Warm cake for cold weather

This week’s recipe is for a delicious Brown Sugar Caramel Pecan Cake that looks, and tastes as delicious as it sounds!

I made it for a joint birthday party and made the mistake (and had the good fortune) of not sending it home with the birthday people because over the course of the following week, I polished off every las slice of that cake — with very little help!

Believe it or not, it tasted even better as the days went on because the pecan and toffee flavor really took over the cake. Not to mention that the caramel fudge on top is so good that I even saved the leftovers and used it as ice cream sauce! It is almost like a nutty coffee cake (no coffee) because it’s great with a cup of tea for breakfast.

I would highly recommend this cake for any occasion and it was pretty easy to make.

Brown Sugar Caramel Pecan Cake

Adapted from Divas Can Cook

Ingredients:

1 cup butter, softened

½ cup butter-flavored shortening

2 cups light brown sugar, packed

1 cup granulated sugar

5 eggs, room temperature

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

3 cups all-purpose flour, sifted

1 teaspoon baking powder

½ teaspoon salt

½ cup buttermilk

½ cup heavy whipping cream

1 cup toffee baking bits,

plus more for garnish

For Frosting:

14 oz can sweetened condensed milk

1 cup light brown sugar, packed

2 tablespoons butter

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

½ cup pecan cookie pieces

& toffees bits (optional garnish)

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 325. F. Generously grease and lightly flour bundt pan. Set aside.

In a large bowl, cream together butter and shortening. Mix in brown sugar and white sugar. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each egg.

Fold in vanilla extract. Set aside. In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder and salt.

Gradually add dry mixture into the wet mixture while alternating with the buttermilk and heavy cream.

Mix well until combined being sure to scrape down the sides of the bowl. Fold in toffee and pecan pieces.

Pour batter evenly into prepared bundt pan. Shake the pan back and forth and up and down to even out batter and release air bubbles. Bake on the middle rack for 1 hour and 10 minutes. (Mine took 1 hour and 40 minutes, so make sure test it) Cake is done when a toothpick comes out clean with only crumbs or clean — depending on how ‘done’ you like it.

Let cake sit in pan for 10-15 minutes before removing and placing on a cooling rack to finish cooling.

Only after your cake is completely cools should you begin the frosting because the frosting hardens quickly.

For Frosting:

In a large saucepan over medium-low heat, stir together sweetened condensed milk and brown sugar.

Keep stirring until bubbles begin to gently break on the surface. Reduce heat if needed, do not let the mixture boil or simmer too rapidly to prevent burning. Continue cooking for about 5 minutes until mixture thickens, stirring constantly.

Remove from heat and stir in butter and vanilla. Stir vigorously until butter is combined.

Sauce hardens quickly so, be ready to pour the hot caramel sauce over the cooled cake. (You may have some leftover, don’t put it all — goes great on ice cream!)

Quickly sprinkle the cake with pecan pieces and toffee pieces if desired (highly recommended)

Let cake sit until frosting begins is firm.

Justine Gelevan’s not a professional baker or critic; she’s a Halifax girl who loves all kinds of goodies – eating them, sharing them, making them and talking about them. She keeps her kitchen stocked with the tastiest ingredients with the help of Atlantic Superstore and President’s Choice. Visit her blog for more recipes and how-tos at thegoodiegirl.ca.