Today’s high altitude white chocolate maple spice cake features layers of fluffy spice cake, frosted with salted white chocolate maple buttercream, and decorated with handmade white chocolate leaves. This fall themed cake is easy to decorate, but looks beautiful enough for your Thanksgiving dessert table.
You might also love these high altitude recipes for spiced maple cupcakes, maple walnut cake, and iced maple leaf sugar cookies.
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Why You’ll Love This Recipe
Perfect Fall Flavors. You’ll love the way the warm spices in the cake complement the salted maple buttercream with hints of sweet white chocolate. It all works together beautifully in this maple spice cake.
Beautiful Presentation for the Holidays. I love a variety of desserts for Thanksgiving, and a pretty spice cake with edible chocolate maple leaves would look just beautiful next to all the pies.
High Altitude Tested. I develop all the recipes on my site for Denver’s altitude of 5,280 feet. If you’re at a lower or higher elevation, please see my FAQs for guidance on adjusting recipes for your altitude.
See the recipe card at the end of the post for the full ingredients list and instructions.
Ingredients
White Chocolate Maple Leaves
- Fresh Maple Leaves. To make the white chocolate leaves, you’ll need real, fresh maple leaves to imprint on the chocolate. Choose healthy, flexible leaves, not ones that are dry, torn or brittle.
- White Chocolate. For best results, chop up a bar of white chocolate, such as Lindt or Ghirardelli, rather than using white chocolate chips.
Spice Cake
- Flour. I used cake flour for today’s maple spice cake. With its lower percentage of protein than all purpose flour, it makes a lighter, fluffier cake.
- Sugar. Granulated sugar adds sweetness and moisture.
- Baking Powder. Leavening agent.
- Salt. Balances the sweetness and enhances the flavors.
- Spices. A blend of cinnamon, ginger, cloves, allspice and nutmeg adds coziness and warmth.
- Eggs. Add moisture and strength.
- Buttermilk. Adds moisture and fat, while the acidity makes a very tender cake. You can also use whole milk with a little apple cider vinegar, if you don’t have buttermilk.
- Vegetable Oil. Moisture.
- Vanilla Extract. Flavor.
White Chocolate Maple Buttercream
- White Chocolate. For best results, chop up a bar of white chocolate, such as Lindt or Ghirardelli, rather than using white chocolate chips.
- Butter. You can use either salted or unsalted butter for today’s recipe. I used unsalted, and then added salt. The salt is important to the flavor, as it nicely complements and balances the sweetness of the white chocolate and the maple extract.
- Powdered Sugar. Sweetens and thickens the buttercream.
- Meringue Powder. Adds stability and improves the texture.
- Vanilla + Maple Extract. Flavor.
Instructions
White Chocolate Maple Leaves
- Choose your leaves, making sure they’re healthy and flexible, not dry, torn or brittle. Small to medium-sized leaves work best for this cake design. Wash and dry the leaves well, and make sure no moisture is lingering on the leaves.
- Melt the chocolate over a double boiler, then remove from the heat.
- Arrange the leaves on a parchment lined baking sheet, with the bottom, veiny side of the leaves facing up.
- Use a craft brush to brush the melted chocolate onto the leaves. You want to make sure to layer the chocolate on thickly enough. If it’s too thin and translucent, the leaves will be too delicate and can easily break. Make the white chocolate thick enough that you cannot see the leaf through the chocolate.
- Once all the leaves are covered with chocolate, place the pan in the refrigerator for 10-15 minutes, to allow the chocolate to firm up.
- Gently, peel the leaves off the chocolate. Store the chocolate leaves in an airtight container in the refrigerator until ready to decorate your cake.
- If you like, you can use edible luster dust or shimmer powder in shades of yellow, gold, red or bronze to “paint” your leaves.
Spice Cake
- Preheat the oven to 350 F, and position a rack in the center of the oven. Spray the bottoms of three 6-inch cake pans with non-stick baking spray. If you don’t have 6-inch pans, you can use two 8-inch pans instead.
- In a large bowl, sift together the flour, sugar, baking powder, salt and spices.
- Separately, whisk together the eggs, buttermilk, oil and vanilla. Add the dry ingredients to the wet, and whisk just until combined.
- Divide the batter between the prepared pans, and bake for about 22-25 minutes, until a toothpick or cake tester comes out clean, and the top of the cake springs back when gently touched.
- Set the pans on a cooling rack and cool the cake completely before frosting.
White Chocolate Maple Buttercream
- Melt the chocolate over a double boiler, then remove from the heat. Set aside to cool for about 10-15 minutes. The chocolate should still be melted and smooth, but no longer warm.
- In the bowl of your stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the butter for 1 minute until smooth.
- With the mixer on low, add the powdered sugar, meringue powder and salt, mixing until combined. Add the vanilla and maple extracts.
- Increase the speed to medium and whip for about 4-5 minutes, scraping the bowl down several times, until light and fluffy. Add the melted white chocolate and beat for 1 more minute on medium speed, then turn the speed down to “stir” and mix for 1 minute.
- Stack, fill and frost the cooled cakes with the buttercream, then decorate with the white chocolate leaves.
