Maple Ginger Cake with Brown Sugar Frosting and Blueberry Compote

I turned 30 on July 31 and finally got around to making myself a birthday cake (Mostly so I could use my new cake stand!!). Rather than going the traditional “birthday cake” route, I decided to bake a cake using this maple sugar I recently purchased from a vendor at my local farmers market! This is now the second recipe I’ve made using maple sugar (my cookie recipe is coming soon), and I absolute love the depth of flavor it brings to my recipes.

Maple sugar is made by boiling sap from a sugar maple tree until almost all of the liquid is gone, leaving a solid sugar (or so I’m told cause I’ve never done it). It’s a great substitute for cane or granulated sugar, which is how I used it in this recipe, and can be purchased easily online. You also can see if there’s a maple syrup vendor at your farmers market as they might have it as well!

I hope you enjoy this cake! Let me know in the comments below how it turned out or share a photo on Instagram and tag @homecourtbakes! 

XO,
Coco

Prep time: 20 minutes
Cook time: 30-35 minutes plus ~1 hour for cooling
Total time:  2 hours
Yields: 1 quarter sheet pan (9-by-13 inches) or 2 9-inch round cake pans

Ingredients for the Maple Ginger Cake:

• 55 grams (1/2 a stick) unsalted butter at room temperature
• 60 grams vegetable shortening
• 200 grams maple sugar
• 100 grams light brown sugar
• 3 large eggs
• 65 grams vegetable oil
• 110 grams buttermilk
• 8 grams vanilla extract
• 245 grams cake flour
• 4 grams baking powder
• 3 grams kosher salt
• 2 tsp ground ginger
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp ground cardamom

Ingredients for the Brown Sugar Frosting:

• 230 grams (2 sticks) unsalted butter at room temperature
• 150 grams light brown sugar
• 2 grams kosher salt
• 1-3 Tbsp. warm milk (if needed)
  • Note: If you want to frost the sides of your cake, you may want to double the frosting recipe.

Fig Jam:

• Since I’m not an expert at making compotes, I recommend following someone else’s recipe. Here’s the one I used.

Instructions:

• Preheat the oven to 350° F.
• Spray the bottom of your pan(s) with baking spray, line the bottom with parchment and spray the top of the parchment and up the sides of your pan.
• Add the butter, shortening and sugars to the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Cream together on high for 2-3 minutes (until light and fluffy). Scrape down the sides of the bowl halfway through and at the end.
• Add the eggs one at a time, making sure each is fully incorporated before adding the next. After adding the last egg, scrape down the sides of the bowl and mix on high for another 4 minutes. Scrape down the sides of the bowl. If there are any streaks of ingredients that aren’t fully incorporated, cream for another 2-3 minutes.
• With the mixer on low, slowly stream in the oil, then the buttermilk and vanilla. When finished, scrape the sides and bottom of the bowl and mix for another 4 minutes on high. When done, the mixture should double in size and be completely homogenous.
• In a separate bowl, whisk together the cake flour, baking powder, salt, ginger, cinnamon and cardamom. Add the dry ingredients into the wet all at once and mix on the lowest speed for 45 to 60 seconds. Finish mixing the dough by hand to ensure the batter is fully mixed.
• Pour the batter into your pan(s) and spread into an even layer.
• Bake for 30-35 minutes, making sure to rotate the pan(s) at 15 minutes to ensure an even bake. At 30 minutes, use your finger to gently poke around the outside and center of the cake. It should bounce back very slightly and not be jiggly at all.
• When baked through, remove the cake from the oven and allow to cool on a wire rack. If using a quarter sheet pan, you can cool the cake in the pan completely. If using round cake pans, I recommend cooling the cakes in the pan for 15-20 minutes and then removing them from the pan to continue to cool.
  • Depending on your pan, you can use an offset spatula or bench scraper to cut around the sides of the cake to loosen the edges and invert it onto a plate. Then remove the parchment paper and invert again onto the wire rack to finish cooling.
• While the cake is cooling, make the blueberry compote according to the instructions on your recipe. Let it cool completely before using.
• Then make the frosting by adding the butter, brown sugar and salt to the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment and beating on high speed until light and fluffy (6-8 minutes). Make sure to check your frosting after beating to make sure the sugar has fully dissolved. If you’re having trouble, you can add a few tablespoons of warm milk to the frosting as you keep beating.
• To assemble this cake, I did a base layer of cake topped with a layer of frosting and then a layer of blueberry compote. Then I added the top layer of cake (making sure to invert it so the bottom of this layer becomes the top of the cake), another layer of frosting and then blueberry compote.
• Enjoy!