Bourbon Butter Pecan Cake with Brown Butter Maple Frosting

Butter Pecan Cake

1. Day one - preheat the oven to 350°F / 180°C.
2. Spread the chopped pecans in a sheet pan. Roast the nuts for 10 - 15 minutes, until the pecans are lightly toasted. Remove from the oven and let it cool down.
3. Divide the nuts into 3 oz (85 g) and 5 oz (141 g) portions. Place the 3 oz of the pecans in a food processor and process until they are finely ground. Set aside. (see the post for the consistency of the pecans)
4. Butter and line two 8 inch round pans with parchment paper.
5. Place the butter, both types of sugar and salt in a bowl. Whisk well to combine.
6. Add the eggs, milk, vanilla and the ground pecans. Whisk together until you have a smooth mix.
7. In a separate bowl, sieve the AP flour, cinnamon and baking powder together. Add the flour mix, and the chopped pecans into the wet ingredients and fold in the flour gently until well combined. Make sure not to over-mix to prevent a rubbery cake.
8. Divide the batter between the two pans. You can either do this by weight, OR you can use an ice cream or cookie scoop to evenly divide the batter.
9. Bake the cakes in the preheated oven, until a toothpick inserted comes out clean and the cake surface is springy to the touch - about 30 minutes.
10. Remove from the oven and let it cool down slightly. Turn the cakes out onto a cake rack to cool down completely. Once cooled, wrap each cake layer with plastic wrap. Chill the cake in the fridge overnight. Chilling the cake will make it easier to slice it as well.

Bourbon Syrup

1. Day one or two - place the sugar and water in a saucepan. Heat over medium heat to dissolve the sugar. Stir frequently. Bring the sugar syrup to a boil.
2. Remove from the heat and add the bourbon. Let the syrup cool down completely. You can pour the syrup into a squeeze bottle if you have one, or you can just use a spoon to spread the syrup on the cake.

Brown Butter Maple Frosting

1. Day one - Make the brown butter. Place the 340 g of butter in a saucepan. Heat the butter until it’s melted. Keep cooking the butter while stirring frequently until the butter stops foaming, and the milk solids turn dark golden brown in color. See my how to make brown butter post for more details.
2. Remove from the heat immediately and pour the butter and milk solids into a bowl. Let the butter cool down completely to room temperature (you can leave this at room temp. overnight, or chill it in the fridge).
3. Day two - if you chilled the brown butter in the fridge, keep it outside to soften to room temperature.
4. Place the brown butter, unsalted butter and the salt in the mixing bowl of your mixer and whisk until creamy and fluffy.
5. Whisk in the confectioner’s sugar in 3 additions, alternating with the maple syrup. Add the vanilla. Whisk until you have a light, soft and fluffy frosting. Do not overbeat. Make sure to scrape down the bowl to ensure the butter is incorporating properly.

Assembly

1. Slice each chilled cake layer in half, carefully, to create two layers (total 4 layers).
2. Coat each layer generously with the bourbon syrup.
3. Place 1 layer on a cake plate. Spread a thin layer of frosting (a generous ½ cup), and top with another cake layer. Repeat with the frosting and the cake, until you place the final cake layer on top (place the final layer on top so that the flat, bottom side is facing up).
4. Cover the entire cake with a thin layer of crumb coating. Chill the cake for about an hour (until the crumb coating is set).
5. Spread frosting over the whole cake, and use a cake scraper to smoothen the surface. Place the rest of the frosting in a pastry bag with an open star tip. Pipe swirls on the top of the cake and top each swirl with pecan halves (see pictures in the post). Chill the cake in the fridge until you’re ready to serve.