Maple-Frosted Golden Cake

Maple-frosted golden cake is a proper old-school two-layer cake, the kind that used to live in glass-domed pedestals on diner counters across New England. The cake itself is a straightforward butter-yellow sponge, but the frosting is where things get serious.

The maple frosting is essentially a 7-minute frosting variant, made by cooking pure maple syrup to soft-ball stage and pouring it in a thin stream into stiffly beaten egg whites. The hot syrup cooks the whites as you beat, building a glossy, marshmallow-soft frosting tasting purely of maple, no buttercream sweetness drowning it out.

The two-stage mixing method on the cake batter, beating dry ingredients with shortening and part of the milk first, then adding remaining liquids, builds a fine, even crumb without overdeveloping the gluten.

Pro Tips

• Use real pure maple syrup, not pancake syrup. Pancake syrup is mostly corn syrup and won’t reach soft-ball stage the same way or carry the maple flavor.
• Pour the hot syrup into the egg whites in a thin, steady stream while the mixer runs. Dumping it in cooks the whites unevenly and breaks the foam.
• Cool the cake layers completely before frosting. Warm cake melts the marshmallow frosting into a slumpy mess.
• Test for soft-ball stage with a candy thermometer at 235° to 240°F (113° to 116°C). Eyeballing it is the most common reason home maple frostings fail.

Variations

• Press toasted walnuts or pecans into the sides of the frosted cake for crunch.
• Brush each cake layer with a little maple syrup before frosting for double the maple punch.
• Stir a tablespoon of bourbon into the finished frosting for a maple-bourbon variation.