Maple Walnut Cake

Ingredients:

Glaze

• Whites of 5 large eggs
• 1 and 1/4 cups maple sugar
• 440 g unsalted butter, cut into small pieces (room temperature)
• 3/4 tsp maple extract

Cake and filling

• Basic vanilla sponge cake (see recipe below), bake and cool
• 2 jars of 140g walnuts in syrup, drained (do not pour out the syrup) + extra for decoration

Basic vanilla sponge cake

• 220g unsalted butter, room temperature, plus extra for greasing pans
• 3 cups all-purpose flour, plus extra for dusting the pans
• 1 tbsp baking powder
• 0.5 tsp salt
• 1.5 cups of sugar
• 4 large eggs at room temperature
• 1 tbsp vanilla extract
• 3/4 cup heavy cream

Preparation:

1. Prepare the glazeIn a heatproof bowl set over a saucepan of simmering water (the bottom of the bowl should not touch the water), whisk the egg whites and maple sugar until hot and the sugar dissolves, about 5 minutes.
   
   Remove the bowl from the pan and beat with a mixer on high speed until stiff, glossy peaks form, about 5 minutes. Beat in the butter a few pieces at a time, then continue beating until smooth. Don't worry if the glaze looks flaky at first; keep beating until it becomes smooth. Stir in the maple extract.
2. Assemble the cakeUse a toothpick to poke holes all the way around the top of the cake layers. Drizzle the remaining nut syrup over the layers and let it soak in.
   
   Coarsely chop the walnuts. Transfer 1 cup of glaze to a medium bowl; stir in the chopped walnuts. Place one cake layer on a serving platter and spread the nut glaze over it. Place the second cake layer on top. Cover the entire cake with the remaining maple glaze. Garnish with the remaining walnuts.

3. Basic vanilla sponge cake

   
   Preheat oven to 350°F (175°C). Grease two 9-inch round cake pans with butter and line the bottoms with parchment paper. Grease the parchment paper and dust the pans with flour. Shake out any excess flour.
   
   In a bowl, combine 3 cups of flour, baking powder, and salt. In a large bowl, beat 220g of butter and sugar with a mixer on medium-high speed until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Reduce mixer speed to medium; beat in the eggs one at a time, scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed. Stir in the vanilla extract. The mixture may appear to separate at this point.
   
   In a liquid measuring cup or bowl, combine 0.5 cups of water with the cream. Fold the flour mixture into the butter mixture in 3 additions, alternating with the cream, beginning and ending with the flour, and knead until smooth.
4. Divide the batter evenly among the prepared pans. Bake until the cakes are lightly golden on top and spring back when lightly pressed, 25-30 minutes. Transfer to wire racks and let cool for 10 minutes, then run a knife around the edge of each pan and invert the cakes onto the racks to cool completely. Remove the parchment. Using a long serrated knife, trim off any domed tops of the cakes to make them even.