Maple Walnut Cake With Maple Cream Cheese Frosting Recipe

I baked a Maple Walnut Cake With Maple Frosting that’s a three-layer, impossibly moist showstopper you’ll want at every fall gathering.

I’m obsessed with this Maple Walnut Cake With Maple Frosting because it tastes like pure fall in a fork and I don’t apologize. I love the way the maple syrup sings through the batter and the toasted chopped walnuts give it real bite.

This Maple Layer Cake isn’t fussy, just honest, sticky, and ridiculously moist. I eat huge slices with frosting stuck to my fingers and keep coming back for more.

The maple cream cheese frosting makes it actually craveable, tang cutting the syrup sweetness. No pretense, just the kind of dessert I repeat because I can’t help myself anymore.

Ingredients

• Flour: Basically the cake’s backbone, gives structure so it doesn’t turn into sad mush.
• Baking powder: It helps the cake rise light and fluffy, you’ll get good lift.
• Baking soda: Adds extra lift and browns edges nicely, tiny but important.
• Salt: Balances sweetness, brings out maple and walnut notes, trust it.
• Butter (cake): Gives rich, tender crumb and that buttery mouthfeel everyone loves.
• Brown sugar: Adds molasses-y depth and moisture, makes cake taste cozy.
• Granulated sugar: Gives sweetness and helps the cake to brown evenly.
• Eggs: Bind everything together and add structure and a bit of richness.
• Maple syrup (cake): Basically pure maple taste folded in, brings warm sweetness.
• Buttermilk: Keeps the cake tender and a little tangy, balances sweetness.
• Vanilla: Rounds flavors out, makes maple feel slightly deeper and friendlier.
• Walnuts: Crunch and nutty bitterness, adds texture — toasty is best.
• Cream cheese (frosting): Tangy, creamy base for the maple frosting, so dreamy.
• Butter (frosting): Makes frosting silky and spreadable, adds richness.
• Powdered sugar: Sweetens and thickens frosting, gives that smooth frosting body.
• Maple syrup (frosting): Adds real maple flavor so it’s not just sweet.
• Heavy cream: Thins frosting to spreadable, gives glossy sheen if needed.
• Salt (frosting): Cuts sweetness, makes frosting taste less cloying and more balanced.
• Extra walnuts: For crunch and looks, sprinkle on top for the final touch.

Ingredient Quantities

• 3 cups (360 g) all purpose flour
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon fine sea salt
• 1 cup (2 sticks, 226 g) unsalted butter, softened
• 1 1/4 cups (250 g) packed light brown sugar
• 3/4 cup (150 g) granulated sugar
• 3 large eggs, room temp
• 1 cup pure maple syrup, plus extra for drizzling if you want
• 1 cup buttermilk, room temp
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1 1/2 cups chopped walnuts, toasted if possible
• 8 ounces (225 g) cream cheese, softened (for frosting)
• 1/2 cup (1 stick, 113 g) unsalted butter, softened (for frosting)
• 4 cups (480 g) powdered sugar, sifted
• 1/4 cup pure maple syrup (for frosting)
• 1 to 2 tablespoons heavy cream or milk, to thin frosting if needed
• 1/4 teaspoon fine sea salt (frosting)
• Extra chopped walnuts or whole walnuts for decoration, about 1/2 cup

How to Make this

1. Preheat oven to 350°F (175°C). Grease and line three 8 inch round cake pans with parchment, or use two pans and bake in batches. Toast walnuts in a single layer on a baking sheet 6 to 8 minutes until fragrant if you can, then chop and let cool.

2. Whisk together 3 cups flour, 2 tsp baking powder, 1 tsp baking soda, and 1 tsp salt in a bowl. Set aside.

3. In a large bowl beat 1 cup (2 sticks) softened butter with 1 1/4 cups packed light brown sugar and 3/4 cup granulated sugar until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Scrape the bowl so nothing gets left behind.

4. Add 3 large room temp eggs one at a time, beating briefly after each so it mixes but don’t overbeat. Mix in 1 cup pure maple syrup and 2 tsp vanilla until combined.

