Butter Pecan Cake

Warm, sweet, nutty, buttery, yummy! Our new favorite feature dessert we aptly call “butter pecan cake” tastes just like the ice cream flavor. We serve this warm, pecan filled chiffon cake, topped with our home made crunchy pecan toffee and smothered with caramel sauce. To finish it off we top the whole thing with a large scoop of vanilla ice cream.

The recipe was inspired from my sister, Hannah, who make a fabulous traditional English sticky toffee pudding. If you’re not familiar with sticky toffee pudding the best way to describe it is a warm cake made from purred dates topped with caramel sauce. The pudding requires using dried dates that have been rehydrated and pureed. Their subtle, unique flavor provides moisture and most of the cakes sweetness, therefore, her recipe requires minimal sugar.

We do not generally carry dates at the restaurant so I decided to create my own variation on this delicious treat. I came up with the idea to reconstruct my coconut pecan cake (sans coconut) and bake it in a 9 x 11″ baking dish. (Hint: now you will basically have the recipe for our signature coconut pecan cake ).

For a little more caramel goodness, I had the idea to crush up some pecan toffee candy and add it to the plate as well! We make our own toffee and caramel sauce a the Secret Garden Cafe, but you can use store bought caramel sauce and toffee pieces to simplify this dessert. Serve this recipe warm with vanilla ice cream for an unexpectedly easy crowd pleaser.

(Caramel and toffee recipe coming soon).

Bake Time: 20-30 Minutes

Course: Dessert

Serves: 8

INGREDIENTS 8 tbsp salted butter 1/3 Cup vegetable oil 2 Cups sugar divided 5 Eggs, separated 2 tsp vanilla extract 1 Cup whole milk + 1 tbsp lemon juice 2 Cups cake flour 2 tsp baking powder 1 Cup crushed pecans STEPS 1 – Preheat oven to 325 and grease 9X11″ baking dish 2 – Combine whole milk and lemon juice – set aside for about 5-10 minutes. This creates butter milk. 3 – Whip egg whites with about 1/4 cup of the sugar until stiff peaks – pour into another bowl and set aside 4 – Using the same mixing bowl, add butter, rest of sugar, vanilla and vegetable oil. Beat on medium-high speed until nice and fluffy. Then add egg yolks and mix just until combined. 5- Combine flour with baking powder, then alternate adding flour and butter milk. Do not over mix. 6 – Add crushed pecans. 7- Using a rubber spatula, fold in egg whites 1/3 at a time. Once again, do not over mix. There will be streaks of egg whites (meringue) but that is completely fine. 8 – Pour batter into greased baking dish and bake for about 25- 30 minutes or until a toothpick when inserted comes out clean. 9 – Allow to cool slightly then pour over caramel sauce and top with toffee. Serve warm with vanilla ice cream. *If making this in advance, wait to add caramel and toffee until ready to serve.