Maple Walnut Bundt Cake
Maple and walnut is a classic fall combination that shines in this maple walnut bundt cake. A simple vanilla bundt cake, filled with maple syrup and chopped walnuts, a thick layer of maple frosting, and topped with homemade maple glazed walnuts. A slice of cake, a mug of tea, and big cozy sweater is all you need to enjoy fall!
What’s your favorite fall flavor? Pumpkin spice? Apple cinnamon? Gingerbread? I’m going to suggest you try something different this fall: maple walnut.
(But if I can’t sway you, then you might be interested in this classic favorite pumpkin chocolate chip bread, some nutella swirl pumpkin bread, or a loaf of apple bread with cinnamon crumble.
Most people probably think of Vermont or Canada when it comes to maple syrup. But did you know that my home state of Pennsylvania produces over 140,000 gallons of maple syrup each year?
Growing up in Harrisburg, we went to the annual Pennsylvania Farm Show every January and stocked up on our PA made maple syrup. (And enjoyed maple frozen yogurt and maple sundaes and maple candy..)
It’s not surprising that I grew up in a real maple syrup loving household. (No Aunt Jemima allowed.) While I’m not really a pancake and syrup eating person anymore, I still love the flavor of maple.
So while everyone else is baking with pumpkin and apples, it’s all about a maple walnut bundt cake over here!
The combination of brown sugar and maple syrup keeps this cake extra moist and maple-y. For even more maple flavor, we’ll include a maple glaze, thick enough to spread with a knife. And let’s top it with some of those maple glazed walnuts I shared earlier in the week.
Worried that your bundt cake will fall apart when you try to take it out of the pan? Or even worse, not come out at all? Do you sometimes have issues with doming, where the batter puffs up too far in the middle of the pan instead of having a flat, level bottom?
Fret not, and click here for all my essential bundt baking tips. You’ll be a bundt cake master in no time at all.
Guys, this maple walnut bundt cake is seriously so good. It’s a bit of an unexpected flavor for a cake but it’s the perfect warm, slightly spiced cake for fall and winter. A big slice of cake, a mug of coffee or tea, and a cozy sweater is all I want right now.
Come on, weather — cooperate with my fall cake dreams!
Most Popular Bundt Cakes
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Maple Walnut Bundt Cake
Maple and walnut are the perfect flavors for your new favorite fall dessert.
Ingredients
FOR THE CAKE:
- 3/4 cup butter, room temperature
- 1/2 cup brown sugar, packed
- 2 eggs, room temperature
- 1/2 cup real maple syrup
- 3/4 cup milk
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
- 2 1/4 cups all purpose flour
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 cup chopped walnuts
FOR THE MAPLE FROSTING:
- 1 to 1 1/2 cups confectioners sugar
- 1/4 cup real maple syrup
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
- maple glazed walnuts
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 °F. Grease a 10 or 12-cup metal bundt pan.
- Using a mixer, beat together the butter and brown sugar in a large bowl on medium speed, until light and fluffy. Add in the eggs, one at a time, followed by the maple syrup, milk, and vanilla.
- Mix in the flour, baking powder, and salt, continuing to mix until no streaks of flour remain. Stir in the chopped walnuts by hand.
- Pour the batter into the prepared bundt pan, spreading evenly with a spatula. Bake for 40 minutes, or until a tester inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean. Cool in the pan for 15 minutes; then transfer to a cooling rack to cool completely.
- To make the frosting, whisk together 1 cup of the confectioners sugar, the maple syrup, and vanilla extract. Add the additional half cup of sugar if a thicker frosting is desired. Spread the frosting on the cake and top with maple glazed walnuts.
Notes
Cake can be made ahead of time and frozen. To freeze, wrap cake in plastic wrap followed by two layers of aluminum foil. Freeze for up to 3 months. Thaw overnight at room temperature before serving.
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This looks delicious! I don’t remember any of the maple things at the PA farm show, probably because I was too focused on the chocoalte milkshakes, next time I make it to the farm show I’ll have to be on the lookout for the maple section!
