MAPLE SAGE AND BROWN BUTTER CAKE

Usually I like to have a wee chat about the recipe before I dive into the ingredients and method, but when it came to this one I realised I’d done all the bloody chit-chatting in the component recipes . . . Classic tangent from me—I got so excited about this cake flavour, but when I realised I was going to need to break it down into component recipes I forgot about the construction recipe here haha. Anyway, I have to say this because my friend Cherie keeps going on about it—she gets credit for inspiring this flavour of cake. Can’t wait to see how many times she credits me in her book!

TIMING

CAKE PREP 30 mins

BAKING 30–40 mins

CHILLING 2 hours

MAKES 3 x 18 cm (7 in) round layers

SERVES approx. 18 (dessert-size serves) when decorated

INGREDIENTS

1 recipe Sage-infused Brown Butter, pre-prepared and at room temperature

500 g (1 lb 2 oz) plain flour

100 g (3½ oz) cornflour (cornstarch)

425 g (15 oz) caster sugar

35 g (1¼ oz) baking powder

10 large sage leaves, finely chopped

5 whole eggs

325 g (11½ oz) milk

50 g (1¾ oz) canola oil

200 g (7 oz) maple syrup

1½ teaspoons vanilla extract

To decorate

1½ recipes Beurre Noisette Buttercream

METHOD

Make sure you’ve prepared your Sage-infused Brown Butter AND LET IT COOL. And keep the sage leaves that you removed from the butter for the decoration.

Preheat your oven to 170°C (325°F). Prepare three 18 cm (7 in) cake tins with cooking spray and line them with baking paper.

Place all the dry ingredients, including your finely chopped sage, in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment and mix on low speed to combine. Add your cooled Sage-infused Brown Butter—this will be soft at room temp, so just scoop the lot of it into the dry ingredients and keep mixing on low until the mixture resembles breadcrumbs.

In a separate bowl, mix together the wet ingredients until combined. Add two-thirds of the wet mixture to the dry ingredients and mix on medium-high until thick and fluffy. Don’t skimp on the fluffiness—you need it for the best finished product. Then add the remaining wet ingredients and mix well until combined and fluffy again. Scoop the mixture evenly into the prepared tins (use scales to get them all the same).

Bake for 30–40 mins until the cakes are golden brown and a skewer poked into them comes out clean. Allow to cool in the tins for 5–10 mins, then turn out onto plastic wrap and wrap tightly.

Place in the fridge to cool for at least 2 hours. This will lock in the moisture and make your cakes nice and chilled when it comes to trimming and icing. Chilled cakes = less crumbliness.

Ice this cake with the Beurre Noisette Buttercream for the full flavour profile I designed. Use the sage leaves that you removed from the infused brown butter to decorate—these are also the best thing I have ever eaten, so maybe make extra as a snack . . . who knew that butter-fried sage leaves could be so tasty?!

For the shoot, I kept the design simple using my raw-textured edge design which you can learn in the instructional here. After stepping back to view the design, I decided to add a second thin layer of vanilla bean Swiss buttercream around the lower third to give an extra dimension to the look. Simple yet effective!