flour bakery cranberry maple pecan cake

flour bakery cranberry maple pecan cake

• 27 Jun 2022

I've had this recipe bookmarked since last year's lockdown, an oldie but a goodie from Joanne Chang of Flour Bakery. As the cake contains cranberries, pecans and maple syrup it would make the perfect Thanksgiving cake. 

Even though the original recipe made a loaf cake, I really wanted to make it in a bundt tin because bundt cakes are so pretty. 

Here are all the reasons why you shouldn't bake this cake in a bundt tin. There is maple syrup in the batter and despite how well greased and floured the tin is, as the maple syrup cooks it welds the cake to the tin. 

Secondly, the bundt tin I used is probably closer to a 4 cup tin than a 5 cup tin and the batter overflowed during baking, something I didn't realise until I took the cake out of the oven. The excess batter overflowed into the central hole, once again welding the cake firmly to the tin. 

It took 30 minutes of cooling time with the cake upside down and loads of encouragement from an offset spatula before the cake finally released. You may notice the exterior of cake isn't pristine but I was just grateful the cake came out in 1 piece and not 6 pieces. So please, don't bake this cake in a bundt tin, go the easy route and bake it in a baking paper lined loaf pan. It will be so much easier to unmould.

 

Here's the recipe for you, which will make a 9 x 5 inch loaf or a 5 cup bundt cake. For all my recipes I use a 250 ml cup, a 20 ml tablespoon, unsalted butter and 60g eggs. My oven is a conventional oven so if you have a fan-forced oven you may need to reduce the temperature by 20°C. I've made this cake twice now and have made quite a few changes to the original recipe, the link to which can be found below.

Cranberry Maple Pecan Cake -  adapted from ‘Flour’ by Joanne Chang.

Cake
50 gm toasted pecans, coarsely chopped
1 cup (150g) plain flour
1 tbs (10g) cornflour
1 tsp baking powder
¼ tsp bicarb soda
pinch salt
⅔ cup (145g) caster sugar
100g unsalted butter, at room temperature, cut into 6 pieces
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract
80 mls maple syrup
100 grams fresh or frozen cranberries (not thawed), coarsely chopped

Icing
½ cup (75g) icing sugar, sifted
1 tsp melted unsalted butter
½ tsp maple extract
1-2 tbs boiling water or milk
pinch of salt

To decorate
2 tbs coarsely chopped toasted pecans
2 tbs chopped dried sweetened cranberries

Method
Centre the rack in the middle of the oven. Preheat the oven to 180°C, conventional. Grease and line a small 9 x 5 inch loaf pan with baking paper or grease and flour a 5 cup bundt tin. Set aside.

Cake
Sift the flour, cornflour, baking powder, bicarb soda and salt into the bowl of a stand mixer with the paddle attachment attached or you can use a handheld mixer. Add the sugar and cubed butter and mix together on medium speed for 3-4 minutes or until the butter is completely mixed in. It should look like coarse meal. If you are using a handheld mixer, you may need to add on a few more minutes.

Place the eggs, vanilla and maple syrup into a jug and whisk together. Add half of the mixture to the butter/flour mixture and beat on medium-high speed for about 1 minute, or until the mixture is pale, light and fluffy. Scrape down the bottom and sides of the bowl as needed with a rubber spatula to make sure all of the ingredients are evenly incorporated. On low speed, add the remaining egg mixture and beat for about 30 seconds. Scrape down the bowl again, turn the mixer to medium speed and mix for another 30 seconds. If the batter is looking too thick then add a tablespoon or so of milk, yoghurt or buttermilk. Use the spatula to fold in the cranberries and pecans then scrape the batter into the prepared pan and smooth the top.

If baking a loaf cake, bake for 60-70 minutes or until the cake is golden and springs back when your press it in the middle with your finger. If the cake is browning too quickly cover with foil or baking paper. You can also use a cake tester and insert it into the centre to see if it comes out clean. A bundt cake will take 40-50 minutes to bake. 

Transfer the cake to a wire rack and let cool for at 30 minutes before unmoulding and removing the baking paper. If making the cake in a bundt tin, cool for 10 minutes before turning out onto a wire rack. Allow the cake to completely cool before icing.

 

 

 

Icing 

Once the cake has cooled, make the icing. Place the icing sugar in a small bowl. Add the melted butter, the maple extract and sufficient boiling water to make a thick but pourable glaze. Add a pinch of salt to counterbalance all the sweetness. If you don't have any maple extract, then just use maple syrup to make the icing. You won't need to use any water or milk.  

 

 

 

Place a tray underneath the cake or a piece of baking paper to catch the drips. Spoon the icing over the cake, letting it run down the sides. If you like, you can decorate the top of the cake with some chopped toasted pecans and cranberry pieces. Let the icing set for about 10 minutes before doing so. 

 

 

 

Allow the icing to completely set before cutting into thin slices. The cake will keep for a few days at room temperature, well-wrapped in plastic wrap.

 

 

This is a nice light cake with a subtle maple flavour. The cranberries give that little pop of freshness and it was a big hit at work.

See you all again next week with some more baking from my kitchen.

Bye for now,

Jillian