Walnut, Plum and Maple Cake

Autumn is well and truly here now and what better to feel warm and cosy than with some warm drinks and an Autumny Walnut, Plum and Maple Cake. Crunchy walnuts in a delicately flavoured  maple and cinnamon sponge with a good tart plum jam in the layers, wakes up the taste buds. All topped with maple flavoured buttercream, walnuts and fondant maple leaves. Maybe a little golden glow from the shimmer spray again !

The maple frosting sweetness is held in check by using yoghurt or cream cheese to balance the sweetness. For a change I made this in a ring mould or you could use a bundt tin. However, I forgot the pleasure of trying to slice through walnuts so you may prefer to do it in two or three separate sandwich tins. 

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Ingredients

250g   Butter

250g   Golden Caster sugar 

4 Large eggs

270g   Self raising flour

125g  Walnut pieces

2 tbsp Maple Syrup 

2 tbsp Milk

2 tsp Ground Cinnamon

1 Jar Plum Conserve

500g Icing sugar
250g Butter 

3 tbsp Maple Syrup
1 tbsp Milk  

1 tbsp yogurt or cream cheese

Decorations as desired eg walnuts  & fondant maple leaves

Method:

Preheat oven 160c/140c Fan/325F/Gas Mark 3.

Grease a ring mould or use two sandwich tins and line bottom with baking paper. Quantities are for a deep ring mould 22 cm or  two 18cm cake tins.

Cream the sugar and butter together. Beat in the syrup. Whisk in the eggs one at a time. Fold in the flour and cinnamon. Add milk  to improve consistency.

Place in the centre of the oven. Check after 20 minutes. Cook until risen and a skewer comes cleanly out. Allow to cool.

Chill cake before cutting out  to reduce crumbing.
For cake using the ring mould; the cake was cut into three layers. Cover the two layers with the plum jam, reassemble and chill cake again.

Simple butter cream – whisk butter, and icing sugar and maple together. Add  milk and yoghurt  or cream cheese until smooth enough to be spreadable. Spread on a crumb coat , chill and then spread final layer of buttercream. Decorate as desired. Leave for the buttercream to firm slightly before cutting. Cut into large slices !!