Maple Walnut Cake with Maple Cream Cheese Frosting is the ultimate fall dessert. We love it for Thanksgiving (move over pumpkin pie!)
What could celebrate fall better than a triple layer maple walnut cake?
My summer love affair with layer cakes (like this one and this one) has naturally shifted gears and I’ve got my sights set on all things apple, maple, and pumpkin. I hope you’re subscribed to the blog (if not, sign up here!) because there are some incredible recipes coming out this season, it’s always been the most inspiring time of year for me. This maple walnut cake is a delicious way to celebrate the change of seasons. It’s perfect for fall birthdays, and holiday dessert tables, too.
maple walnut is one of my favorite flavor combos
I think it beats pumpkin spice any day. The sweetness of the maple pairs perfectly with the slight bitterness of the walnuts. And there are so many ways to feature the duo, from maple walnut ice cream and scones, to slice and bake maple walnut shortbread cookies or a warm maple oat smoothie.
the extra layer gives me space for extra maple cream cheese frosting
Isn’t that what it’s all about? The key is to make enough frosting to fill and cover every inch of this maple walnut cake. That extra layer is a simple thing that takes any layer cake up a notch and makes it feel extra special.
To finish the cake I patted crushed walnuts around the sides, and topped with candied walnuts. You can toast the nuts for extra flavor, but I didn’t bother. Fall is a good time to stock up on nuts for baking. I always keep a bag or two of premium walnut halves on hand, as well as cheaper bags of pieces. If you’re more of a pecan type, they would work fine.
a simple hack for candied walnuts
To ‘candy’ the walnut halves I simply dipped them in a thick caramel sauce. It can be store bought or homemade (I have an amazing salted maple caramel sauce on the blog that would be perfect. But you can also simply toss them with brown sugar and a bit of butter in a skillet until the sugar caramelized and coats the nuts.
This maple walnut cake has got that perfect combination of fancy and homey
It would make such a pretty presentation on a dessert table, but mine looked just as tempting sitting under my cake dome on the kitchen counter.
It’s also the kind of cake you just can’t wait to dig right into, it’s hard to look at it all pristine and whole 😉 And even though this is a smaller 8-inch cake, it will feed a crowd because the slices are nice and tall. I think you could serve 16 and nobody would go away hungry.
Only have 2 cake pans?
- No worries! Just bake the first two layers, and then bake the third afterward, it will work just fine.
- If you want to make a 2 layer cake, best to bake this recipe in 9-inch pans. The baking time will be slightly longer.
why I like to use maple extract
Maple is a notoriously difficult flavor to infuse into cakes and other baked goods, so a quality maple extract helps a lot. Several different brands make a maple extract, just look for the words extract, pure and all natural on the label and avoid anything that says artificial. It may come down to a matter of taste, each brand is a little different. And remember, a little goes a long way with this type of extract, so don’t over do it.
Maple Walnut Cake with Maple Cream Cheese Frosting
Equipment
- 2-3 8 inch cake pans
Ingredients
cake
- 1 cup packed brown sugar
- 1 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
- 4 large eggs, at room temperature
- 3/4 cup maple syrup
- 1 tsp maple extract, or vanilla extract
- 1 Tbsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 3 cups cake flour, (you can use regular flour)
- 3/4 cup half and half, substitute whole milk or buttermilk
- 1 cup crushed or finely chopped walnuts
frosting
- 16 ounces cream cheese, at room temperature
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
- 1 tsp maple extract or vanilla extract
- 1/4 tsp salt, omit if using salted butter
- 1/3 cup maple syrup
- 4-5 cups confectioner’s sugar, sifted
garnish
- 18 walnut halves
- 1 cup finely crushed walnuts
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350F Lightly grease 3 8-inch cake pans and add a round of parchment at the bottom of each. Note: if you only have 2 pans, bake the third layer after the first 2 have cooked.
- Cream the brown sugar and butter together until light and fluffy, about 5 minutes. Don’t skip this step, it helps make a light cake.
- Beat in the eggs, one at a time. Then beat in the maple syrup and extract.
