Maple Cake With Maple Rum Glaze

After a recent trip to Montreal I wanted to bake something as a thank-you for our catsitter– after spending time surrounded by images of maple leaves, a maple cake seemed like the perfect gift!

I wanted to be mindful of potential nut allergies, so I looked for a recipe without pecans or walnuts, both of which were very common pairings with maple syrup. I ended up with a recipe from King Arthur Flour that was billed as a pound cake, but which was ultimately too light and delicate to really count as a pound cake in my opinion. That being said, the texture of the cake was perfect for a layer cake, and I will absolutely be trying to figure out how to replicate it (without the use of maple syrup) for future adventures! Can I just note that the batter smelled amazing while baking? I’d be tempted to make this just to make my house smell good… and the finished cake was buttery and maple-y, very reminiscent of pancakes with syrup (in a good way). I sprinkled a touch of kosher salt on top, just to emphasize the sweet-salty combination.

I wanted to make a pretty bundt cake, but also wanted to make another cake to eat at home since I can never give something away without taste-testing first! I doubled the recipe to make an 8-cup bundt as well as a loaf cake. (quantities below are for a single recipe) Sadly, the bundt cake refused to release cleanly from the pan and it literally fell apart on me, so it was in no condition for gifting– we’ve been eating it out of the pan with a spoon, and it’s delicious that way too! Luckily I’d lined my loaf pan with a parchment sling, so the loaf was much easier to lift out in one piece!

Maple Pound Cake with Maple-Rum Glaze

(slightly adapted from King Arthur Flour)

• 2 cups flour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 3/4 cup (12 tablespoons) unsalted butter, softened
• 2/3 cup light brown sugar, packed
• 2 large eggs
• 1/2 cup maple syrup 
• 1 cup sour cream
• 1 teaspoon vanilla

Glaze

• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 1/4 cup maple syrup 
• 1/4 cup dark rum or water
• pinch kosher salt (optional)

• Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line a 9×4″ loaf pan with parchment and spray with baking spray.
• In a medium bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.
• In a separate bowl, beat together the butter and brown sugar until light and fluffy.
• Add vanilla, then the eggs one at a time, beating for a minute or two and scraping the sides and bottom of the bowl between additions. Mix in the maple syrup and beat until smooth (it may be slightly curdled but the next step will fix that).
• Add half the flour mixture, followed by the sour cream, and finally the remaining flour mixture. Mix thoroughly– otherwise you might get streaks of curdled batter, which is never good.

• Scoop the batter into the prepared pan and bake for 45 to 50 minutes, until a cake tester or toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

• While the cake is cooling combine the extra butter, syrup, and rum in a medium saucepan. Bring the glaze to a rapid boil, then reduce to a simmer and cook for about 5 to 8 minutes, until it thickens to a syrupy consistency. Remove the pan from the heat.

• Brush the hot glaze over the warm cake. Sprinkle lightly with kosher salt (optional). Allow the cake to cool 20 minutes before lifting it out of the cake using your parchment paper sling and removing to a rack to cool completely.