Pecan Cake

Pecan cake is probably my favorite way to enjoy pecans. I’ll take a slice of pecan cake over a piece of pecan pie any day of the week. This is a recipe for a cake that my mom has been making for as long as I can remember: a layered yellow cake with pecan praline frosting.

—First, spread out the raw pecan halves on a baking pan or cookie sheet and as you spread them out, sift through them for any bits of pecan shell that have been sneaky enough to make it as far as they did and eliminate them. Look closely, they’re sneaky, and nobody wants to crunch on a pecan shell when they’re biting into your pecan cake.

—Roast the pecans in a 375 degree oven for three to four minutes. This light roasting brings out the maximum pecan flavor. Set the pecans aside and let them cool.

—Prepare two small round (or oval) yellow cakes. Eight-inch pans work well. My mom uses a Betty Crocker or Duncan Hines yellow cake mix. Keep it simple. The real star of the recipe is the frosting; the yellow cake plays a supporting role.

—As the cakes are baking, prepare the praline frosting.

PRALINE FROSTING

3 cups raw pecan halves

1 tablespoon butter

1 1/4 cup milk

1 1/4 cup sugar

—Grind the lightly roasted pecans or chop them by hand into fine pieces.

—In a heavy saucepan melt the tablespoon of butter and add your ground pecans; stir to coat.

—Add milk and sugar and stir over medium heat for 15-20 minutes until the mixture thickens to almost a paste.

—As you stir, keep an eye out for dark bits of shell that have managed to slip through to this stage and eliminate them. I told you they were sneaky.

—Cut the two cakes into four layers. Two of those layers (the top layers) will be rounded. That’s what happens to cakes when you bake them. Set aside one of those rounded layers to serve as the top layer of the cake. The other rounded top layer is actually going to be the bottom of the whole cake. If you shave off the rounded part and turn the layer upside down, it’s going to rest flat on your cake stand.

—Frost this layer with one fourth of the frosting. Place the the next cake layer on top and frost. Place the next cake layer on top and frost. Then place the remaining rounded top layer on top of the whole cake and frost.

—Seal the raw yellow edges of the cake with a glaze of powdered sugar and water to keep the cake moist.

—Slice and serve with coffee.