Brown Sugar Maple Cake with Salted Whiskey Frosting
This Brown Sugar Maple Cake is soft & fluffy with a crumb that stays moist for days and toasted pecans for extra crunch and a hint of nutty flavor. Paired with a salted whiskey buttercream, you’ll be craving a slice of this cake every evening! Yields: 28-32 servings
Servings Prep Time
28-32servings 10minutes
Cook Time
25-30minutes
Servings Prep Time
28-32servings 10minutes
Cook Time
25-30minutes
Ingredients
Brown Sugar Maple Cake
Salted Whiskey Buttercream
Instructions
Brown Sugar Maple Cake
  1. Line a rack in the center of the oven and preheat to 350°F. Grease and line a 9″ x 13″ pan and set aside.
  2. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, or in a large bowl using an electric mixer or a wooden spoon, cream together the butter, brown sugar, and oil until well combined. Add in the maple syrup and beat to combine.
  3. Add the eggs one at a time, mixing until fully incorporated between each addition. Add in the vanilla extract and mix until combined.
  4. In a medium bowl, sift together the all-purpose flour, salt, baking powder, baking soda, and cinnamon. If you were using a stand mixer, remove the mixing bowl from the stand. Using a spatula, gently fold in 1/3 of the dry ingredients. Add 1/2 of the milk. Gently fold in the next 1/3 of the dry ingredients. Stir in the rest of the milk and end with the final 1/3 of dry ingredients. Fold until just combined. Add in the toasted and chopped pecans and gently fold until distributed through the batter.
  5. Pour the batter into the prepared baking pan. Gently tap the pan on the counter two to three times. Bake on the middle rack for 25-30 minutes, until the edges begin to pull away from the pan and a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean. Remove from the oven and allow to cool in the pan on a wire rack.
Salted Whiskey Buttercream
  1. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, or using an electric hand mixer, beat the butter on medium speed until smooth, about 3-4 minutes. Turn the mixer down to low and add 1/2 (1 cup) of powdered sugar. As the sugar begins to combine with the butter, raise the speed of the mixer and beat until light and creamy. Lower the speed of the mixer again and add the other half of the powdered sugar. Repeat, mixing on low to keep the sugar from being thrown everywhere and picking up the speed once it starts to combine with the butter.
  2. Add in the whiskey and salt and beat on high for 3-5 minutes, until the buttercream is smooth. Scrape down the sides of the bowl as needed. If your buttercream is too thick, add milk 1 Tbsp at a time until you have an easily spreadable consistency.
  3. Using a rubber spatula or an offset spatula, evenly spread the buttercream over the cake. Don’t be afraid of swirling the buttercream and allowing some texture to show. I usually leave it in the pan and just cut slices from there, but if you want to remove the cake first, do so before applying the buttercream and spread the frosting to the edges. Sprinkle with flaked sea salt. Slice and serve!

Share this: