Pecan Cake (Pastel de nuez)
This is one of the popular Mexican desserts that I learned at the Instituto Familiar y Social in Guadalajara. It is especially beloved in the central region of Mexico. The texture is dense and moist, something like a fruitcake, and the cake requires long baking. In Mexico it is usually served with cajeta, the rich caramel sauce of sweetened, boiled-down milk, generally goats' milk, that is named for the cajetas (flat wooden boxes) in which it is sold. In my pantry I always have some Mexican cajeta, often the famous variety from Celaya in the state of Guanajuato, or a kind that is envinada (enriched with sherry). Lacking a source of cajeta, frost the cake with Raisin Icing or a simple sugar glaze.
Ingredients
- 1½ cups 6 ounces shelled pecan halves
- 1¼ cups 2½ sticks unsalted butter, at room temperature
- 1½ cups sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 2 eggs separated
- 2½ cups all-purpose flour
- 1½ teaspoons baking powder
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 cup half and half
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 325°F.
- On a baking sheet, toast the pecans until fragrant, about 15 minutes. Cool to room temperature and grind finely in a nut grinder. Set aside.
- Adjust oven heat to 350°F.
- In large mixing bowl, cream butter and sugar at medium speed until light and fluffy. Add vanilla and beat another 30 seconds to incorporate. Add egg yolks, one at a time, beating well after each addition.
- Combine the ground pecans and half and half, stirring to moisten thoroughly. Add ⅓ of dry ingredients to butter mixture and beat to incorporate well, then add ⅓ of the pecan mixture and beat well. Repeat, alternating thirds of the dry ingredients and the nut mixture and scraping down sides of the bowl as necessary, until all has been added.
- Whip egg whites until stiff. With a spatula, gently fold about ⅓ of the beaten whites into the batter, then fold in the rest.
- Butter and flour a Bundt pan; pour in the batter. Bake at 350°F for 1½ hours or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Begin checking for doneness after 1 hour.
Nutrition
Calories: 581kcalCarbohydrates: 57gProtein: 7gFat: 38gSaturated Fat: 18gTrans Fat: 1gCholesterol: 103mgSodium: 323mgPotassium: 146mgFiber: 2gSugar: 31gVitamin A: 851IUVitamin C: 1mgCalcium: 88mgIron: 2mg
