Maple-Walnut Snacking Cake

Maple-Walnut Snacking Cake was inspired by a cake found on the delicious blog The English Kitchen, where Marie made a recipe from The Small-Batch Snacking Cake Cookbook by Aimee Broussard. 

Looking at the ingredients list I could tell that the cake was far too sweet for my taste, and Marie described it as dense and sweet, like a brownie or blondie. If you have more of a sweet tooth than I, it might be just what you're looking for.

But I was in the mood for a cake that was light and less sweet, so decided to take the maple flavor inspiration and apply it to my Grandma's Little Yellow Cake that I call the "little black dress" of cakes because it can be "accessorized" lots of different ways to suit any occasion.

To me, "snacking cake" means a cake that is quick and easy; can be made by hand with no need for special equipment; is baked in, and often served from, the baking dish or tin; and calls for ingredients we generally have on hand.

My maple snacking cake has a subtle real maple flavor (don't try this with maple-flavored pancake syrup!) that I thought would be enhanced by a sprinkle of chopped walnuts over the icing (more of a glaze really). It was!

As my "regulars" know, I switched to blogging just once a month (second Thursday of every month). But since I already said I'll be posting a bread recipe next month, I decided to slip this post in this week as an "extra."

Need I tell you that a square of maple-walnut snacking cake goes beautifully with a cup of tea!

 

Maple-Walnut Snacking Cake 

(Makes one 8-inch/20-cm square layer, 9 servings)  

The Maple Cake 

1 tablespoon cider vinegar
Enough milk to make 1 cup (8 fluid ounces/237 ml)
1 1/4 dip-and-sweep cups (6.25 ounces/177 grams) unbleached all-purpose flour
1/4 dip-and-sweep cup (1.25 ounces/35 grams) non-GMO cornstarch
1/2 cup (3.5 ounces/99 grams) sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
8 tablespoons (4 ounces/113 grams) unsalted butter, softened
2 large eggs, room temperature
1/4 cup (2 fluid ounces/59 ml) real maple syrup 
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

The Maple-Walnut Icing

1/3 packed cup (1.33 ounces/38 grams) powdered sugar
2 tablespoons (1 ounce/28 grams) unsalted butter, room temperature
2 tablespoons (1 fluid ounce/30 ml) real maple syrup
Small pinch* of salt
1/2 cup (2 ounces/57 grams) chopped walnuts, toasted or not 

* I actually have a "Pinch" measuring spoon. It holds 1/16 teaspoon. A "small" pinch is half that.

1 Preheat oven to 350F/180C/Gas4. Grease well and lightly flour an 8x8x2-inch baking dish or tin. Measure vinegar into a 1-cup glass measure; add enough milk to make 1 cup. Stir and let stand about 5 minutes while you proceed.

2 In mixing bowl, whisk together flour, cornstarch, sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Cut in the butter as if making biscuits (I work it in with my impeccably clean fingers). Add soured milk, eggs, maple syrup, and vanilla. With electric mixer (or by hand with a large spoon, as I do), mix on low speed for 30 seconds to combine, then on medium speed for 1 minute. 

3 Pour into prepared pan. Bake for about 40 minutes, or until golden and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. 

4 Cool in pan on wire rack for 10 minutes. Remove from pan and place on wire rack to cool. Grandma usually just served cakes like this directly from the pan, and that's what I did here. 

5 After the cake has been cooling for about 30 minutes, put the powdered sugar, soft butter, maple syrup, and salt in a 2- to 3-cup mixing bowl and whisk until smooth. Scrape onto top of the warm cake and spread to cover top only. Sprinkle chopped walnuts evenly over the top and lightly press them. Cool completely. Cut into 9 squares. 

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Jean

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