Spice Cake with Maple Buttercream and Pecans

Just in case my pear and frangipane tart turned out to be a disaster, I needed a backup Christmas dessert. Enter this delicious spice cake, with maple buttercream frosting and a ring of toasted chopped pecans. Fortunately the tart was great, so we had plenty of tasty desserts around the house last week.

I’d made this spice cake before as cupcakes with a maple cream cheese frosting, but decided on a maple buttercream this time. The chopped toasted pecans add a nice dimension of flavor, as well as some crunch. The recipe below made one 8-inch layer, but you could easily double it for a fancier two-layer cake.

Ingredients

For the cake

• 1 cup flour
• 3/4 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
• heaping 1/8 teaspoon cinnamon
• heaping 1/8 teaspoon nutmeg
• heaping 1/8 teaspoon ginger
• heaping 1/8 teaspoon cloves
• 2 tablespoons butter, softened
• 2 tablespoons shortening
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 1 egg
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 6 ounces sour milk*

*Place 1/2 tablespoon vinegar or lemon juice in a glass measuring cup and add enough milk to equal a total of 6 ounces. Stir, then let sit for 5 minutes before using. 

For the frosting

• 4 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
• 1 1/2 to 1 3/4 cups powdered sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 3-4 tablespoons maple syrup
• About 2/3 cup chopped toasted pecans

Preparation

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Lightly spray an 8-inch round cake pan with baking spray and line the bottom with a parchment circle.

In a medium bowl, combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, and cloves. You’ll note that the measurements for the spices are heaping, so seriously, don’t hold back.

In a mixing bowl, beat butter and shortening on medium speed for about 1 minute. Add sugar and vanilla and cream together until well-combined, scraping the sides of the bowl as necessary.

Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition.

Add flour mixture and sour milk alternatively, beginning and ending with the flour and beating until just combined after each addition.

Pour batter into cake pan and bake for 25 minutes or until a cake tester inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool in pan for about 1 hour, then turn out onto a wire rack to cool completely.

To make the frosting, in a mixing bowl, beat butter on medium speed for about 2 minutes. Scrape down the bowl and add the powdered sugar, all at once, then beat on low speed until the sugar is fully incorporated into the butter; this will take several minutes.

Add vanilla and 2 tablespoons maple syrup, then beat on medium speed for about 3-4 minutes, until very light and fluffy, scraping the sides of the bowl very well at least a few times. Taste; add 1 to 2 more tablespoons syrup to reach your desired flavor.

Place the cooled cake on a serving platter and frost the top only, then sprinkle toasted pecans around the edge.

Makes about 8 servings.