A few months ago I found a recipe for a Maple Syrup Cake which turned out to be a disaster. The quantities, nor the method seemed correct but I ploughed ahead and baked a dreadful dry and sunken cake. So after a bit of experimentation I now have a recipe I have created for a delicious Maple Syrup, Orange & Pecan Cake with an orange buttercream filling. Even better, you can always swap the Pecans for Walnuts and it will be just as tasty!
Maple Syrup, Orange & Pecan Cake
Ingredients
225g softened butter
225g light brown sugar
350g self raising flour
3 large eggs
100g maple syrup
50g chopped pecan nuts
zest of an orange and 2-3 tablespoons of the juice
half a teaspoon of cinnamon
For the filling:
100g softened butter
300g icing sugar
2-3 tablespoons of orange juice
Method:
Preheat the oven to 160c fan. Grease and line 2 x 20cm/8inch round cake tins.
Cream together the butter and the light brown sugar.
Next add all the other cake ingredients except the pecan nuts and mix 
together.
When the cake is thoroughly mixed together stir in the chopped pecan nuts. I cut mine up into quite small chunks but it is a personal preference.
Once everything is combined, split the mixture between the two tins and bake for 30-40 minutes.
Whilst the cake is cooling you can be making the orange buttercream filling. 
For the smoothest buttercream, first cream the butter then slowly add the icing sugar. Lastly add some of the orange juice until the buttercream is smooth and spreadable.
When the cakes are cool, using a sharp carving or bread knife slice each one into 2 horizontally so you end up with 4 round cakes.
Between each layer of cake spread some orange buttercream and sandwich
them all together until all 4 cakes are on top of one another. And there you have it, a Maple Syrup, Orange and Pecan Cake layered together with Orange Buttercream.
