How do pancakes and maple syrup get more exciting? Turn them into a cake.
Food impersonating other food is a dime a dozen these days: cauliflower rice, vegan burgers, nut cheese. I don't have a problem with any of that. Live and let eat, I say. But once in a while, it's nice to come across a dish that merely reminds you of something else — a whisper of a memory rather than a straight-on simulation.
So, do you like pancakes with maple syrup? Good, because then you're going to love this Sour Cream Maple Cake With Maple Buttercream Frosting.
The cake comes together in minutes in a single bowl, which you can clean out and use to make an equally speedy frosting. The cake is lofty, tender and golden. Despite the inclusion of maple syrup, granulated and brown sugars, it does not come across as cloying, or even that sweet at all. The inclusion of sour cream certainly helps, there and in the frosting. That frosting brings a very nice touch (it's fairly rich, which is why we have suggested as many as 16 servings), but know that the cake on its own would make a great addition to a brunch spread.
The only reason I'm resisting making this cake a weekly occurrence is that it does indeed call for more than a cup of maple syrup total. We all know the stuff is not cheap. The flavor, though, is absolutely worth it — at least once in a while — and if you can buy your syrup in bulk or on a visit to a maple-syrup-producing region, all the better. You want to look for dark-grade maple syrup, such as Grade A dark color/robust flavor or Grade A very dark/strong flavor.
Now pull on a flannel, get your fireplace crackling and enjoy this breakfast as cake. Or is it cake as breakfast? Either way, it's a winner.