Be sure to read all of my BAKING FAQs where I discuss ingredients, substitutions and common questions with cake making, so that you can be successful in your own baking! I also suggest reading these comprehensive posts on making Perfect American Buttercream, How to Stack, Fill, Crumb Coat and Frost Layer Cakes and How to Use Piping Bags.
Frequently Asked Questions
How should I store leftover cake?
Store leftover cake in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 2 days.
Can I use maple syrup instead of maple extract?
No, you cannot substitute maple syrup for maple extract. The flavor in maple syrup is not nearly concentrated enough to add enough maple flavor to your buttercream.
Can I make the cake or chocolate leaves in advance?
Yes. You can make the leaves and keep them refrigerated in an airtight container until needed. You can bake, assemble and frost the cake, then freeze it in an airtight container for up to 2 weeks. Thaw overnight in the refrigerator, then let come to room temperature for 5-6 hours before serving. Decorate with the chocolate leaves.
If I double the cake recipe, what size pans should I use?
Today’s recipe makes a cake that yields about 10-12 servings, and you can bake it in three 6-inch pans or two 8-inch pans. For a larger cake that serves up to 20, double the cake recipe, and bake it in four 8-inch pans or three 9 or 10-inch pans.
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High Altitude White Chocolate Maple Spice Cake
All recipes on Curly Girl Kitchen are developed for high altitude at 5,280 feet. See FAQs for adjusting to higher or lower elevations.
Equipment
- Stand Mixer with Paddle Attachment
- 6-inch Round Cake Pans (x3) or 8-inch Round Cake Pans (x2)
Ingredients
White Chocolate Maple Leaves
- 10-12 medium-sized fresh maple leaves
- 4 ½ oz white chocolate
Spice Cake
- 2 ¼ cups cake flour, fluffed, spooned and leveled
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 2 tsp baking powder
- ½ tsp coarse Kosher salt (if using table salt, use half the amount)
- 1 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1 tsp ground ginger
- ½ tsp ground cloves
- ½ tsp ground allspice
- ¼ tsp ground nutmeg
- 3 large eggs
- 1 cup buttermilk (or 1 cup whole milk + 2 tsp apple cider vinegar)
- â…” cup vegetable oil
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
White Chocolate Maple Buttercream
- 3 oz white chocolate
- 1 ½ cups unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
- 3 cups powdered sugar
- 2 tsp meringue powder, optional
- 1/4-1/2 tsp coarse Kosher salt (if using table salt, use half the amount)
- 1 ½ tsp vanilla extract
- 1 ½ tsp maple extract
Instructions
White Chocolate Maple Leaves
- Choose your leaves, making sure they're healthy and flexible, not dry, torn or brittle. Small to medium-sized leaves work best for this cake design. Wash and dry the leaves well, and make sure no moisture is lingering on the leaves.
- Melt the chocolate over a double boiler, then remove from the heat.
- Arrange the leaves on a parchment lined baking sheet, with the bottom, veiny side of the leaves facing up.
- Use a craft brush to brush the melted chocolate onto the leaves. You want to make sure to layer the chocolate on thickly enough. If it's too thin and translucent, the leaves will be too delicate and can easily break. Make the white chocolate thick enough that you cannot see the leaf through the chocolate.
- Once all the leaves are covered with chocolate, place the pan in the refrigerator for 10-15 minutes, to allow the chocolate to firm up.
- Gently, peel the leaves off the chocolate. Store the chocolate leaves in an airtight container in the refrigerator until ready to decorate your cake.
- If you like, you can use edible luster dust or shimmer powder in shades of yellow, gold, red or bronze to "paint" your leaves.
Spice Cake
- Preheat the oven to 350 F, and position a rack in the center of the oven. Spray the bottoms of three 6-inch cake pans with non-stick baking spray.Baker's Note: If you don't have 6-inch pans, you can use two 8-inch pans instead.
- In a large bowl, sift together the flour, sugar, baking powder, salt and spices.
- Separately, whisk together the eggs, buttermilk, oil and vanilla. Add the dry ingredients to the wet, and whisk just until combined.
- Divide the batter between the prepared pans, and bake for about 22-25 minutes, until a toothpick or cake tester comes out clean, and the top of the cake springs back when gently touched.
- Set the pans on a cooling rack and cool the cake completely before frosting.
White Chocolate Maple Buttercream
- Melt the chocolate over a double boiler, then remove from the heat. Set aside to cool for about 10-15 minutes. The chocolate should still be melted and smooth, but no longer warm.
- In the bowl of your stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the butter for 1 minute until smooth.
- With the mixer on low, add the powdered sugar, meringue powder and salt, mixing until combined. Add the vanilla and maple extracts.
- Increase the speed to medium and whip for about 4-5 minutes, scraping the bowl down several times, until light and fluffy. Add the melted white chocolate and beat for 1 more minute on medium speed, then turn the speed down to "stir" and mix for 1 minute.
- Stack, fill and frost the cooled cakes with the buttercream, then decorate with the white chocolate leaves.
This cake is absolutely gorgeous. Can’t wait to try it.
Delicious! So moist and flavorful! I picked some leaves off a non maple tree and honestly they were a little too soft to make good molds and the chocolate kept sticking. Next time I think I’ll try oak leaves since they are stiffer.
Hi! I’d like to use (3) 8 inch pans so I can get some height. What changes would I need to make?
You can double the cake recipe for a taller 8 inch cake.