Pecan Praline Cake

Those of us who live here -

in the south, that is -

take our Pralines very serious!

Every candy store from

Virginia down to Georgia

have their version of this treat...

some are good ...

some are just okay ...

and some are ahhhmazing!

The rich, butter candy

{with sweet hints of vanilla and salt}

are paired beautifully with toasted pecans.

YUM!

So, naturally, I twisted this

regional delicacy

into a fabulous cake!

{ There's an extra "i" in there to stress the true pronunciation!! Tee hee! :) }

Ingredients
1 can Sweetened Condensed Milk
3/4 cup Butter, unsalted
1 tsp. Salt
1 tsp. Vanilla Extract

1 box Butter Cake Mix
1 cup Flour, all purpose
1 small box Vanilla Pudding Mix
4 Eggs, divided
1 cup Sour Cream
1 cup Pecans, chopped

1 stick Butter
1/2 cup Powder Sugar
2-4 tbsp. Milk {as needed}
Pinch of Salt
1 tsp. Vanilla Extract
1/4 cup Toasted Pecans {optional topping}

Method
In a small saucepan, combine first 4 ingredients. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until mixture gets bubbly. Reduce heat to low and stir until it thickens and turns a shade or two darker. Set aside.
Preheat over to 325 degrees.
Whip egg whites until they are stiff. Place in fridge until needed.
In a kitchen mixer, fitted with a paddle attachment, stir cake mix {I like to use Duncan Hines, but your favorite will work just as well}, flour and pudding mix until incorporated. Add in egg yoke, sour cream, pecans and condensed milk mixture. Spoon out half of the egg whites and add to cake batter. With a rubber spatula, slowly fold in until incorporated. Add in the rest of the egg whites and fold in. {Your arm will be aching at the point, but it's SO worth it!}
Pour into a greased bundt or 9x13 rectangle cake pan and bake until a tooth pick comes out clean when inserted into the center of the cake, about 40 minutes. {May be a little longer for bundt pan or a little less for the rectangle pan - all depending on how your oven bakes.}
Invert cake onto plate and let cool completely before icing.

To make sauce, place butter into a small sauce pan and cook on medium heat for several minutes. You will notice the butter starting to brown - once you have reached a golden color with brown bits on the bottom of the pan, the butter is ready to remove from the heat. Add in salt and powder sugar and whisk until all lumps are gone. You will need to add in some milk to loosen the icing a bit - start with 2 tbsp. and add more {one tbsp. at the time} until you've reached a thick, but runny consistency. Add in your vanilla and pour over cooled cake.

This cake hits on

every flavor found in

Southern Pecan Pralines!

If you're in a hurry,

the cake can absolutely be served

as is with no sauce...

but, I am telling you

this sauce tops each slice off right

with it's awesome praline flavor!

Bake an extra one

and walk it over to the neighbor's -

what a thoughtful holiday gift!!

It will be their

{and YOUR}

best.day.ever!!

Enjoy and Happy Baking!

Oh yeah!! I partied this week ->

Check out my sidebar to find out where!