It is not completely obvious within my blog posts about baking, but a lot of my posts are requests from my kids. Since they eat most of what I bake, I try to make sure it is something they will like. Unless it’s macarons… I don’t really want them to eat all the macarons.

This bundt cake flavor comes courtesy of my son Matthias. I think he was wanting a flavor similar to a maple frosted donut. I certainly did my best to fulfill his request!

I know that bundt cakes LOVE to stick to pans, so I thought I’d also mention my technique for greasing my Nordicware bundt pans. This particular pan is the 10 cup Heritage pan. I also have a smaller 6 cup Heritage pan, but I haven’t used that one yet.

Heritage bundt pan from Nordicware

To grease your bundt cake pan and hopefully end up with a flawless bundt pan flip, here is what you need:

1 Tbsp of very soft butter, but not melted. If your butter is right out of the fridge, you can microwave it for about 15-20 seconds to soften it enough.

softened butter

1 pastry brush

I apologize for my very ugly pastry brush in this pic. It needs to be retired. In fact, we were at a restaurant supply store a few weeks ago and I bought a new nylon pastry brush and a gorgeous stainless steel worktable! By the way, restaurant supply stores are awesome. I could have stayed there all day! I just didn’t have the new brush at this time so had to use the ugly old one. I have tried a silicone brush but it just couldn’t get into all the details of the pan. So I ended up with this.

oh no bundt cake

Lesson learned: use only a traditional pastry brush or a nylon brush for greasing bundt cake pans.

Buttered bundt pan

Usually, I find greasing pans tedious, but somehow greasing my bundt pans is now fun! I guess it is because I feel like I’m painting. Which is basically what you’re doing! You paint the butter into the pan using the pastry brush, making sure to get into all the little nooks and crannies. I think I may try this method with my plain round cake pans.

Then comes the flouring part. I usually just toss a random amount of flour into the pan. Probably close to a tablespoon or two. Shake the pan at an angle over a sink, turning the pan to get the flour all around the pan and onto the butter.

After tapping tapping tapping,  your pan will look like this.

Floured bundt pan before tapping

I think I might be weird because I don’t like it when my pan looks like this after flouring. So I turn it upside-down over my sink and tap the edge of the pan on the wall of the sink. All the excess flour falls right out into the sink and you end up with a clean finish.

Floured bundt pan after tapping

I know this seems like a lot of trouble to go to for greasing and flouring a bundt pan, but this method hasn’t failed me yet.

Now to the actual cake!

I decided on a cinnamon swirl coffee cake with a mascarpone maple frosting. I modified both recipes quite a bit so I will be posting them at the end. The original recipes are from Allrecipes.com and The Local Palate.

Preheat your oven to 400 degrees F (205 degrees C).

First, we begin as most cakes do, with beating the butter and sugar together until light and fluffy.

Creaming butter and sugar

Then, add the eggs. The texture of the batter might worry you a little at this point. (Why does it look curdled?) But it all smooths out at the end.

Batter after adding eggs

Then, add the flour and raising agents.

After adding flour

I like the look of this type of cake batter better than the very liquidy type. Maybe I’m just a big fan of pound cake. Spoon half the batter into the bundt pan.

cake batter in the pan

Sprinkle all the cinnamon mixture over this first layer.

cinnamon mixture over first layer

Spoon the other half of the batter over the cinnamon mixture and swirl a knife through it. I made the mistake of using a spatula. That didn’t work so well. I should have used a knife.

Bake for 8 minutes in the preheated oven. Then, lower the oven temperature to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) and bake for 40 more minutes.

bundt cake in the oven

When a tester comes out clean, your cake is done.

baked bundt cake in pan

Now to the moment of truth! But not for another 10 minutes. I leave the pan on my stovetop or a cooling rack for 10 to 15 minutes before tipping out the cake. But… you don’t want to wait too long. It seems that bundt cakes come out better if the pan is still warm.

baked bundt cake out of the pan

This cake came out a little rough around the edges but I think that is because I didn’t spread the batter into the pan as well as I should have. I think it looks a lot like a cruller though this way!

