Here’s a new twist on a very classic gateau – layers of golden maple flavoured cake, filled with maple coffee mock cream, all decorated with old school piping and topped with maple caramelised pecans.

My big inspiration for Maple Coffee Gateau came from the Colville Cafe on the Coromandel Peninsula in New Zealand – probably more than 15 years ago. At the time the cafe had a pastry chef turned hippie working there, and he turned out the most wonderful patisserie. Croissants, brioches and cakes, he could do them all. We had brought the coffee machine on holiday with us and so we had a great time sampling his baking. One of his cakes was a fully old-school coffee gateau, covered in piped rosettes straight out of the sixties – it even had maraschino cherries on top and crumbed walnuts all over the outside. This is my take on it.

I’ve amped up the coffee flavour by using espresso coffee in the mock cream and given it a little twist with Maple essence which you’ll find in speciality food stores. The decorating is also super fancy looking (but really easy to do) with strips of piped buttercream on the sides of the cake.

It’s just so wonderful, I keep making it again and again. The mock cream is very light and luscious, and not overly sweet, the perfect carrier for the big coffee flavour. Maple essence adds a little extra mouthfeel and aroma to the gateau, and pecans caramelised in real maple syrup, well, they are just the most wonderful garnish I can think of.

Maple Coffee Gateau is a total hit with everyone but the most die-hard coffee haters. I’ve made it for birthdays, desserts, and afternoon teas. You’re going to love it!

Maple Cake

Makes a 20cm square or 22cm round cake – serves about 16.

ingredients

1 1/2 cups sugar
2/3 cup butter, softened
3 eggs
1 tsp maple essence
1 tsp salt
2 1/4 cups flour
3 tsp baking powder
1 cup milk

Coffee Washed Mock cream, recipe below, to decorate
Maple caramelised pecans, recipe below, to decorate
Coffee balls (such as Valhrona), to decorate

mixing 

Prepare the cake pan by lining the base and sides with bake paper. 

Beat the sugar and butter together until light and creamy. Beat in the eggs, one at a time, followed by the maple essence and salt. 

Sift the flour and baking powder into the mixture and add the milk. Mix until well combined. 

Pour the mixture into the prepared pan, and bake for 40-45 minutes at 175 degrees Celsius. The cake will be golden and a skewer inserted into the cake will come out clean when it is done. 

Let the cake cool, and in the meantime, make the Maple Caramelised Pecans and Coffee washed mock cream.

decorating

Trim the top of the cold cake so that it is flat. Split the cake into three even layers. Place the bottom layer of the cake onto a cake board or serving plate. Dollop 1/5 of the Coffee Washed Mock Cream onto the cake, and spread evenly. Place the next layer of cake on top and repeat with the next 1/4 of the remaining mock cream.

Place the final layer of cake on top. Spread 1/3 of the remaining mock cream on the sides and top of the cake (the mock cream will form a thin layer only, which is fine). Ensure that the top of the cake is nice and smooth, by using a hot palette knife (heat the knife in hot water then dry completely before using).

Scoop the remainder of the mock cream into a large piping bag fitted with a star nozzle. I like to use a Wilton 1M for this cake. Pipe stripes of buttercream on the sides of the cake, moving from the bottom to the top with each stripe. Pipe rosettes or stars of buttercream evenly around the top of the cake. I do this by piping at the 4 corners of a square cake (or North South East and West on a round cake), then bisecting the distance between each piped star until there is no more room. Pipe more stars or rosettes on the centre of the cake. 

Decorate the remaining surface of the cake with the maple caramelised pecans and Vahlrona chocolate balls. Chill to set the buttercream, but serve the cake at room temperature.

Maple Caramelised Pecans

30 intact pecan halves 
1/4 cup good quality maple syrup (preferably the darkest grade)

Place the pecan halves into a pan or wok and toss for a minute to warm. Add the maple syrup and continue to toss to coat the nuts, then keep tossing the nuts until the pan starts to smoke (this is the maple syrup caramelising).  As soon as the pan starts to smoke, tip the nuts onto a sheet of bake paper, and separate the nuts so that they cool without sticking to each other. Be careful because the hot sugar will burn you!

Coffee Washed Mock Cream

ingredients

375g unsalted butter at room temperature
1 1/2 cups sugar
1 tsp Maple essence
1 tsp Vanilla essence
1/4 Tsp salt
300ml cold espresso coffee (I use 3 Nespresso pods and top up with water)

mixing

Put the butter and sugar in a large bowl of a stand mixer and beat until light and creamy. Beat in the essences and the salt. Add the cold coffee one tablespoon at a time, beating on high speed until each addition is completely incorporated. It’s essential to add one tablespoon at a time to ensure that the mock cream is perfectly emulsified. As you add the coffee, the mock cream will become very light and fluffy, with a strong coffee aroma. When all the coffee is added, the mock cream will have no sugar granules present. Use the mock cream immediately.

Enjoy!xxx