- Turn the mixer to low speed and blend in the baking powder and salt. Then add the flour and half and half, alternately, beginning and ending with the flour. Mix just to combine, don’t over-mix. Fold in the crushed walnuts.
- Fill your cake pans evenly with batter and smooth out the tops, if necessary. Bake in the preheated oven for 20-25 minutes until the center is risen and springs back when lightly touched, and the cakes have just started to pull away ever so slightly from the sides of the pan. Let the cakes cool for 10-15 minutes before turning out and cooling completely on a rack.
- To make the frosting, cream the cream cheese and butter until smooth, making sure there are no lumps. Beat in the maple syrup, extract, and salt.
- Add sugar, in batches, until you get your desired consistency.
- Generously frost the cooled cake and pat crushed walnuts along the outer edge. Arrange walnut halves on the top.
sugar and size: I’m trying to cut back on sugar…What does this particular amount “do” in this recipe? How low can I go? 🙂 and, any general thoughts on sugar reduction and baking? We are a family of two – am pondering a 5″ spring form pan and cut the recipe back accordingly. Thoughts? I’m loving your site and newsletter. Live in NH, and recognize the “Roxbury” on the label!
Hi Karen! The general ‘rule’ for reducing sugar is that you can reduce by 1/3 without having much affect on a recipe. Lower than that and you have to start adjusting and experimenting. A 5″ pan is awfully small, so you’d have to do some math there. You might do better simply cutting the recipe in half and using a regular 8 or 9 inch round or square pan.
Can I leave out the crushed walnuts? Will it affect the taste and texture much?
The crushed nuts add a nice fluffy texture to the cake. You might use cake flour to make up for that.
I meant piping!!! Ahhh autocorrect!!!!
lol. I haven’t tried Jess, and in general cream cheese frostings tend to be on the softer side. You can always add more sugar to stiffen it for piping.
Have you ever tried pooping this frosting? Will it hold its shape if I tint it and pipe flowers? Thanks
I don’t have round cake pans, could I use a 9×13 pan? Thanks, Sue
That should work fine Sue!
could you make this into cupcakes? If so how many would it make, what temp would you bake at and for how long? Im also thinking of adding a dash of cinnamon and some walnut pieces to the batter.
I haven’t made this as cupcakes, so not sure how many it will make, but I’d cook them at 350F and check after 15 minutes.
Hi there – are the ingredients listed under ‘cake’ for all three cakes total?
Yes!
I made this recipe and I used regular all purpose flour. It came out tasty although I added more maple extract to the frosting (and extra teaspoon). The cake had nice taste to it but it came out kind of hard and dry. Should I have used cake flour in place of all purpose? Do you know what else I could have done wrong? I also made my own buttermilk using milk and vinegar. Could that have caused the problem? Please write back, as I’d like to make it again and am thinking of using Softasilk Cake flour. Do you think that would make the difference and give me moist light cake?
Hi Susan ~ it’s hard for me to know exactly what happened with your cake, but a few thoughts ~ yes, cake flour will always yield a more tender result, but you can make your own equivalent using a little cornstarch. If the cake came out dry or hard that sounds like over baking to me, so be sure to check your pan size and your oven temp. Also be sure to beat everything really well to incorporate air, as per the recipe.
Thanks for responding. I actually used smaller than 8″ pans (2 fo them) vs. the 9″ pans. Do you think that the half & half makes a difference vs. real buttermilk? I bought buttermilk this time from the market, forgetting that your recipe states to use half & half and use buttermilk as a substitute. Which do you think I should use, since I already struck out the 1st time I made this cake. I’m going to use cake flour this time also. Do I have to have the 9″ inch pans or can I use the 8″ pans? Wouldn’t the cakes just be a bit taller if 8″ are used?
The half and half and buttermilk will both work well, so no issues there. If you use 8 inch pans you’ll just have to bake the cake longer, so be aware of that.
Can I use regular milk or even heavy cream?
Yes.
I followed the recipe as written using three 8 inch pans. The cook time was 30 to 35 minutes.
Hi. I was wondering if this cake would freeze well?
Thank you.
It would freeze well before frosting.