October 2010
I made this cake with dessert in mind, but sometimes the morning light hits just right, the tea kettle sings, the mug of milky Earl Grey glistens, and a cake just begs to belong to breakfast. This was one of those cakes.
Cake Ingredients
16 Tablespoons (2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature and cut into ½-inch pieces
6 large, free-range local eggs
½ cup organic sour cream
1 ¼ cup organic heavy cream
¼ cup pure maple syrup
1 ½ tablespoons pure vanilla extract
½ cup St. Vincent’s Unbleached Flour
2 ½ cups whole-wheat pastry flour
1 cup pecans, toasted, cooled and ground fine*
¾ cup organic pure cane sugar
¾ agave syrup
1 ½ Tablespoons baking powder
1 ¼ teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
*Toasting the Pecans releases their essential oils, a stronger aroma and more flavor. Toast the nuts in an un-oiled skillet over medium heat, shaking the skillet occasionally to prevent scorching. Remove from heat after 3-5 minutes, after the nuts have begun to darken in color.
Glaze Ingredients
1 cup organic confectioners sugar
2 Tablespoons juice and 1 tsp grated zest from 1 organic orange
maple syrup and vanilla extract to taste/texture preference
For the Cake
Adjust an oven rack to the lowest position and preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 12-cup, stone, bundt pan.
Whisk the eggs, sour cream, heavy cream, maple syrup, agave syrup and vanilla together in a medium bowl.
Mix the flours, granulated sugar , baking powder, baking soda and salt. Using a mixer, add the butter and half of the egg mixture and beat on a low speed, about 15 seconds.
For the Glaze
Combine the sugar, orange juice and orange zest in a food processor. Add maple syrup and vanilla to taste.
Slice and enjoy!
This cake certainly looks delicious. Well done