Most people would call them muffins, or maybe cupcakes. But, that sounds so ordinary. You know. Just the same old, same old. Not that I don't make muffins or cupcakes. But when I do, and when I put them on a plate with a sauce and a topping, they become babycakes. And suddenly, they become extraordinary.
This is exactly what happened when I mixed a second bowl full of Maple-Walnut Cake batter that I made for my All About Food newspaper column this week. I greased some glass custard cups, spooned some of the batter into them, filling them almost to the top. They took only about 20 to 25 minutes to bake. Once I took them from the oven, I allowed them to cool in the cups for about 10 minutes, then nudged them out with a table knife and transferred them to a wire rack to finish cooling.
The baked cakes have the texture of moist banana bread. Loads of toasted walnuts give them great crunch, not to mention the health benefits they offer. If you're not a pumpkin pie-lover, I could see this cake, sauce and maple cream topping showing up when it's time for dessert on Thanksgiving.
Sweet Apple Cranberry Sauce takes advantage of the apples and fresh cranberries of the season. Their sweet tartness was meant to be a match for Walnut-Maple Babycakes.
A puff of Maple Cream, a sweet, fluffy adornment on these babycakes, is also decadent on pumpkin or pecan pie, pancakes, waffles, french toast or hot coffee. When I was getting ready to take the photo of the dressed-up babycakes, I pulled out a little covered bowl of what I thought was some leftover Maple Cream. As I stirred it up, I thought it seemed a bit stiff. I decided it must be the maple syrup that kept the whipped cream firm. After placing some of the mixture on top of the little cake, I took a little lick of the spoon. Oh, what a surprise that was. It turned out the little bowl I had taken from the fridge was filled with Sesame Seed Sauce, leftover from an appetizer I had made for guests a few nights ago. Good on the appetizers, not so good on Walnut-Maple Babycakes.
So, I just whipped up another batch of Maple Cream. I used a little for the photo. The rest is in my refrigerator just waiting to be mixed into my morning bowl of hot oatmeal.
Walnut Maple Cake
2-1/2 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons ground nutmeg
1 cup butter, room temperature
1/2 cup firmly packed brown sugar
2 large eggs
1 cup pure maple syrup
1/2 cup hot water
1/2 cup apple cider
2 cups broken walnuts, toasted
Maple Cream
Butter a 9-inch square glass baking dish or baking pan. Line the baking dish with parchment paper, allowing enough so that the edges of the paper come up over the sides of the dish. Butter the bottom of the parchment paper. Set aside. Preheat oven to 325 degrees if using a glass baking dish and 350 degrees if using a metal pan.
Sift flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and nutmeg together. Set aside.
Beat butter at medium speed of an electric mixer until light and creamy. Gradually add brown sugar, beating well. Add eggs, one at a time, beating after each addition. Add maple syrup, beating until incorporated into butter mixture.
Add sifted dry ingredients alternately with hot water and apple cider, beginning and ending with dry ingredients. Mix at low speed after each addition until blended.
Stir the walnuts into the batter. Pour batter into prepared baking dish.
Bake in preheated oven for 45 to 50 minutes or until a wooden pick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool in pan on wire rack.
When ready to serve, hold onto sides of parchment paper and pull the cake out of the baking dish. Cut the cake into 9 pieces. Serve each piece with a big dollop of Maple Cream. Makes 9 servings.
Sweet Apple-Cranberry Sauce
3 tablespoons butter
5 sweet apples, peeled, cored, cut into ½-inch pieces
½ cup sugar
1 cup fresh cranberries
1/3 cup whipping cream
Melt butter in large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the apples. Sauté for 5 minutes. Sprinkle sugar over the apples. Add cranberries. Sauté until cranberries pop, about 5 minutes. Using slotted spoon, transfer fruit to a bowl, leaving any liquid behind in the skillet. Add whipping cream to juices in skillet. Boil until liquid is reduced to 1/3 cup. The mixture will be thick and syrupy. Return fruit to skillet. Stir to coat. Spoon warm Sauce around each little babycake on a dessert plate.
Maple Cream
1 cup cold heavy whipping cream
¼ cup pure maple syrup
Have mixing bowl and beaters chilled for best results.
Beat whipped cream until soft peaks form. Add maple syrup and beat until firm. This recipe easily doubles.
Sue Doeden is a popular cooking instructor, food writer and integrative nutrition health coach. She is the host of Good Food, Good Life 365 on Lakeland Public Television. Her own hives full of hardworking bees and her love of honey led to the creation of her recently published cookbook, Homemade with Honey.