I had a whole container of mascarpone cheese in the fridge so I went for a full mascarpone frosting instead of mixing it with cream cheese. My kids now have a name for this frosting: maple donut frosting. I piped the frosting onto the cake using the star tip  of my Wilton Dessert Decorator. Usually, I can’t use this for decorating because the tips are so huge, but it worked well for this cake.

Wilton dessert decorator

Note: Apparently, regular Wilton tips can be used with this decorator. I haven’t tried those yet. Will have to see how they work.

maple brown sugar cinnamon bundt cake decorated
Slice of maple brown sugar cinnamon bundt cake

As you can see, I didn’t have much of a swirl…. probably because of my attempt to use a spatula instead of a knife to swirl the batter. This cake was very, very yummy though and certainly didn’t last long! I think it was completely gone the next morning after breakfast!

I wasn’t completely happy with the frosting. It’s a little too shiny (or maybe the word is oily-looking?) for me, but my kids loved it. At least they were happy with it!

-Lynn

Here is the recipe!


AuthorLynn-MarieCategoryBundt Cake

Maple Brown Sugar-Cinnamon Bundt Cake with Maple Mascarpone Frosting

Note: Not everyone will have the maple sugar for the cinnamon mixture, so it can be left out. Also, because of the mascarpone frosting, I would not feel comfortable keeping this cake on the counter for more than a day.

Yields12 Servings

Cake Ingredients:
 ¾ cup butter, room temperature
 1 cup white sugar
 3 eggs
 ½ tsp vanilla extract
 ½ tsp maple extract or flavoring
 1 cup sour cream
 2 ½ cups all-purpose flour
 1 tsp baking soda
 1 tsp baking powder
Swirl Ingredients:
 1 tbsp ground cinnamon
 ¼ cup brown sugar
 1 tbsp maple sugar, optional
Maple Mascarpone Frosting Ingredients:
 10 oz mascarpone cheese
 2 oz unsalted butter, room temp
 1 tsp maple extract or flavoring
 9 oz powdered sugar, about 2 cups

Directions:
1

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (205 degrees C). Grease and flour a 10-cup bundt pan.

2

Using a stand or hand mixer, beat the butter and sugar in a large bowl until light and fluffy. The mixture will be very pale. Add eggs one at a time, incorporating each one before adding the next. Mix in the vanilla extract and maple extract or flavoring.

3

Combine the flour, baking soda,and baking powder in a medium bowl. Mix the flour mixture into the cake batter alternately with the 1 cup of sour cream. End with the dry ingredients. Spoon half the batter into the prepared bundt pan.

4

Mix 1/4 cup brown sugar with the 1 Tablespoon ground cinnamon and 1 Tablespoon maple sugar. Sprinkle the cinnamon mixture over the batter in the bundt pan. Spoon the remaining half of the cake batter over the cinnamon mixture in the pan. Swirl through the batter once or twice with a knife.

5

Bake in the 400 degree F (205 degree C) oven for 8 minutes. Then, lower the oven temperature to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) and bake for 40 minutes more, or until a tester comes out clean.

6

Let the cake cool on a rack for 10 - 15 minutes before tipping cake out of the pan. Allow to cool completely on the rack before frosting.

Mascarpone frosting directions:
7

Using a stand or hand mixer, combine the 10 ounces mascarpone cheese and 2 ounces butter in a large bowl until blended. Add the 1 teaspoon maple extract or flavoring and beat until combined.

8

With the mixer speed on low, slowly add the 9 ounces powdered sugar (2 cups) to the mascarpone mixture. Beat until smooth. Store frosting in the fridge until needed.

9

Decorate the bundt cake with the frosting as desired.

