Pecan Pie Cake
Ok people, youve been warned This cake will make a grown man drop to his knees, birds will sing, and your children will ask you to let them wash the dishes Im tellin you, this cake is good enough to make you sass your grandma and we all know you wont get away with that without some serious discipline from your mama, right I found this in an older Southern Living, and so glad I did
Ok people, youve been warned This cake will make a grown man drop to his knees, birds will sing, and your children will ask you to let them wash the dishes Im tellin you, this cake is good enough to make you sass your grandma and we all know you wont get away with that without some serious discipline from your mama, right I found this in an older Southern Living, and so glad I did
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 2 cups sugar
- 1/2 cup shortening
- 1 cup buttermilk
- 1/8 tsp salt
- 1/2 cup butter or margarine softened
- 1/3 cup cornstarch
- 1 tsp. baking soda
- 5 large eggs separated
- 3 tbsp butter
- pecan pie filling
- 1/2 cup firmly packed dark brown sugar
- 3/4 cup dark corn syrup
- 4 egg yolks
- 1 1/2 cups half-and-half
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract (the real stuff)
- now for the cake....
- 3 cups finely chopped pecans toasted and divided
- 1 tbsp vanilla extract
- 3/4 cup dark corn syrup
- Carbohydrate 663.027772258909 g
- Cholesterol 13812.2812341015 mg
- Fat 1179.81966751592 g
- Fiber 38.3362097037078 g
- Protein 384.882370523143 g
- Saturated Fat 518.829197941381 g
- Serving Size 1 1 Recipe (6266g)
- Sodium 120838.51799385 mg
- Sugar 624.691562555201 g
- Trans Fat 78.3347381409102 g
- Calories 14498 calories
Step-by-step
- Whisk together the first 6 ingredients in a heavy 3-quart saucepan until smooth. Bring to a boil over medium heat, whisking constantly, and boil for 1 minute, or until thickened. Remove from heat; whisk in butter and vanilla. Place a sheet of wax paper directly on surface of mixture to prevent a film from forming, and chill at least 4 hours.
- Sprinkle 2 cups pecans evenly into 3 generously buttered 9-inch round cake pans; shake to coat bottoms and sides of pans.
- Beat butter and shortening at medium speed with an electric mixer until fluffy, and gradually add sugar, beating well. Add egg yolks, 1 at a time, beating just until blended after each addition. Stir in vanilla.
- Combine flour and baking soda. Add to butter mixture alternating with the buttermilk, beginning and ending with flour mixture. Beat at low speed just until blended after each addition. Stir in remaining 1 cup pecans.
- Beat egg whites at medium speed until stiff peaks form, and fold one third egg whites into batter. Fold in remaining egg whites. (Do NOT over mix). Pour batter into prepared pans.
- Bake at 350 for about 20-25 minutes. I always set timer to go off 5 minutes before to be safe. Silly oven!
- Check for doneness with the old toothpick inserted into center test.
- Cool in pans on wire racks for about 10 minutes, then invert onto the wire racks. Put some wax paper down under the wire racks... Trust me! You'll be glad you did!
- Brush the tops and sides of layers with corn syrup, and cool completely. (See, aren't you glad you listened?)
- Spread half of pecan pie filling on one layer, pecan side up. Place second layer, pecan side up, on filling, and spread with remaining filling. Top with remaining layer, pecan side up.
Thickening the Custard Base
Whisking the filling ingredients in a heavy 3-quart saucepan distributes the cornstarch evenly through the liquid before heat activates the starch granules. Boiling the mixture for precisely one minute gelatinizes the starches, yielding a stable gel that supports the cake layers without leaking. Pressing wax paper directly against the hot surface prevents steam condensation from creating a watery skin during the mandatory four-hour chill.
Aeration and Fat Distribution
Combining butter and shortening leverages the distinct advantages of both fats: butter provides dairy flavor, while shortening has a higher melting point that traps air pockets more efficiently during creaming. Separating the five large eggs allows the whites to be whipped into stiff peaks separately. Folding these whipped whites into the batter introduces trapped air that expands under 350 degrees Fahrenheit heat, counteracting the heavy density of three cups of chopped pecans.
Pan Prep and Sugar Bonding
Coating the three 9-inch round cake pans with two cups of toasted pecans before adding the batter creates a toasted nut crust on the exterior of each layer. Brushing the baked and inverted layers with dark corn syrup while warm acts as a humectant barrier. This sticky sugar layer absorbs ambient moisture from the custard filling, maintaining a cohesive crumb structure across storage windows.
