Maple Tree Cake
Country Woman
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Here's a colorful confection folks will fall for! To top off the scrumptious maple-flavored cake from Lorraine Tishmack of Casselton, North Dakota, our kitchen staff created a chocolate tree with pretty dried-fruit leaves.
SERVINGS: 12
CATEGORY: Dessert
METHOD: Baked
TIME: Prep: 25 min. Bake: 30 min. + cooling
Ingredients:
- 4 eggs
- 2 cups sugar
- 2 cups (16 ounces) sour cream
- 2 teaspoons maple flavoring
- 2-1/2 cups all-purpose flour
- 2 teaspoons baking soda
- Dash salt
- 1/2 cup chopped pecans
- FROSTING:
- 1/4 cup butter, softened
- 3 cups confectioners' sugar
- 1/2 cup plus 1 tablespoon maple syrup
- 1/4 cup semisweet chocolate chips
- 1/4 cup peanut butter chips
- 2 tablespoons dried cranberries
- 2 tablespoons golden raisins
- 2 tablespoons chopped dried apricots
- 2 tablespoons chopped dried apples
Directions:
In a large mixing bowl, beat the eggs and sugar. Add sour cream and maple flavoring. Combine the flour, baking soda and salt; add to sour cream mixture and mix well. Fold in pecans.
Pour into two greased and floured 9-in. round baking pans. Bake at 350° for 30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean. Cool for 10 minutes before removing from pans to wire racks to cool completely.
For frosting, in a mixing bowl, cream butter and confectioners' sugar. Add syrup; mix well. Spread between layers and over top and sides of cake.
In a microwave-safe bowl, melt chocolate and peanut butter chips; stir until smooth. Transfer to a pastry or a heavy-duty resealable
plastic bag; cut a small hole in the corner of bag. Pipe a tree and branches on top of the cake. Combine dried fruit; sprinkle around tree base and at ends of branches to resemble leaves. Yield: 12 servings.