Ingredients

Cake Ingredients:
 ¾ cup butter, room temperature
 1 cup white sugar
 3 eggs
 ½ tsp vanilla extract
 ½ tsp maple extract or flavoring
 1 cup sour cream
 2 ½ cups all-purpose flour
 1 tsp baking soda
 1 tsp baking powder
Swirl Ingredients:
 1 tbsp ground cinnamon
 ¼ cup brown sugar
 1 tbsp maple sugar, optional
Maple Mascarpone Frosting Ingredients:
 10 oz mascarpone cheese
 2 oz unsalted butter, room temp
 1 tsp maple extract or flavoring
 9 oz powdered sugar, about 2 cups

Directions

Directions:
1

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (205 degrees C). Grease and flour a 10-cup bundt pan.

2

Using a stand or hand mixer, beat the butter and sugar in a large bowl until light and fluffy. The mixture will be very pale. Add eggs one at a time, incorporating each one before adding the next. Mix in the vanilla extract and maple extract or flavoring.

3

Combine the flour, baking soda,and baking powder in a medium bowl. Mix the flour mixture into the cake batter alternately with the 1 cup of sour cream. End with the dry ingredients. Spoon half the batter into the prepared bundt pan.

4

Mix 1/4 cup brown sugar with the 1 Tablespoon ground cinnamon and 1 Tablespoon maple sugar. Sprinkle the cinnamon mixture over the batter in the bundt pan. Spoon the remaining half of the cake batter over the cinnamon mixture in the pan. Swirl through the batter once or twice with a knife.

5

Bake in the 400 degree F (205 degree C) oven for 8 minutes. Then, lower the oven temperature to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) and bake for 40 minutes more, or until a tester comes out clean.

6

Let the cake cool on a rack for 10 - 15 minutes before tipping cake out of the pan. Allow to cool completely on the rack before frosting.

Mascarpone frosting directions:
7

Using a stand or hand mixer, combine the 10 ounces mascarpone cheese and 2 ounces butter in a large bowl until blended. Add the 1 teaspoon maple extract or flavoring and beat until combined.

8

With the mixer speed on low, slowly add the 9 ounces powdered sugar (2 cups) to the mascarpone mixture. Beat until smooth. Store frosting in the fridge until needed.

9

Decorate the bundt cake with the frosting as desired.

Maple Brown Sugar-Cinnamon Bundt Cake with Maple Mascarpone Frosting

This Post Has 5 Comments

  1. A_Boleyn

    You’re a great mom to make them all those goodies. (You could send me some macarons, if you’re feeling charitable.) I just don’t have the energy to make any and yours looks amazing., plus I used up all my ground almonds making horchata.

    We had snow today and it’s not done yet, but nothing like the amounts predicted for some areas (12-18 inches!!!). In any case, I’m home for March break and plan on roasting a butterball turkey tomorrow (hopefully it’s thawed out) after jointing it. To save myself work, I made dessert today … a dozen cream puffs and a batch of salted caramel sauce today. Stuffed pepper soup is also in the picture.

    1. Lynn-Marie

      I’ve been wanting to make cream puffs! I know choux pastry isn’t supposed to be too difficult but I’ve never made it before so I’m a little afraid to try it!

      1. A_Boleyn

        Make a small batch. Here’s the recipe I always use. You can sub veg oil for unsalted butter if you don’t want to waste your good butter on the trial run. It still tastes good.

        https://aboleyn01.wordpress.com/2015/03/20/cream-puffs-revisited/

        I did a slideshow on flicker with the way it’s supposed to look at the different steps. Check out YouTube too.

        If you can make macarons, you can make cream puffs with your eyes closed. I bake at 350 deg F for the full period. It won’t LOOK like they’re going to rise but they will. After about 35 or 40 minutes, I take out the tray, stick the point of a sharp knife in the side of each one (to let out the steam and help them dry out) and put them back in for another 5 minutes. Tap the bottom with the tip of your finger. They should sound hollow inside. You can also shut off the oven and leave it open a crack with a wooden spoon stuck in the door to help them dry out even more.

        They should NOT fall when you take them out. If they do, you didn’t bake them long enough. Next time, give them another 5 minutes.

        Good luck.

        1. Lynn-Marie

          I will definitely try this! Starting with a small batch is a good idea.

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