Maple Toffee Cake
Our latest dessert is a homemade Maple Toffee Cake! Maple is such a delicious flavor for fall, and toffee pairs with it perfectly!
This cake is moist, fluffy, and tender with all of the flavors that we crave, especially in the fall! If you love toffee cakes, don't miss our Toffee Pecan Bundt Cake also!
Maple flavored cake layers are speckled with toffee bits, lightly glazed with maple syrup, and frosted with a maple cream cheese frosting.
This flavorful fall dessert is sure to please, whether you are serving it for a fall birthday, Thanksgiving, or just because!
Table of Contents
How to make Maple Toffee Cake
- You can find our full, printable Maple Toffee Cake recipe further down in this post, but here is a quick rundown of our steps!
- First, preheat the oven to 325 degrees F, grease and flour three 8x2 inch round pans or two 9 inch round pans. I also like to line my pans with circles of parchment paper.
- In a medium bowl, whisk the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt for 30 seconds. Set aside.
- Next, in other bowl, add the buttermilk, vegetable oil, maple extract and maple syrup. Set aside
- In the bowl of your mixer, add the softened unsalted butter and mix at medium speed until smooth. Gradually add the sugar and continue to mix on medium speed for 3 to 5 minutes until it is fluffy. Gradually add the eggs one at a time.
- Alternately add the flour mixture and buttermilk mixture, beginning and ending with the dry ingredients (3 additions of dry ingredients and 2 of wet ingredients)
- Finally, fold in the toffee bits and divide the cake batter between the three prepared cake pans.
- Bake at 325 degrees 22 to 25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean or with just a few crumbs attached. Let cool 5 to 10 minutes and turn out.
Easy Maple Cream Cheese Frosting
We decided to frost our cake with a delicious Maple Cream Cheese Frosting. (We've used this recipe in the past on our Apple Walnut Cake).
You can whip up a batch of this dreamy frosting in no time! I love cream cheese frostings because they are silky smooth, a bit less sweet, and have that hint of tanginess that goes perfectly with so many cake flavors!
The recipe is a combination of softened butter, cream cheese, confectioners sugar, and maple syrup and maple extract. It is so creamy and easy to work with.
Cream Cheese Frostings are Softer!
Keep in mind that cream cheese frostings are softer than your usual buttercream frostings and so you'll likely need to chill it now and then to keep the consistency nice and thick. I chill my cream cheese frostings right after preparing the recipe for about 15 minutes or so before frosting the cake.
If at any time the frosting becomes too soft as you are working with it, just pop the piping bags or bowl of frosting into the refrigerator to firm things up.
Also, if your cake shifts at all as you're frosting it, place it in the freezer for about 15 minutes. I like to chill my tier right after applying a thin crumb coat to firm things up before applying the final coat of frosting. Firm/chilled cakes are always easier to work with.
**Cakes that are frosted with this Maple Cream Cheese Frosting (or any cream cheese frosting) should be refrigerated until within a couple of hours of serving.
Buttercream alternative to Maple Cream Cheese Frosting
If you're looking for a less perishable frosting or simply aren't a fan of cream cheese (gasp!) we have a delicious Maple Buttercream Frosting recipe also! You can find it included in our Maple Pecan Cake recipe- super easy and so flavorful!
Assembling the Cake
Once you're ready to assemble the Maple Toffee Cake, place the first cake layer on your cake plate or pedestal.
Next, lightly brush the top of the cake layer with maple syrup. (I applied mine with a silicone pastry brush).
The maple syrup sinks right into the cake layer and I followed with a layer of maple cream cheese frosting.
Sprinkle with toffee bits and then apply the second cake layer. Repeat the steps and then apply the third cake layer.
Decorating the Cake
I frosted the maple toffee cake with maple cream cheese frosting. I often like to apply a thin crumb coat of frosting first, chill the cake in the freezer for 15 minutes, and follow with the second coat. This keeps everything nice and firm while decorating.
Next, I smoothed around the sides of the cake with a warm bench scraper before using a small tapered offset spatula to create diagonal lines around the sides of the cake.
My bottom border is made up of toffee bits which I gently pressed around the base of the cake. I piped a top border using shells and stars using a large 2D piping tip.
I also piped a few dots here and there for accents using a tip 3.
More Fall Cakes to Try
This Maple Toffee Cake is a perfect dessert no matter what time of year, but it's an especially great cake recipe for fall.
You can find this and many more fall favorites in our Cake Recipes section! If you love cakes with toffee, our Toffee Pecan Caramel Cake is another great recipe to try.
We also have a delicious Maple Pound Cake, Maple Pecan Cake, Maple Carrot Cake, and Maple Pecan Doctored Cake Mix Recipe if you need more maple desserts in your life!
We have all sorts of cozy fall cake flavors from caramel cakes, to latte cakes, pumpkin spice cakes, gingerbread cakes, sweet potato cake, and so many more.
You can find a full listing of fall favorites here: 50+ Favorite Fall Cake Recipes and Designs.
Enjoy the Recipe!
Thanks so much for stopping by! If you give this maple toffee cake a try, we would love for you to leave a comment and photo below!
Maple Toffee Cake
This moist and delicious Maple Toffee Layer Cake recipe is so flavorful and perfect for fall entertaining!
