About this recipe
- Why this isn’t as popular as it once was, I will never know. This use to be a favorite cake in many households and now it is never really talked about. Our pastry chef ,Tracy, use to make it here at the Ben Franklin’s and it was absolutely phenomenal.
We sure do miss Tracy. He had some serious talents. We hope you enjoy this recipe as much as we do!
Ingredients
- 2 cups graham cracker crumbs
- ¾ cup ground pecans
- ½ cup cake flour
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 1 cup unsalted butter, softened
- 1 cup packed light brown sugar
- 3 egg yolks, room temperature
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1 cup milk, lukewarm
- 3 egg whites, room temperature
- ¼ cup white sugar
- 2 tablespoons white sugar
- 1 ½ cups unsalted butter, softened
- ½ cup packed dark brown sugar
- ½ cup heavy whipping cream
- ¾ cup confectioners’ sugar
- ½ cup chopped pecans
Directions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease and line parchment two 9 inch round pans.
- Combine the crumbs, 1/2 cup pecans, flour, baking powder, and salt.
- In a large bowl, cream the butter and the light brown sugar until fluffy. Slowly beat in the egg yolks, one at a time. Stir in the vanilla. Alternately add the milk and the crumb mixture while beating on low.
- Beat the egg whites in a bowl until foamy. Add the sugar slowly, and beat to soft peaks. Fold into the crumb batter, and pour into the pans.
- Bake for 25 minutes, or until a tester comes out clean. Cool in the pans on a rack about 10 minutes, then invert and cool completely.
- To make frosting: in a saucepan over medium heat, melt the 2 tablespoon sugar until it turns golden. Remove from heat, and add 4 tablespoons of the butter; swirl. Whisk in the dark brown sugar, and place back on the heat. Bring to a boil, stirring all the time. Add the cream, and bring back to a boil. Boil 1 minute, and remove caramel from heat.
- Place the confectioners’ sugar in a large bowl, and mixing on medium speed, slowly drizzle in the caramel. Bat until the bottom of the bowl is just barely warm, about 5 minutes. Add the remaining 1 1/4 cups butter, 1 tablespoon at a time. Beat until smooth, and chill frosting until ready to ice the cake. Frost the cake, and press the pecans into the sides.