Maple Bundt Cake
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This maple bundt cake is moist and buttery with a delicious maple flavor and sweet maple icing on top. It makes for the perfect cozy fall dessert.
If you’re looking for a simple, elegant fall dessert – then let me introduce you to this maple bundt cake. The cake is incredibly moist and tender with a tight, dense crumb and slightly springy texture – just like you’d expect from a bundt cake. The maple flavor comes from real maple syrup, and complemented by vanilla, brown sugar and cinnamon. A drizzle of sweet maple icing goes over the top, and I like to add a few pecans for a little extra pizzaz.
Every fall, I think most people gravitate towards pumpkin, apple and caramel desserts – but this maple cake really deserves a spot in your fall baking line up.
Ingredients You’ll Need
For the cake, you’ll need:
- All-Purpose Flour – measured correctly!
- Baking Powder & Baking Soda for lift
- Salt to balance out the sweetness
- Cinnamon to complement the maple
- Unsalted Butter – it should be at room temperature before getting started
- Dark Brown Sugar & Granulated Sugar – I found this combo worked best
- Vegetable Oil – this cake uses primarily butter for its added flavor, but a little oil keeps it moist for longer
- Vanilla Extract
- Maple Extract – optional, but it will increase the maple flavor
- Eggs for tenderness
- Real Maple Syrup – no substitutes here
- Sour Cream & Milk for moisture. Sour cream makes the cake super moist, whereas the milk offers moisture, without the cake getting too heavy
Then for the icing, you’ll need:
- Unsalted Butter
- Maple Syrup
- Powdered Sugar
- A Touch of Salt
Recipe Tip
This cake requires real maple syrup. Do not use maple flavored syrup of any kind – it will not provide the same flavor and it’s too thick and sticky compared to real maple syrup.
Method
This cake utilizes the creaming method. It’s imperative that the butter, eggs, sour cream and milk are all at room temperature before getting started to make sure that everything mixes together evenly, without over mixing.
- Prep. Preheat the oven to 350F (180C).
- Whisk the Dry Ingredients. Flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and cinnamon. Set aside.
- Cream the Butter & Sugars. They should look light and fluffy.
- Beat the Oil, Extracts and Maple Syrup Into the Butter Mixture.
- Mix in the Eggs. Do this one at a time to avoid over mixing.
- Combine the Dry and Wet Ingredients into the Butter Mixture. You’ll alternate between additions to ensure that the batter isn’t overmixed and to give a consistent crumb.
- Beat 1/3 of the flour mixture into the butter mixture.
- Whisk in the Sour Cream
- Beat another 1/3 of the flour mixture into the butter mixture.
- Whisk in the Milk.
- Beat the last 1/3 of the flour mixture into the butter mixture.
- Grease the Pan, Spoon in the Batter & Bake. I always grease the pan right before adding the batter when making a bundt cake so that the grease doesn’t slide down the sides of the pan. The cake will need about 50-60 minutes.
Recipe Tip
Bake time will vary depending on your oven, and the exact shape of your bundt pan. It will take about 50-60 minutes, but could be as long as 65 minutes. When the cake is done baking, it should be starting to pull away at the sides of the pan and an inserted toothpick should come out clean or with a few damp crumbs – but no gooey cake batter.
Maple Icing
I top this cake with maple icing.
- Melt the Butter & Maple Syrup. Do this in a saucepan over low heat.
- Whisk in the Powdered Sugar & Salt. I recommend sifting the powdered sugar first to avoid lumps.
- Pour/Drizzle. You will need to work quickly when pouring the icing over the of the cake, as it will harden quite quickly.
More Maple Treats to Try & Love
- Spice Cake Doughnuts with Maple Glaze
- Maple Pecan Bars – like pecan pie, but with maple
- Maple Cookies
- Spice Bundt Cake with Maple Icing
Maple Bundt Cake
Equipment
- 12-cavity muffin pan
Ingredients
Maple Bundt Cake
- 3 cups all-purpose flour (375 grams)
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 3/4 cup unsalted butter (168 grams)
- 1 cup light brown sugar (210 grams)
- ¼ cup granulated sugar (50 grams)
- ¼ cup vegetable oil (60 ml)
- 3 large eggs
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
- 1 teaspoon maple extract, optional
- 3/4 cup maple syrup (180 ml)
- ½ cup sour cream (120 ml)
- ½ cup milk (120 ml), 2% or whole
Maple Icing
- ¼ cup unsalted butter (45 grams)
- 6 tablespoons maple syrup (90 ml)
- 1½-2 cups powdered sugar (168-210 grams)
- ½ teaspoon salt
Instructions
Maple Bundt Cake
- Preheat the oven to 350℉ (180℃).
- In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, cinnamon, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Set aside.
- In a separate large bowl, cream together the butter, brown sugar and granulated sugar until fluffy. Turn off the mixer and scrape down the bottom and sides of the pan a few times.
- Beat the oil, vanilla, maple extract, and maple syrup into the butter mixture.
- Mix the eggs into the butter mixture 1 at a time. Turn off the mixer and scrape down the sides of the bowl after each addition.
- Mix the flour and wet ingredients into the butter mixture, alternating between additions. First, mix in ⅓ of the flour mixture. Then whisk in the sour cream (I do this by hand). Mix in the next ⅓ of the flour mixture. Then whisk in the milk. Lastly, beat in the last ⅓ of the flour mixture. Be careful not to over mix.
- Grease the bundt pan by spraying with non-stick baking spray or brushing with pan release. Spoon the batter into the prepared pan and bake. The cake will take about 50-60 minutes. When finished, it should be starting to pull away from the sides of the pan and an inserted toothpick should come out clean or with a few moist crumbs – but no gooey cake batter.
Maple Icing
- Add the butter and maple syrup to a saucepan over low-medium heat. Melt together.
- Remove from the heat and whisk in 1½ cups powdered sugar along with the salt. The icing should be thin enough to drizzle but opaque in color.
- Ensure that the cake is on the plate that you plan to serve it on. Moving quickly, pour/drizzle the icing over the top of the cake. The icing will harden quickly, so be sure to move quickly. Optionally, top with pecans.
Notes
- Maple Syrup: This recipe requires using real maple syrup – do not use maple flavored syrup.
- Room Temperature Ingredients: The butter, eggs, sour cream and milk all must be at room temperature before getting started.
- Flour: Measure the flour carefully – too much flour will cause the cake to be dry and flavorless. Whisk the flour first, then spoon into dry measuring cups and level the top. Do not scoop the flour from the bag/container as it will be too packed down and you’ll end up with too much flour. Use a scale for the most accurate results. 1 cup of flour weights 4.25 ounces, or 125 grams.
- Storage: Store leftovers in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days, or in the fridge for up to 5 days. If the cake has been in the fridge, I recommend letting it sit at room temperature for about 30 minutes before enjoying.
- Nutrition: Details are an estimate only, based on 1 slice, assuming that the cake is sliced into 12 uniform pieces and all the icing is used.