5. With mixer on low, add the dry ingredients and 1 cup room temp buttermilk in three alternating additions, beginning and ending with the dry mix. Mix just until combined and no big streaks remain. Overmixing will make it dense.

6. Fold in 1 1/2 cups chopped walnuts by hand with a spatula so they stay chunky. Divide batter evenly among the prepared pans, smooth tops and bake 22 to 28 minutes or until a toothpick comes out with a few moist crumbs. Rotate pans halfway through if your oven is hot in spots.

7. Let cakes cool in pans 10 minutes, then run a knife around edges and invert onto racks to cool completely. If they dome, trim the tops with a serrated knife so layers stack flat.

8. For the maple cream cheese frosting beat 8 oz softened cream cheese with 1/2 cup (1 stick) softened butter until smooth. Add 1/4 cup pure maple syrup and 1/4 tsp fine sea salt and beat again. Gradually add 4 cups sifted powdered sugar until thick and spreadable. If too stiff add 1 to 2 tbsp heavy cream or milk a little at a time to reach spreading consistency.

9. Assemble by placing one cake layer on your board or plate, spread a third of the frosting, add second layer and more frosting, top with final layer and crumb coat the sides with a thin layer of frosting. Chill 15 minutes if possible, then finish frosting smoothly. Press extra chopped walnuts around the sides or sprinkle on top and drizzle extra maple syrup over the cake for a pretty, sticky finish.

10. Store cake covered in the fridge because of the cream cheese frosting, bring to room temp before serving for best flavor. Cake keeps 3 to 4 days refrigerated.

Equipment Needed

1. Oven (preheats to 350°F / 175°C)
2. Three 8 inch round cake pans (or two pans and bake in batches)
3. Baking sheet (for toasting walnuts)
4. Parchment paper and nonstick spray or butter (to line pans)
5. Large mixing bowls (one for dry, one for wet)
6. Electric mixer (stand or hand) and a whisk for quick mixes
7. Rubber spatula and a metal or offset spatula (for folding and smoothing)
8. Measuring cups and spoons and a kitchen scale if you have one
9. Cooling racks and a serrated knife (for leveling domes)
10. Toothpick or cake tester and a mixing spoon

FAQ

Maple Walnut Cake With Maple Cream Cheese Frosting Recipe Substitutions and Variations

• All purpose flour: Swap with a 1 to 1 gluten free flour blend that contains xanthan gum. If your blend has no gum add 1/2 teaspoon xanthan gum per cup so the cake holds together better.
• Unsalted butter (in cake): Use melted coconut oil or neutral vegetable shortening in a 1 to 1 ratio by weight. Cakes may be a touch denser and have a slight coconut taste if you use coconut oil, but it’s still great.
• Buttermilk: Stir 1 tablespoon white vinegar or lemon juice into 1 cup milk and let sit 5 minutes. Or use plain yogurt thinned with a little milk until it pours, same amount as called for.
• Cream cheese (for frosting): Substitute mascarpone or full fat Greek yogurt (strained) cup for cup. Mascarpone gives a richer frosting, Greek yogurt will be tangier and a little looser, so add powdered sugar slowly until you hit the right texture.

Pro Tips

1. Toast the walnuts first if you can, then let them cool completely before chopping and folding in. Warm nuts will melt butter in the batter and make pockets of oily spots. Also toasting brings out flavor, so don’t skip it.

2. Bring everything to room temp. Eggs, butter, buttermilk and cream cheese all mix smoother and trap air better when warm. Cold ingredients = ghost lumps in the batter and a denser cake. Patience pays off.

3. Don’t overmix once you add the dry stuff. Stir just until you don’t see big streaks. Overworking the batter makes the cake chewy and heavy. A few tiny lumps are fine.

4. For the frosting, start with less powdered sugar and thin with cream one teaspoon at a time until it’s spreadable. Chill the cake after a thin crumb coat for 10 to 20 minutes before the final coat so you don’t drag crumbs into your finish. Let the whole cake sit at room temp 30 minutes before serving so the flavors and texture are best.