Maple cinnamon cake

Every time I see a moving truck parked in front of my building, I get excited: maybe today is the day that I will meet my "future husband" who just so happens to be moving into my building. It's a pretty convenient scenario that I have dreamed up. Of course, my little daydream has yet to pan out into anything real. Sometimes, it's an older boy-girl couple moving into my building; sometimes it's a younger boy-girl couple; sometimes it's a boy-boy couple moving in, and sometimes it's a girl-girl couple (great, but neither are really helping my singledom situation). I'm sure singles move into my building too, but I just never see them. Oh well.



 

Last week, a really cute boy moved into my building, and right down the hall from me. I was most optimistic and initially quite excited. My excitement fizzled to nothing when I saw that somebody had left him an orchid with a note (I am not a stalker, I am just very observant). I am now assuming that he either doesn't swing my way, or he is off the market since, really, how many single, straight men do you know that receive orchids as home welcoming gifts. I'm crossing my fingers that he is actually just an avid orchid-lover who is just dying to meet me.





In the meantime, I have a kit to transform a frog into prince charming (more on that later), as well as a light, moist maple cinnamon cake. And, I have liters of maple syrup to drown my singledom sorrows. I will continue to observe the world through glasses coated in amber maple syrup (made in Quebec, of course), and one day, my "future husband" will cross my path and love me, maple syrup and all.



Well...



At least I have maple cinnamon cake and liters of maple syrup for now...



I mean, realistically, it could be a while!







Maple cinnamon cake

Makes one 9-inch square cake

Recipe adapted from Bon Appétit's recipe for a "gâteau de sirop" featured in the March 2011 issue.



This cake is perfect as is, but would be great with a drizzling of maple syrup and some maple-sweetened whipped cream. This would also make a great layer cake with maple buttercream. Oh yes!

P.S. If you want to remove the cake from the pan, you might want to line it with some parchment on the bottom, just to make it easier to get out in the end.



185 grams (1 1/4 cup) all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp cinnamon
57 grams (1/4 cup) unsalted butter, room temperature
100 grams (1/2 cup) dark brown sugar
2 eggs, room temperature
200 mL maple syrup, medium grade
100 mL evaporated milk
25 mL yogurt (I used 2.5% fat yogurt)
Preheat oven to 350°F.
Prepare a 9-inch square metal pan by greasing and flouring. Set aside.
Whisk together the dry ingredients in a medium bowl. Set aside for later.
In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream the butter and the brown sugar.
Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well between each addition, and scraping the sides as necessary. The batter may look a little curdled if the eggs were a little too cool. That's okay.
Add the maple syrup and mix again. Scrape down the bowl as needed.
In a separate measuring cup (or a small bowl), mix together the evaporated milk and yogurt. Set aside.
To the bowl of the mixer, add one third the dry ingredients, mix until incorporated, then add half the dairy, mix again and scrape the bowl as needed. Continue with another third of dry and the other half of the dairy, and end with the last third of the dry ingredients, mixing well and scraping down the bowl as necessary.
Pour the batter into the prepared pan and bake for 30 minutes or until a cake tester comes out clean. The cake will also pull away slightly from the sides of the pan.
Remove the cake from the oven and cool completely in the pan before serving.
By the way, my photos were inspired by this post from Cannelle et Vanille. This blog is full of jaw-dropping photos and mouth-watering recipes. As I learn to get in touch with my artistic side and to photograph food, I cannot help but imitate those sites that I love and browse constantly. They inspire and teach me.