Ingredients
- 1 ½ sticks (170g) unsalted butter, softened
- 2 cups (400g) sugar
- 4 large eggs
- 3 cups (342g) cake flour ( see Notes below for cake flour substitution)
- 2 teaspoons (8g) baking powder
- ½ teaspoon (3g) baking soda
- ½ teaspoon (3g) salt
- 1 ¼ cup (296g) buttermilk (see Notes below for substitution)
- ¼ cup (54g) vegetable oil ( I used canola oil)
- 1 teaspoon (4g) maple extract
- 2 Tablespoons (26g) maple syrup
- ½ cup (72g) toffee bits
Maple Cream Cheese Frosting
- 2 sticks (226g) unsalted butter, slightly softened
- 2 (8oz) packages cream cheese (453 total gram weight of 2 packages) softened
- slightly. Use full fat cream cheese. Do not use reduced fat
- 1 Tablespoon maple syrup (optional)
- 2 teaspoons (8g) maple extract
- 6 to 6 ½ cups (690g to 747g) powdered sugar, adding more if necessary
Assembly/Decoration
- We used additional maple syrup to lightly brush the layers. We also sprinkled toffee bits between the layers and pressed additional toffee bits into the frosting for the bottom border.
- We created impressions in the frosting with a small offset spatula and piped stars and dots around the top border with a 2D star tip and tip 3 round tip.
Instructions
Preheat the oven to 325 degrees, grease and flour three 8x2 inch round pans or two 9 inch round pans.
In a medium bowl, whisk the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt for 30 seconds. Set aside.
In other bowl, add the buttermilk, oil, maple extract and maple syrup. Set aside
In the bowl of your mixer, add the butter and mix at medium speed until smooth. Gradually add the sugar and continue to mix on medium speed for 3 to 5 minutes until lightened in color and fluffy. Add the eggs one at a time mixing until the yellow of the yolk disappears.
Alternately add the flour mixture and buttermilk mixture, beginning and ending with the dry ingredients (3 additions of dry ingredients and 2 of liquid)
Fold in the toffee bits.
Do not mix above medium speed or over mix the cake batter.
Bake at 325 degrees 22 to 25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean or with just a few crumbs attached. Let cool 5 to 10 minutes and turn out.
For the Maple Cream Cheese Frosting
Cut the butter into ½ inch slices and add to the bowl of your mixer, mix on medium speed until smooth
Cut the cream cheese into pieces and add to the butter, mixing on medium speed until well blended.
Add the maple syrup and maple extract
Gradually add powdered sugar and mix until well blended. Do not over mix or beat above medium speed . If beaten too long it will become very soft. If this happens, just put in the refrigerator for a short while to firm it up a bit, then frost the cake.
This frosting will pipe best if used while chilled. You can make in advance, refrigerate and when ready to use let it soften slightly and remix. Do not microwave to soften.
Decorating the Cake
Place the first cake layer on the cake plate or pedestal.
Lightly brush with maple syrup (I used a silicone pastry brush).
Spread on a layer of maple cream cheese frosting. Sprinkle with toffee bits (optional).
Add the next cake layer and repeat above steps (syrup glaze, filling, toffee bits). Finish with the final cake layer. Frost the cake to your liking (I textured around the sides with an offset spatula, spread a thin amount of syrup on top of the chilled cake (optional), added a bottom border of toffee bits and top border with a large star tip and small round piping tip accents).
Notes
The recipe makes 71/2 cups batter
If you do not have cake flour, measure out 3 cups of all purpose flour (not self-rising). Remove 6 Tablespoons of the AP flour and replace with 6 Tablespoon cornstarch (corn flour in the UK).
Whisk to blend.
Buttermilk substitution — In a measuring cup add 1 Tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon vinegar, add milk to reach the 1 ¼ cup mark. Stir and let sit 5 minutes.
The recipe can be baked in a 9x13 sheet pan. Bake for 350 degrees for 35 to 40 minutes.
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Looks and sounds delish as always! :-)
Please help. I have made the layers twice taking extra care the second time since the first attempt was a flop. But yet again the center is not getting done when the edges are ready. When the center is finally set, it collapses when I take them out of the oven. Is 325 degrees correct? My oven is calibrated so I know the temp is correct. (Maple Toffee Cake)
Hi Karen, I am very sorry you had this problem. Did you test your cakes using a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake? The cake is done when the toothpick comes out clean or with just a few crumbs attached. In addition, you can press the center lightly and it should spring back when done. Did you use 8x2 inch pans? Pans that are extra deep take longer for the center to get done. Incorrect amounts of baking powder or baking soda can cause a problem. You can increase the baking temperature to 350 degrees if you like, just keep an eye on the cakes.
Thanks for your response. I just made them for the third time. The centers just will not bake evenly with the edges. I have a great deal of experience baking (I sell a few of my cakes) and this is absolutely the most frustrating thing I have had happen in a long time. This time the center finally got done (32 mins.) but still sank. Thankfully not as much so I can cover it with filling.
I used an oven thermometer and cooked at about 335-40 degrees. I baked your Apple Toffee Caramel Cake layers yesterday and they were perfect! Aughhhhhh!
Thanks again for responding.
Karen
Hi there,
Is it possible to use maple syrup instead of maple extract for this recipe?
I'm sorry but maple syrup won't give you the depth of flavor that maple extract does.
I made this cake today (in a 9x13 pan). I had my temp set at 350 and it took about 50 minutes to totally set in the middle even though the outer edges were baked more. The batter is quite similar to angel food cake in my opinion. I placed a sheet of foil over the top of the cake at the 40 minute mark and that seemed to help a little with the edges. Very odd cake to bake, but it looks like it'll taste yummy.
Hi Theresa- I hope you enjoy the cake! In the future, if you'd like to improve even baking, you can use one or two rose nails (often used for piping buttercream flowers) in the center of the sheet cake. This will act as a heating core. Just lightly grease the nail, flip it upside down, and pour the batter in the pan. When you flip out the baked layer, you'll just pull out the nail.
Do you have another frosting recipe? I do not like cream cheese. Thank you.
Hi Kathy, Maple Buttercream is a good option also. We used it for this recipe:
https://www.mycakeschool.com/buttercream-scratch-recipe/