Maple Buttermilk Spice Cake
This Thanksgiving, instead of making my traditional pumpkin pie and gingerbread, I decided to switch it up with something fancy. This dessert looks and tastes AMAZING. Its warm and spicy flavors make it the perfect holiday dessert!
The Buttermilk Spice Cake pairs wonderfully with the Maple Bourbon Cream Cheese Frosting, and Maple Bourbon Whipped Cream topping.
Here’s what I did…
What I was listening to: “The Dog Days are Over” by Florence + the Machine
Ingredients:
Buttermilk Spice Cake:
Wet Ingredients
- ½ cup butter (1 stick)
- ½ cup oil
- ½ tsp salt
- 2 cups brown sugar
- 4 eggs
Dry Ingredients
- 2 cups and 2 tbsp cake flour
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 1 tsp cinnamon
- ½ tsp ginger
- ½ tsp cloves
- ½ tsp nutmeg
- 1 cup buttermilk
Maple Bourbon Cream Cheese Frosting
- ½ cup butter (1 stick)
- 8 oz cream cheese
- 1 ¾ cup powdered sugar
- 1 tbsp bourbon
- 1 tbsp maple syrup
Maple Bourbon Whipped Cream
- 1 ½ cups heavy cream
- 3 tbsp maple syrup
- 1-2 tbsp bourbon
- 1 tbsp plain gelatin
- ¼ cup water (to make gelatin)
Instructions:
1) Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease 2 round 8 inch cake pans well. Cut out 2 circles of parchment paper, enough to cover just the bottoms of the cake pans. Grease over the parchment paper as well. This will allow for you cake to come out easily and unharmed. Also, chill a bowl in the fridge for preparing the whipped cream later.
2) In a large bowl, combine butter, oil, brown sugar, and salt with an electric mixer. Add the eggs one at a time, mixing them in well.
3) Combine the dry ingredients in a separate bowl.
A word on cake flour…By using cake flour instead of regular flour, you end up with a much lighter cake. This is ideal, especially when making a layer cake, since you want the cake to stand upright, without collapsing! However, all-purpose flour can be substituted, if that is all you have. Just use 2 cups of all-purpose flour.
4) Time for dry to meet wet! Gradually add your dry ingredients to the wet ingredients, alternating with the buttermilk. End with the dry ingredients, and mix until everything is just combined. (Mixing too much can toughen up your cake.)
5) Evenly pour your batter into the 2 cake pans. Put in the oven for 25 mins, or until your toothpick comes out clean when inserted into the cake. Let the cakes cool completely, and then invert them onto parchment paper. Slice each cake in half.
Frosting time!
6) Combine all of the ingredients for the frosting. You can store this in the refrigerator, while waiting for the cake to cool. When your cakes are ready, spread a generous layer of frosting over 3 layers of the cake. Place the layers of cake on top of each other and top with the fourth layer of cake.
A trick to doing this, is stick your cake layers in the freezer for 20 minutes. This way, they are much firmer, completely cooled, and can hold up the frosting easily.
7) Prepare the unflavored gelatin, following its packaged instructions. Retrieve your chilled bowl from the fridge. Combine the ingredients for the whipped cream and mix with an electric mixer until stiff peaks form. The gelatin makes the whipped cream sturdy.
8) Top the cake with the whipped cream. Garnish with whatever you please…roasted almonds, graham cracker crumbs, dried cranberries, etc.
And there you have it! A beautiful Maple Buttermilk Spice Cake!!
