Pecan Pie Cake

I thought I'd share one of my favorite holiday recipes today. Pecan pie cake! I discovered it a few years ago in a Southern Living mag. I make it at least once a year, in fact I just made it for Thanksgiving, it was awesome!

I'll give you guys a heads up, this cake is one of those you gotta put a lil time into. It's completly from scratch, but is so worth your effort!

Here's what you'll need:
Mixer
Three 9" cake pans ( I prefer the glass ones, but metal will work just fine)
large sauce pan
wax paper
cooling rack or other method to cool your cakes
Meauring cup and spoons


This recipe has two different part to it. First a recipe for the icing/filling, which I would make first because it has to have time to cool down
The next part is the cake and then at the very end is the instructions for putting it all together. It's much easier than it sounds.

Pecan Pie Cake filling:

• 1/2 cup firmly packed dark brown sugar
• 3/4 cup dark corn syrup
• 1/3 cup cornstarch
• 4 egg yolks
• 1 1/2 cups half-and-half
• 1/8 teaspoon salt
• 3 tablespoons butter or margarine
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Preparation

1. Whisk together first 6 ingredients in a heavy 3-quart saucepan until smooth. Bring mixture to a boil over medium heat, whisking constantly; boil 1 minute or until thickened. Remove from heat; whisk in butter and vanilla extract. Place a sheet of wax paper directly on surface of mixture to prevent a film from forming, and chill 4 hours.
2. Note: To chill filling quickly, pour filling into a bowl. Place bowl in a larger bowl filled with ice. Whisk constantly until cool (about 15 minutes).

Pecan Pie Cake Mix:

• 3 cups finely chopped pecans, toasted and divided
• 1/2 cup butter or margarine, softened
• 1/2 cup shortening
• 2 cups sugar
• 5 large eggs, separated
• 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 cup buttermilk
• 3/4 cup dark corn syrup
• 1 recipe pecan pie cake filling

Preparation

1. Sprinkle 2 cups pecans evenly into 3 generously buttered 9-inch round cakepans; shake to coat bottoms and sides of pans.
2. Beat 1/2 cup butter and shortening at medium speed with an electric mixer until fluffy; gradually add sugar, beating well. Add egg yolks, 1 at a time, beating until blended after each addition. Stir in vanilla.
3. Add flour and baking soda to butter mixture alternately with buttermilk, beginning and ending with flour. Beat at low speed until blended after each addition. Stir in remaining 1 cup finely chopped pecans.
4. Beat egg whites at medium speed until stiff peaks form; fold one-third of egg whites into batter. Fold in remaining egg whites. (Do not overmix.) Pour batter into prepared pans.
5. Bake at 350° for 25 minutes or until done. Cool in pans on wire racks 10 minutes. Invert layers onto wax paper-lined wire racks. Brush tops and sides of layers with corn syrup, and cool completely.
6. Spread half of Pecan Pie Filling on 1 layer, pecan side up. Place second layer, pecan side up, on filling; spread with remaining filling. Top with remaining layer, pecan side up.

That's it, I usually just garnish mine with a few pecan halves and a cherry, it looks really simple and pretty. Enjoy your cake! It's a favorite with my family and I'm sure it will be with yours too!