High Altitude Maple Pound Cake
This high altitude maple pound cake is so incredibly soft, tender and moist, frosted with maple cream cheese buttercream.
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
- Bundt Pan (12 cup capacity) ("Original" bundt pan design)
- Stand Mixer with Paddle Attachment
Ingredients
Cake
- 1 cup unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
- 4 oz full fat cream cheese (block style), softened to room temperature
- 1 ½ cups granulated sugar
- ¾ cup light brown sugar, lightly packed
- 4-5 large eggs (Use 4 or 5 large eggs to equal 1 full cup of eggs, filled to the 8 ounce line in a liquid measuring cup.)
- 4 tsp vanilla extract (you can substitute half the extract with vanilla bean paste or scrape a vanilla bean for a richer vanilla flavor)
- 2 tsp maple extract
- 3 cups cake flour, fluffed, spooned and leveled
- 1 tsp coarse Kosher salt (if using table salt, use half the amount)
- 1 ½ tsp baking powder
- 1 ⅓ cups buttermilk (or use 1 1/3 cups whole milk + 1 tsp white distilled vinegar or apple cider vinegar)
Buttercream
- ½ cup unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
- 4 oz full fat cream cheese (block style), softened to room temperature
- ¼ cup vegetable shortening
- 3 - 3 ¼ cups powdered sugar
- 1 tbsp meringue powder, optional
- ⅛ tsp coarse Kosher salt (if using table salt, use half the amount)
- 1 tsp vanilla bean paste or vanilla extract
- 1 tsp maple extract
Instructions
Cake
- Preheat the oven to 325 F, and position a rack in the center of the oven. Thoroughly grease a 12-cup bundt pan with nonstick baking spray (or use your favorite go to combination of butter/shortening and flour to grease and dust the pan, getting it in all the nooks and crannies.)
- In the bowl of your stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the butter, cream cheese, granulated sugar and brown sugar on medium speed (#4-6 on a Kitchen Aid mixer) for 7 minutes. Scrape the bowl down several times while mixing.
- Beat in the eggs, 1 at a time, beating in each egg on medium speed for 1 full minute before adding the next egg. Add the vanilla and maple extracts.
- In a bowl, sift together the flour, salt and baking powder. With the mixer on low, add the flour mixture in 3 additions, alternating with the buttermilk, starting and ending with the flour. Increase speed to medium and beat for 15 seconds.
- Spread the batter into the prepared bundt pan. Bake for about 50-55 minutes, until a cake tester inserted in the cake comes out clean.
- Set the pan on a cooling rack, and cool for 15 minutes. Invert the cake onto the cooling rack and cool completely before frosting.
Buttercream
- In the bowl of your stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the butter, cream cheese and shortening for 1 minute until smooth.
- With the mixer on low, add the powdered sugar by spoonfuls, the meringue powder and salt, mixing until combined but clumpy. Add the vanilla and maple extract.
- Increase the speed to medium and beat for 4-5 minutes, scraping the bowl down occasionally, until light and fluffy.
- Frost the cooled cake with the buttercream.
Notes
Store the leftover cake in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days.
For a 10-cup bundt pan, scale the recipe down to 3/4. For a smaller 6 cup bundt pan, scale the recipe down to 1/2. You'll have to experiment with shorter bake times, testing the cake for doneness.
You can use all-purpose flour instead of cake flour. Cake flour will make a lighter, fluffier, more tender cake, while all-purpose flour will make it a bit more dense.
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