You just combined two of my favorites: bundt cake and maple syrup! And your pictures are gorgeous! I’ll be putting this on my to try list!
My family loves donuts with maple frosting and nuts on top so I can imagine their shock if they saw a whole cake! This looks delicious!
That maple icing looks delicious! Love the walnut garnishes, I’m going to have to try this:)
Yummy!! I do love 100% maple syrup and the addition of walnuts or pecans is perfect. I can imagine the taste would scream autumn. Your bundt cake looks delicious with the touch of maple frosting on top. A delightful dessert!
Hi Julie, this cake looks so elegant yet has tis cozy fall feel to it. Growing up Italian didn’t come with maple syrup stocked on the shelf. It came later on when we were integrated more into the Canadian culture, and boy was I glad. I loved that caramelized brown sugar flavor and also the color so warm and inviting. It is nice to see that you ventured out of the norm for fall cake recipes and maple walnut in this neck of the woods is always a welcome guest. PA sounds beautiful and I can only imagine the state farm fairs with all those wonderful foods. I am sure Nicoletta would agree that we have to put it on our list of things to experience. Great work on this one Julie.
Have a wonderful weekend and I hope the weather comes through for you!
Loreto@SugarLoveSpices
Oh my goodness, this looks heavenly! My husband would love this. I should surprise him with it! Thanks for the recipe!
This is so beautiful and what a great breakfast item to serve guests during the holidays! Being from Wisconsin, it’s real maple syrup or nothing at our house too!
This looks like a delicious slice of fall!
This is such a fabulous fall flavor combo! Love the garnish on top, too!
Wow bundt cake looks absolutely delicious. Reminds me of cake my grandma makes. It’s perfect fall cake to serve with afternoon tea or coffee. Yum! I need to buy bundt pan!
I definitely love me some pumpkin baked goodness, but this maple walnut bundt cake might juuuuuuust tip the scale. This looks beyond delicious!
This looks delicious and so simple! I absolutely love it.
WOW! This bundt is absolutely perfect! I’m super into maple walnut, and I did not know Pennsylvania produced so much maple syrup! I’d love to get my hands on some of that because, well, I’m a giant fan, too! And a slice of cake, too!
I ove maple flavored cakes!! This one sounds delicious.
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Is the batter supposed to be super thick? I followed the recipe but it came out like cookie dough. I’m concerned if it’s going to rise in the pan or not.
Yes! Bundt cake batters are usually very thick – it helps the cake get a little ‘lift’ since bundt cakes are much denser than layer cakes. Enjoy!
Hi there! I just made this and I had a little bit of trouble. When adding my milk, the batter completely curdled. I know some batters look curdled, but this was on another level, lol. So, I figured that my milk must not have been warm enough. Tried again. Same thing happened. Hate wasting ingredients, so I went ahead and added the flour mixture (I mixed flour, baking powder, 1/4 tsp cinnamon and salt in separate bowl to make sure it was incorporated well) and then everything looked alright. We’ll see! Also, for some reason, there wasn’t enough batter for even a 10 cup bundt, so I can’t imagine using a 12 cup. Would be a short little cake, lol. I don’t think that I did anything to mess that up as I weigh all of my ingredients on a scale. Hopefully it will turn out alright!
Hmmmm, the curdled usually is a mismatch of ingredient temperature, but adding the flour mixture pretty much always fixes it, and it sounds like it does. This is a pretty short cake (as you can see from the pictures) – hope you liked it after it baked!
I made this bundt cake for Thanksgiving and added a tablespoon of bourbon; instead of the frosting, I topped it with a brown butter bourbon glaze. The cake is delicious and released perfectly with an even crust. Great recipe, thank you.
I love bourbon in baked goods – this sounds amazing!!
Hi! This looks great, and I want to try baking it, but do I have to use the round pan or can I use a small pound cake pan (155 x 75 x 65 mm)?
I made this for my son’s birthday. He loves maple so much he named his cat Ms. Maple. He loved/devoured the cake! It was super moist and “mapley” delicious. Followed the recipe as is, so simple.