Maple Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting
Kitchen Tested 
- Yield 16 servings
- Prep 25 mins
- Cook 25 mins
Frosted and decorated with candies, this cake is moist and tender.
Mark Boughton Photography / styling by Teresa Blackburn
You can find the pink and white M&M’s and the other candies used for decorating this cake at Michaels and upscale supermarkets.
Ingredients
- Cake:
- 2 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
- 3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 1/2 cup maple syrup
- 3 -- eggs
- 1/2 teaspoon maple flavoring
- 1 cup buttermilk
- 3/4 cup chopped, toasted walnuts (optional)
- Frosting:
- 8 ounces cream cheese, room temperature
- 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature
- 3 cups powdered sugar, sifted
- 1 teaspoon maple flavoring
- -- Cake decorations
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 325F. Generously grease and flour 2 (9-inch) round cake pans with 2-inch-high sides.
- To prepare cake, sift flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon and nutmeg into a medium bowl. Using a mixer, beat butter and granulated sugar until light and fluffy. Add maple syrup and beat until smooth. Add eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. Add flour mixture alternately with buttermilk, beginning and ending with flour mixture. Add maple flavoring. Fold in walnuts, if using. Divide batter equally between pans.
- Bake cakes 25 to 30 minutes, until a wooden pick comes out clean when inserted in the center. Let cool in pans on a wire rack 20 minutes. Invert onto racks; let cool completely.
- To prepare frosting, beat cream cheese and butter with a mixer at medium speed until smooth. Add powdered sugar and maple flavoring. Beat just until smooth.
- Frost cake. Decorate with M&M’s and other candies. Serves 16.
