Maple Walnut Layer Cake
Chiffon Layer Cake - Adapted from the Crisco recipe.[This is an excellent, moist, all-purpose cake recipe, particularly good when you don't want to fuss with the extra steps and tube pan needed for a traditional foam batter. I've made it several times, and it has never failed to perform.]
Ingredients
2 egg whites1/3 cup sugar2 cups sifted cake flour1 cup sugar3 teaspoons baking powder1 cup milk1/2 cup flavorless oil (I used safflower)1 teaspoon vanilla2 egg yolks
Method
Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees F.
In a small bowl, beat egg whites with 1/3 cup sugar until thick and glossy but not stiff. Set aside. Combine flour, 1 cup sugar, baking powder in a large mixing bowl. Add milk, oil, vanilla and egg yolks to the dry ingredients. Beat with electric mixer at medium speed for 3 minutes. Scrape the bowl and beaters frequently (not continually). Fold or stir egg whites into batter until, about 1 minute. Pour into two greased and floured 8-inch layer cake pans. [I used 6-inch X 3-inch round pans.]
Bake for 25-30 minutes or until top springs back when lightly touched. Cool 10-20 minutes before removing from pans.
American Buttercream Frosting (Maple)[This is a standard recipe, using all butter and no trans-fat shortening. If you are not fond of the metallic gritty sweetness of confectioners sugar, you can use glazing sugar, a powdered sugar without cornstarch. King Arthur carries it.]
Ingredients
½ pound butter, softened to room temperature1 pound confectioners sugar (or more)¼ cup milk (or more)1 Tablespoon natural maple extract (much more highly concentrated than maple syrup)Method
In a large bowl, beat butter until creamy and fluffy. Add sugar one cup at a time, beating well between additions. Keep beating until all the sugar is absorbed. Add extract and milk, and resume beating until frosting is smooth and light. Frosting consistency is a matter of taste. You can easily add more sugar to thicken. You can also stretch your ingredients by adding more sugar and milk incrementally until you have doubled the volume. This is especially useful if you have a large cake to frost and don’t want to increase an already high fat content. Keep frosting tightly covered until ready to use to prevent sugar crust. Buttercream does not have to be refrigerated, but should be kept in a cool place so it doesn’t melt.
After filling and decorating the assembled layers, gently press approximately 1 1/2 cups of chopped walnuts into the sides of cake. Cake will develop a natural sugar crust while standing; this is perfectly harmless and adds to its character. Cover with a large inverted plastic bowl to keep it fresh.
Yield – The original recipe without additional sugar and milk will lightly fill and frost an 8-inch, 2-layer cake or two 6-inch cakes split into 2 layers. The cake shown is a 6-inch split into 3 layers. It is lightly filled, but generously decorated. It is very sweet and rich.
Serves 8 - 12 depending on size of wedges cut.