If you like flavors like maple, cinnamon and walnut, then you will love this Brown Butter Maple Bourbon Cake. It is a moist and tender maple cake with tons of chopped walnuts that is flavored with the warm taste of cinnamon and the nuttiness of brown butter. It also has a splash of bourbon mixed in that adds to the depth of flavor. Then it’s topped with a silky cinnamon frosting and candied walnuts to finish it off, creating a delicious combination of flavors.
My husband loves walnuts, so when his birthday rolled around this year I wanted to come up with a cake that highlighted that walnut flavor. It was perfectly pared with maple, cinnamon, brown butter and a splash of bourbon which complemented the walnuts perfectly. The cinnamon frosting adds a creaminess and those candied walnuts a bit of crunch, when brought together it created the perfect bite.
Why You Will Love This Cake
- Flavor: If you like warm flavors like brown butter, cinnamon and maple, then you will love this cake. They are the perfect flavors to highlight the star of the cake, the walnuts.
- The Appearance: This cake puts on a good show. Between the silky buttercream, the candied walnuts and the cinnamon sticks, it is a cake that is a real show stopper.
- Preparation: To make things easier, you can bake the cake ahead of time. I just wrap it in plastic wrap and store it in the freezer until I am ready to assemble. When Im ready I place it on the counter so that it can defrost and come back to room temperature, then decorate as normal.
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Equipment Needed To Make This Cake
- Baking Pan: I like to use a 8” Round Cake Pan.
- Hand Mixer: To mix your ingredients you can use a stand mixer or a sturdy Hand Mixer. This makes the job of mixing the ingredients much easier.
- Mixing Bowls: I like to have a variety of Mixing Bowls on hand. This makes baking a cake go much more smoothly.
Ingredients Needed To Make This Cake
- Butter: I always opt for unsalted butter. This will allow you to control the salt content in your recipes.
- Sugar: This recipe contains both Granulated Sugar and Dark Brown Sugar.
- Eggs: It is best to have the eggs at room temperature so that they blend easily into the other ingredients.
- Buttermilk: When combined with baking powder and baking soda has a reaction that allows cakes to rise, giving them a light fluffy texture.
- Maple Syrup: Always use pure maple syrup, not pancake syrup.
- Vanilla Extract: I always opt for Pure Vanilla Extract due to its intense vanilla flavor.
- Flour: All Purpose Flour works well for this recipe.
- Baking Powder & Baking Soda: These are leavening agents, which will allow your cake to rise.
- Salt: A pinch of salt added to sweet recipes, will enhance the flavors in that recipe.
- Cinnamon: Ground Cinnamon will add warmth to this recipe.
- Walnuts: For this cake I used both finely chopped for the interior of the cake and whole maple glazed walnuts for the top.
- Bourbon: A small amount of bourbon will add depth of flavor to this cake.
Tips For Making This Cake
- Brown your butter ahead of time, this way it has plenty of time to cool and come back to a solid state. To do this, place the butter in a small saucepan over medium heat. Cook until melted and foamy. Stirring occasionally, continue cooking until liquid turns golden and brown bits start to form on the bottom of the pan. Remove from heat and pour into a Glass Pyrex Cup. Allow to cool completely and come back to a solid state.
- To glaze your walnuts, place the maple syrup in a Large Frying Pan set over medium heat. Pour in the walnuts and cook until the walnuts are coated and maple syrup has been absorbed.
- Always line your Baking Pan with a round of Parchment Paper. Just cut out a round circle to fit the bottom of the baking dish and line before filling.
Brown Butter Bourbon Maple Walnut Cake With Cinnamon Frosting
Course: DessertDifficulty: MediumA moist and tender cake that has all the great flavors of fall.
Ingredients
- For The Cake
10 Tablespoons unsalted butter browned
3/4 Cup Granulated Sugar
1/2 Cup Dark Brown Sugar
3 Eggs
2 Teaspoons Pure Vanilla Extract
1/4 Cup pure maple syrup
3/4 Cup buttermilk
2 1/4 Cups All Purpose Flour
1 1/2 Teaspoon baking powder
1/4 Teaspoon baking soda
1/2 Teaspoon salt
2 Teaspoons Ground Cinnamon
1/2 Cup finely chopped walnuts
2 Tablespoons bourbon.
- For The Cinnamon Buttercream Frosting
2 1/2 Cup unsalted butter
3 Cups Powdered Sugar
1 Teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 1/2 Teaspoon ground cinnamon
- For The Maple Glazed Walnuts
1/4 Cup pure maple syrup
1/2 Cup whole walnuts
Cinnamon Stick (optional) for decoratin
Directions
- Prepare brown butter by placing the butter in a small saucepan over medium heat. Cook until butter becomes melted and foamy. Stirring occasionally, continue cooking until liquid starts to turn golden and brown bits start to form at the bottom of the pan. Remove from heat and pour into a glass Pyrex Measuring Cup and set to the side to cool and return to a solid but soft state.
- Preheat oven to 350º. Line two 8” Baking Pans with a round of Parchment Paper and spray with baking spray. Set to the side.
- To the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, beat the cooled butter and both sugars until completely combined. Add the eggs and vanilla and continue mixing until pale in color, about 1 minute. Add the maple syrup, bourbon and the buttermilk and continue mixing until combined.
- To a separate mixing bowl, whisk together the all purpose flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and cinnamon until combined. Pour into the wet ingredients and beat to combine. Fold in the chopped walnuts until incorporated.
- Fill each prepared baking pan to 3/4 full and place in the preheated oven. Bake 30 to 32 minutes or until toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. remove from heat and allow to cool completely on a wire rack.
- While the cakes are cooling you can prepare your maple glazed walnuts. Place maple syrup in a large frying pan set over medium heat. Add walnuts and stir to coat. Cook about 5 minutes or until maple syrup has been absorbed and walnuts are coated. Remove from heat and pour out glazed nuts onto a piece of parchment paper in a single layer. Allow to cool completely
- To make the cinnamon buttercream, place the softened butter into a bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment. Beat at medium speed until smooth. Shut mixer off and add powdered sugar, vanilla and cinnamon. Place mixer on low and beat until combined. Raise mixer speed to medium and continue beating until smooth and creamy.
- To assemble the cake, place buttercream in a Large Piping Bag fitted with a Star Tip Place one cake in the center of a cake plate. Spread a layer of buttercream on top. Place the second cake layer on top then cover with another layer of buttercream and spread to make smooth.
- Decorate by piping several swirls of buttercream on top of the cake and top with maple glazed walnuts and cinnamon sticks ( optional ).
- Enjoy.
Notes
- The cake pictured, has three layers. This entailed me to make two batches. I had one cake left over so I wrapped it in plastic wrap and placed it in the freezer for a later use.
