it to work on a tray.  It does say to keep in the fridge and there's no way the whole cake will fit plus I still had the transport problem.  It does not look as nice but hopefully it will taste good enough!  It also meant that I could sneak a cheeky piece and can now tell you what I think. The maple syrup is quite subtle in the cake. It's a moist and rich sponge with good flavours from the pecan.  I may add a little orange juice next time and possibly more maple syrup. The whipped cream filling and topping goes well with the cake as a buttercream frosting would have been too much. *


 the sliced up cake! 


 assembling the layers 

 spread the cream between the layers...

 

 ...and on top and around the sides to make a super tall cake! 

 



Recipe from Mary Berry's Cakes and Bakes page 19

For the cake 
225g butter
225g light muscovado sugar
zest of 1 orange
4 eggs
100ml maple syrup
350g self raising flour
2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
50g pecan nuts, chopped

For the filling and topping
450ml double cream
2 tablespoon maple syrup (I used a little extra as I couldn't quite taste the maple syrup)
zest of 1 orange


  • Preheat the oven to 160C.
  • Lightly grease and line 3 x 20cm cake tins (Mary suggests using a deep 20cm cake tin and slice the cake in 3 but I just used 3 small tins)
  • Put all the ingredients for the cake except the pecan nuts into a large bowl and mix well.
  • Stir in the chopped pecan nuts. 
  • Spoon into the cake tins and bake for about 20-25mins (longer if using only 1 tin).
  • Allow to cool slightly then turn onto a wire rack to cool completely. 
  • For the filling and topping, whip the cream until it just holds its shape and then add in the maple syrup. 
  • Fill and cover the cake with cream as shown.
  • Decorate the top with orange zest.
  • Store in the refrigerator. 
Thank you Clark's for providing the maple syrup. 

41 comments:

  1. I love your Maple syrup cake. Looks really delicious! Lovely :)

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    1. Huge thanks for this recipe! It looks like haute cuisine, I ate a similar salad in one of the most expensive restaurants in Paris, and you revealed the secret of its preparation in your recipe, expressing your respect to you. Have you guessed what ingredients you need to use, or have you spied this information somewhere? :) I will definitely prepare the same for myself. I also wanted to point out that the cooking photos look incredibly professional! I think you should share them on Instagram and they will definitely get a lot of likes. I saw a couple of similar posts the other day and they mostly had more than 72 thousand of likes! I am sure their authors are always buy instagram likes to wind them up.

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  2. No fair! I'm piling on the pounds just looking at this post;0(
    lol

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  3. This looks amazing!!! Fantastic tiered cake and love the checkerboard biscuits too! X

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    1. I am really impressed with the layers. Glad you like the biscuits too! x

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  4. Lovely looking cake! I wanted to enter this week but alas... not enough time!! :-)

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    1. Thanks I almost didn't and it was a rushed job as I finished this 5 minutes after I was suppose to leave for dinner! There's always next week :)

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  5. That's not a cake to be taken lightly. It looks seriously good. Interesting transportation challenge, though.

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    1. I decided to slice it up in the end (it also meant I could have a little taste so win win)Next time I should measure the height and use a larger cake carrier.

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  6. That is a good looking cake! I keep seeing that recipe in my Mary Berry book but can't find an occasion to make it for. Hope it tastes as lovely as it looks.

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    1. Give it a go, it's really easy to make and tastes good! Definitely a celebration type cake as it looks impressive. Of course, you could always half the ingredients and make a flatter/smaller cake.

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  7. This looks gorgeous I got a lovely maple syrup selection for Christmas I've been wanting to try out!

    Nom! x

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    1. Give this recipe a go if you like orange and pecans.

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  8. Mega-cake! Looks fantastic! I bought some maple syrup to go in something but I've forgotten what lol I think I've found a suitable replacement bake :)

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    1. Mega cake indeed :) Hope you like the cake too!

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  9. I can almost taste the maple syrup - looks just gorgeous.

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    1. Funny I would say the same as it's quite subtle - perhaps my palate is tainted! ;)

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  10. All those layers! Oh, that frosting! Gimme!! :)Just found your blog - I am your newest follower:)

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    1. Welcome, always nice to meet a new follower. I do love a good layer cake and this one did not fall apart or collapse so I'm very happy :)

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  11. The easiest (and most tasty) solution would be just to eat off the top layer before transport :) Looks yummy!

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    1. LOL great ides! I may feel a little sick eating the whole top layer though ;)

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  12. That is one towering cake! Fantastic job!

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  13. Mmm maple is one of my favourite flavours and that icing looks divine! :D I also have a weakness for super tall cakes!

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    1. I am loving these tall cakes but should not be made for transporting!

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  14. Yum!!! I love maple syrup lol boyfriend is always saying I m a little obsessed and I drench my pancakes in it ;)

    Love how you ve layered it so nicely!!!
    Wanna send me some cake? ~

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  15. This looks amazing!!!
    I just found your blog and I loved it! Am a happy follower now!
    Visit me at: my-greek-cooking.blogspot.com

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    1. Thanks for following and glad you like my blog :)

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  16. Best looking cake I've seen in a long time. It's just crying out to be baked. Think I might have to oblige!

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    1. thank you! do give it a go - it's really easy and tastes great! :)

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  17. That cake has such a lovely crumb. I wager you received rave reviews. I hope you have a great day. Blessings...Mary

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    1. Everyone absolutely loved it! A colleague is on a diet and was caught sneaking a piece of my cake!! There is photographic evidence...

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  18. This looks so good, I could go for a piece right now. I love maple syrup, I reckon I could pour it on most foods and enjoy it tee hee

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    1. i love maple syrup too, goes well with everything!

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  19. Wow that syrup looks tasty as does the cake, I love the look of that smooth frosting too! It's making my mouth water!

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    1. thanks! it was really good and everyone really enjoyed it :)

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  20. Aaah, I love that you've used cream... actually cream as the "frosting". A lot of people use artificial tasting frosting sometimes which is just a real shame. The face that it's cream makes such a beautiful contrast in colours between the inside and the outside and it looks just fabulous! Yummy :)

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  21. I really like the cream in this cake. thanks for stopping by, always lovely to hear from you :)

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