I have been thinking about which recipe to make as my second first post for a while now. I say “second first post” because as some of you may or may not know, I already had this blog running and unfortunately due to some technical issues and circumstances lost all of it. A bit unfortunate but oh well lets look at the bright side – I get to start all over again! So anyways enough about that and back to the cake as that is our main star here today.

Last time I started with my first ever bundt cake recipe what is basically my ultimate bundt cake recipe. Don’t worry I will write about it again later. This time around I really wanted to make a cake that is gonna be simply Canadian. Why Canadian? Well I have just recently became a PR of this beautiful country (thank you) so I decided to honor it by making a cake that is just going to say Canada.

So here I am, looking for a perfect Canada themed cake and I found a perfect recipe! Where else than in Canadian Living (great magazine by the way)The recipe was for this wonderful Maple Glazed  Bundt Cake. And whats more Canadian than Maple syrup! I can tell you this cake is really nice and moist. I wasn’t sure what to expect as it was my first time baking it but I loved it. Also the level of sweetness was just perfect. I don’t like when cake tastes like sugar overload. Add some coffee or tea and you have a perfect afternoon snack. I loved it so much that I decided to serve it for breakfast and as an afternoon snack option for our guests at the Inn I manage. I thought it was a perfect way for foreigners to taste maple syrup in action and taste a bit of Canada. It was a huge hit and I don’t think the cake actually made it to be an afternoon snack!  Ha! I didn’t expect that. One of our guests was so saddened by the fact that there was no more cake in the afternoon that I decided to make another one the same day. He was truly happy the next day I can tell you that much.

I tried the original recipe but then I wanted to make it more maple and healthy-ish if that’s possible so I decided to swap sugar for maple syrup. The result was still perfect! If you don’t want too much sweetness you can also skip the glaze and use powder sugar instead. I really hope you enjoy this delicious cake as much as I do!

Maple Glazed Bundt Cake

• Recipe by Canadian Living, July 2015 issue, page 92.

Ingredients:

• 1 cup (250 mL) butter, softened
• 1-1/2 cups (375 mL) granulated sugar or 1 – 1/4 cups of maple syrup
• 4 eggs, separated
• 1/4 cup (60 mL) sour cream
• 1-1/2 tsp (7 mL) maple extract
• 3 cups (750 mL) all-purpose flour
• 2 tsp (10 mL) baking powder
• 1/2 tsp (2 mL) salt
• 1/4 tsp (1 mL) baking soda
• 1 cup (250 mL) buttermilk
• 3 tbsp (45 mL) maple syrup
• 1 tbsp (15 mL) warm water

For The Glaze:

• 3 tbsp (45 mL) maple syrup
• 1 tsp (5 mL) maple extract
• 1 cup (250 mL) icing sugar

Directions:

Cake:

1. In large mixing bowl, beat butter with 1 cup of the sugar until fluffy. Beat in egg yolks, 1 at a time. Beat in sour cream and maple extract.
2. In separate bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, salt and baking soda. Stir into butter mixture, alternating with buttermilk.
3. In separate bowl, beat egg whites until soft peaks form (use a glass bowl for better results). Beat in remaining sugar, 1 tbsp at a time, until firm glossy peaks form. Fold one-third of the egg white mixture into batter; fold in remaining egg white mixture.
4. Scrape into greased and floured 10-inch (3 L) Bundt pan, smoothing top.

   

5. Bake in 350°F (180°C) oven until cake tester inserted in centre comes out clean, 40 to 50 minutes. Let cool in pan for 20 minutes.

   

6. Using tip of thin knife, loosen edge of cake from pan. Invert rack over pan; turn cake out onto rack and remove pan.
7.  Mix maple syrup with warm water; brush all over the cake. Let cool completely.

Maple Glaze:

1. In bowl, mix maple syrup with maple extract; stir in icing sugar to make thick pourable glaze, adding up to 1/2 tsp water, a little at a time, to reach desired consistency.
2. Pour over cake. Let stand until set (cca 15 minutes). 

Enjoy!