Why did you choose to prepare this dish?

I chose to make this dish for my best friend’s birthday. Since it was my first time making this type of cake.

Is there a story about the dish or recipe?

The story behind this recipe is that I wanted to create something special for my best friend on her birthday. Since we were not allowed to visit anyone in big groups during the first couple of weeks in quarantine, she was not able to have a party. So, then I decided to plan a surprise tail gate party in a parking lot and surprise her with her favorite sweet flavor in cake. She means the world to me and I put 100% of my efforts to making this cake everything that she dreamed of. When I asked her for her favorite sweet flavor, she said maple, so I decided to make her a maple cake with maple frosting. When I surprised her with it she cried and my heart melted. I would love to make more desserts and deliver it to friends and family it just warms my heart at their reactions.

Did you have to make changes to the recipe?

I did not have to make change to the ingredients in this recipe because when baking you must be precise, and I do not think I am experienced enough to experiment and change the recipe around. The only change that I made was with utensils the cake was supposed to be tall and smaller size but I do not own a ton of baking utensils and only had two nine inch pans so I made it bigger and not so tall.

How did everything turn out?

Like Ms. Deck when I make something new, I always ask “Is this a make-again recipe?”  Sometimes the answer is yes, sometimes no! This was a for sure big yes! The cake did not look anything like the image and recipe that I was trying to follow. Although, the way it turned out was very impressive and I am very proud of myself. My family loved this cake because it was simple yet sweet so you could eat a big slice of it without being sick to the stomach. My best friend and her family loved it as well they said it was so good and that they could live off it. I loved this cake a lot, I do not eat cake because I do not really like it but this one was so good, I am totally making this again. The only change I would make it just some added visuals because it looks kind of plain. I could have added some piping work and maybe some added sprinkles to make it a bit more visually appealing.

What did you learn?

One of the skills that I learned from making this maple cake with a maple frosting is how to do a crème coat. The frosting was a maple standard frosting, so it was regular. With the crème coat it must be thin and smooth so you can finish it out with a smooth outer layer. Another skill that I learned is how to cut a cake with string. When layering a cake, you need it to smooth, flush and even so we need to cut it to be precise. When you use a knife it does make more of a jagged edges and when I used the string it made a clean and perfect cut.

Maple Layer Cake
makes one 9-inch round cake

https://e2bakesbrooklyn.com/2018/10/05/maple-layer-cake/

Cake:
3 cups all-purpose flour
1/3 cup cornstarch
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon Kosher or sea salt
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, melted
2 cups granulated sugar
4 large eggs, room temperature
1/2 cup pure maple syrup
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
2 cups buttermilk,* room temperature

Frosting:
1 1/2 cups (3 sticks) unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
4 cups confectioners sugar
1/2 teaspoon Kosher or sea salt
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1/2 cup pure maple syrup
3 tablespoons heavy cream

For Assembly:
1/3 cup pure maple syrup
sparkling sugar (optional)

Preheat oven to 350F. Grease two 9-inch round cake pans. Line with parchment and grease again. Set aside.

In a medium mixing bowl, whisk together flour, cornstarch, cinnamon, nutmeg, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.

In a large mixing bowl, whisk together melted butter and granulated sugar. Whisk in eggs one at a time, followed by maple syrup and vanilla. Whisk in half the dry ingredients, followed by half the buttermilk. Add the remaining dry ingredients, followed by remaining buttermilk.

Divide batter evenly between prepared pans. Tap each pan on the counter 5 times to release any large air bubbles. Bake 32-35 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the centers comes out clean. Let cakes cool in their pans for 15 minutes. Run a small, think knife around the edges, invert onto racks, and remove parchment. Allow cakes to cool completely.

Make the frosting. In a large mixing bowl, beat butter until light and fluffy, about two minutes. Beat in confectioner’s sugar in two installments, scraping down the bowl as necessary. Beat in salt, followed by vanilla. Beat in maple syrup, followed by heavy cream.

Assemble the cake. Use a serrated knife to slice cake layers equatorially so that you are left with 4 very thin layers. Place one layer, cut-side-up on a serving plate or cake stand. Brush layer with maple syrup. Top with a thin layer of frosting. Top with another thin layer of cake and repeat the brushing and frosting. Repeat layering process one more time. Top with the last remaining thin layer of cake, cut-side-down. Frost cake as desired. Top with sparkling sugar, if using.

Slice and serve. Leftover layer cake will keep covered at room temperature for up to three days, or in the refrigerator for up to a week.