Miso-Maple Loaf Cake Recipe (2024)

Whenever I make a dessert that requires a lot of zest, I use a peeler to remove the zest--it comes off beautifully with virtually no pith--and then chop it finely in the food processor along with the granulated sugar. More flavor and less work.

I think all miso is considered paste. Re. color: The darker the color the saltier and flavor-intense the miso. Red miso has an intense salty flavor, white miso is sweeter and less intense. Yellow sits somewhere in-between. Given that others have lamented that the miso and maple flavors are not pronounced enough in this cake, I'd opt for yellow if you can find it.

Nice loaf, good texture, easy enough.Still "haunting"? Not really. I would have preferred a pronounced maple taste, and, if I make it again, I will use a tsp of maple extract to boost that flavor.

Maybe swap out some granulated sugar with some maple sugar?

I love Dorie's recipes & this one sounded so appealing! I made it vegan by substituting one flax egg for the two large eggs and using vegan butter and soured almond milk instead of the buttermilk (just add a dash of vinegar to the almond milk and let it sit for 5 min.). I also substituted white whole wheat flour for the white flour, used yellow miso, and amped up the maple syrup to 5 T. I am eating a slice right now - it is delicious, both sweet and savory and has a large but tender crumb.

Is white or yellow miso only available as a paste? Which is better-- white or yellow?

Made this as written except I used 1/4 cup yoghurt as a sub for the buttermilk which I didn't have on hand. Baked in 3 smaller loaf pans. Turned out well, but agree that a bit more maple and even miso flavor would have been good.

I haven't made this yet myself, but I see a lot of people saying they wish the miso/maple flavor were more pronounced. Why not use a miso/maple glaze over it, instead of jam? I'm a little surprised Dorie didn't call for it- I'd love to know why the jam.

I replaced the vanilla extract with maple extract to ensure that maple flavor. Yep!!!

I imagine that the strength of the maple flavor will depend on the grade of maple syrup being used. The lighter grades have a delicate flavor while the darker syrup will be stronger.

My oven runs cool and yet this was still done early at 45 mins! Lovely and not too sweet. To my surprise given the batter, there's not a strong maple or miso flavor at all; the strongest flavor note we tasted was the tangerine zest, and I'd used a small one. Great crumb. The apricot glaze should be required, imho. Perfect with coffee or tea. Ps: I'd love to intensify the maple taste but wonder if increasing the syrup will make it too sweet. Could reduce sugar but that risks the texture. Ideas?

I see some complaint ts about not enough maple flavor. Maple syrup comes in four grades. The darkest syrup is the lowest grade, but it has much more flavor than the light grades.

Just a heads up - I misread the butter as 4 tbsp, but it’s 4 oz, which is actually a whole stick. Don’t make my mistake!

King Arthur Measure for Measure.

made the cake after reading the comments. held my breath about the cake falling (I'm not a great baker, so wouldn't have been surprised.) it didn't. One reader suggested a miso-maple glaze. Tried it; sounded more "right" than the jam. it was amazing -- like sweet/salty caramel glaze. This is a love-it-or-hate-it cake. My household split down the middle, I'm on the love-it side, so will make it again. BTW, used Greek yogurt thinned with milk& a little baking soda for the buttermilk effect

Perfect snack cake. Dress it up/dress it down. Play up the salty, let her be sweet. I had red miso in the fridge and it added a lovely umami. I wanted to play up the savory, so I subbed 1/3 of the butter for bacon fat. It added a dreamy smoky saltiness while not competing with Dorie’s champion flavors. I will make this again and again to eat with coffee.. glass of wine.. salty butter.. Greek yogurt.. Brie and prosciutto.

Made these changes and it turned out great:- only 1/4 cup of sugar (in addition to 1/4 cup of maple syrup)- almond extract instead of vanilla- 1 cup of whole wheat flour, plus 3/4 cup of superfine almond flour- 6 tbsp of olive oil instead of the butterMixed dry and wet ingredients separately (by hand), then added dry to wet, and added the olive oil last. Lined bread pan with parchment paper. Came out perfectly and perfect amount of sweetness (not too much).

Absolutely delicious. I made it without the glaze and loved how the sweet/savory balance

I’ve made this bread before and it was quite tasty. Slight modification which I think further improves it. Use powdered buttermilk and add the appropriate amount to the dry ingredients. Zest and juice the orange. Add 1/3 cup orange juice instead of water or liquid buttermilk to the dry ingredients and otherwise prepare as directed. The taste of orange is more prominent and perfectly compliments the tastes of maple and miso in the bread.

The aroma of the cake baking was tasty. I found premium white miso and had dark maple syrup. I brushed the top with melted apricot jam. It tastes delicious. Thank you Dorie.

I enjoyed this cake (I baked it in a 9x13 pan because I didn't have a loaf pan) a lot and think it has a lot of potential. I agree with a previous commentator, a miso maple glaze is key because the flavors are pretty subtle in the cake. I used a combo of miso paste, powdered sugar, and maple syrup to glaze the cake. I think it really needs something textural, I might candy some walnuts or pecans in maple syrup next time and put those on top!

I only had red miso in hand. it tasted great!

I made exactly as directed, and calling this a “miso-maple” cake is a misnomer - the miso is very subtle, the maple is almost non-existent, and the orange zest is by far the predominant flavor. Strike one.Judged on flavor alone with no preconceptions, it was solid, but unremarkable. Strike two.Then I took others suggestion and dry-griddled both sides of a thick slice. Alas, here’s the “haunting” flavor, as advertised! So, so good! Like a citric French toast, but far better. I’m in love.

Made it with red miso (what I had) and eliminated the called-for salt. Used the zest of a large navel and one clementine. Next time, I’ll mix up the miso and maple syrup first for easier incorporation. We liked it best on day 3. Flavors had melded and slight saltiness was pleasant. May use yellow miso next time. There will be a next time.

To me, this tastes exactly as Dorie Greenspan described it. I don’t taste maple or miso specifically but together they make a savory element that I do taste. I like this and will make again.

It taste great and I love the texture - light and fluffy! I feel like it taste more like orange forward loaf than either maple or miso. Used white miso and dark amber maple and still not getting either very much. Still super tasty and would make it again!

I made this loaf today and I even substituted low-fat yogurt for 1/2 the butter. It couldn't have been more delicious. My whole family loves it!!! 5 stars for sure!

This was a winner! I used brown sugar and lime zest (only because that was what I had on hand), and a very dark maple syrup. The flavors came together with a lovely depth and balance. Will definitely make this again

I was intrigued by this recipe but a bit concerned about the amount of sugar - 3/4 cup plus 1/4 cup maple syrup. I went ahead and made it as written, and it was delicious. Love the complexity that the miso adds, and the orange zest was wonderful. Did not make the orange marmalade glaze, but I expect it would be delicious. I would add it if I were making the cake for company.

OK y'all, I did some major changes but it was amazing. I substituted in 1 cup King Arthur Measure for Measure GF flour and 1 cup of almond flour. For the butter, I substituted in olive oil (8 Tbsp). I omitted all the sugar and just used 3/4 cup maple syrup. And I used goat milk kefir instead of the buttermilk. The miso/olive oil gives savory, the kefir/miso some tang and the maple a really mellow sweetness. The grain of the almond flour with GF flour are spot on. The orange zest is perfect.