Maple Cake

4.67 from 6 votes

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Need a simple, delicious and unique cake that will blow your mind? Try my Easy Maple Cake! Made with simple pantry ingredients, real maple syrup and maple extract, baked low and slow to keep it soft and drizzled with a sweet and creamy maple glaze and topped with walnuts. It’s pure heaven.

whole maple cake with icing and walnuts

Amazing Maple Cake | Typical Canadian Girl Recipe

Do you like maple cake? Growing up in Canada with a mother that taught me exactly what good (and bad!) maple syrup was AND having taken several trips to Upper Canada Village in elementary school, I am a bit of a maple snob. There is good maple and bad maple.

Good maple = Tim Horton’s maple bars.

Bad maple = any other maple bars.

Good maple = Maple Leaf Cookies (by Dare)

Bad maple = any other maple leaf cookies

Do you see? I’m clearly an expert/sarcasm.

maple cake batter in mixing bowl

Maple Cake

What does this good maple/bad maple talk have to do with this Easy Maple Cake? Well friends, because I’m such a maple snob, I solemnly swear to never steer you in the wrong direction. The secret is getting the right kind of maple syrup and the right kind of maple extract….if you’re wanting to be snobby about it. These are optional steps, but ones I recommend.

Maple Syrup: whether you’re eating pancakes, waffles or making a maple cake, always always always use 100% real maple syrup. I love Kirkland Signature’s Real Maple Syrup because it’s inexpensive, 100% pure and Grade A Amber which is the best in quality, color and taste (in my opinion).

Maple Extract/Flavoring: a lot of the maple extracts and flavorings can vary so much! Some of them are more maple-y than others! I used Kroger’s Imitation Maple Flavor for testing this recipe. It’s dark and is a great overall maple flavor. If you’re using a different brand, just note it might be slightly more or less maple-y.

maple cake batter in bundt pan

Main Ingredients Needed

The beauty of this Maple Cake recipe is it calls for lots of basic pantry ingredients. You might need to get some maple extract, but besides that everything else is pretty darn common.

  • Canola or Vegetable Oil– I love the texture and moisture oil brings to this cake.
  • Granulated Sugar– for sweetness for the cake!
  • Vanilla + Maple Extract – vanilla adds depth of flavor to the maple extract and both are very complimentary of each other in this cake.
  • Real Maple Syrup– used for a little sweetness and more maple flavor.
  • Low Fat Sour Cream– helps give moisture to the cake.
  • Milk– thins out the sour cream and helps give a more tender crumb to the cake.
  • All purpose Flour– I use unbleached but bleached works just as well, too. Use what you have.
  • Baking Powder + Baking Soda– both are needed for leavening.
  • Salt– helps offset all that sweet and helps all the flavors pop and become more distinct.
  • Powdered Sugar + Heavy Cream– used for the glaze with a little more maple extract.
  • Walnuts– optional, but I love the crunch they add. Walnuts and maple are really good buddies in the food world and I like using them together.
maple cake cooling on parchment paper

How to Make Maple Cake

This is a relatively simple recipe to follow. As long as you grease your bundt pan really well, you should have success. This is the bundt pan I used and it worked great sprayed with Pam.

  1. Mix oil, sugar, vanilla, maple extract and eggs together until combined in the bowl of a stand mixer.
  2. In small bowl, whisk together sour cream, milk and maple syrup.
  3. In a separate bowl, sift flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt together.
  4. With mixer on low, alternate milk mixture with dry ingredients until everything is just incorporated. Scrape sides and bottom of bowl and mix briefly to ensure batter is evenly mixed.
  5. Pour batter into prepared bundt pan and bake at 325 degrees for 55 minutes to 1 hour 5 minutes.
  6. Remove from oven and cool in the pan 15 minutes. Carefully remove cake from pan onto cooling rack.
  7. For the icing, whisk powdered sugar, maple extract and heavy cream together until thick and smooth.
  8. Drizzle over top of cake and down the sides. Top with chopped walnuts. Serve.
maple cake on parchment paper with icing and nuts

Love Cake? Try These Other Recipes:

So, there you have it! A delicious and simple Maple Cake for not a lot of work. It’s one of my very favorite cakes I’ve made the entire year…probably because the maple flavor just reminds me of home.

Enjoy, friends! Have a great day!

whole maple cake with icing and walnuts
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4.67 from 6 votes

Maple Cake

This amazing Maple Cake is made with simple pantry ingredients, drizzled with a sweet and creamy maple glaze and topped with walnuts. Yum!
servings 16 servings
Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 1 hour

Ingredients

For the cake:

For the icing:

  • 1 cup Powdered Sugar
  • 1/2 teaspoon maple extract
  • 1/4 cup heavy cream
  • 1/4 cup Chopped Walnuts for Garnish

Instructions

  • Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Coat bundt pan liberally with non-stick cooking spray. Set aside.
  • In large bowl, whip oil, sugar, vanilla, maple extract, eggs together until combined.
    sugar, oil, eggs, vanilla and maple in mixing bowl
  • In small bowl, whisk together sour cream, milk and maple syrup. In a separate bowl, sift flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt together.
  • With mixer on low, alternate milk mixture with dry ingredients until everything is just incorporated. Scrape sides and bottom of bowl and mix briefly to ensure batter is evenly mixed.
    pouring wet ingredients into mixing bowl
  • Batter should be completely smooth. (A few small lumps is ok.)
    maple cake batter in mixing bowl
  • Pour batter into prepared bundt pan, level the top and bake 55 min-1 hour 5 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean after being inserted.
    pouring cake batter into bundt pan
  • Remove from oven and cool in the pan 15 minutes. Carefully remove cake from cooling rack and place onto cake stand.
    maple cake cooking on parchment paper
  • For the icing, whisk powdered sugar, maple extract and heavy cream together until thick and smooth.
    whisking maple glaze in white bowl
  • Drizzle over top of cake and down the sides. Top with chopped walnuts. Serve.
    maple cake on parchment paper with icing and nuts

Nutrition

Calories: 324kcal | Carbohydrates: 42g | Protein: 4g | Fat: 16g | Saturated Fat: 3g | Cholesterol: 42mg | Sodium: 99mg | Potassium: 148mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 23g | Vitamin A: 159IU | Vitamin C: 1mg | Calcium: 68mg | Iron: 1mg
Course: Dessert
Cuisine: American
Keyword: maple cake

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Recipe Rating




34 Responses
  1. A.S.

    5 stars
    I made it for a birthday, and it was wonderful. Cake was fluffy and moist. I added nuts to the batter because the birthday person loves nuts. Keeper recipe!

  2. Sue

    Have you ever made this cake and baked it in 8-9 inch cake pans? I think it would be delicious if made in them and maple icing between the layers as well as on top!

  3. Linda Damschroder

    Wow I did not know you were from Canada how cool my mom grew up in Montreal Quebec we always picked on her for her accent on the way she would say certain words. We went there every year to visit the relatives we loved going there. Today I have one Aunt left she is 86 years old and lives in Whitby Ontario. My sister and I went there to visit we just love going there. Your cake sounds delicious I will try it sometime. What city did you grow up in? Do you speak French my mom did that was her first language.

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      1. Lauren

        Sorry there’s some confusion! One bowl will be for mixing, one bowl for dry ingredients, one bowl for wet. Cream the oil, sugar, eggs, vanilla in the larger mixing bowl. Alternate adding wet and dry into the larger mixing bowl.

  6. Becky

    A friend of mine made this cake recently but substituted maple syrup for the sweetened condensed milk and butter for the oil. It was AMAZING. I had to get the recipe!! Thanks for sharing. 🙂

    1. Cathy

      I don’t see sweet condensed milk in the recipe? Are talking about the milk and substitute maple syrup? I see a 1/4 cup of maple syrup already in the recipe.

  7. Sheena B

    I think I just found my dearly beloved’s birthday. He loves maple syrup (having grown up in Perth, Ontario) and has been known to drink it from a glass! Will definitely be trying this one out.

  8. Marilyn Brennan

    Yes, this one is hard to beat, but I would double or triple the nuts. Seems like I’m being somewhat healthy with a higher ratio of nuts to cake. This one is delectable, moist, offering a mouthful to truly savor.

  9. Tracy

    What a lovely-looking cake! Hubby despises anything maple but I absolutely love it, so I’ll be having this cake all to myself! 😉

  10. Cathy B. @ Bright Bakes

    I’m a maple freak(and, don’t hate, but I have an unlimited free supply! We live in the Northwoods of WI and my Mister’s family taps their own trees…they are more than happy to trade maple syrup for baked goods…) It’s been a while since I made cake(i tend towards pies)…but I’d love to try this one…only one thing…I have a healthy fear of my bundt pan…I just KNOW it will stick….
    fearfully,
    cathy b.

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