Cooking Lesson #1020: Georgia State Pecan Cake

…from the Perspectives’ Kitchen

How you doin’? Did you know that today is National Pecan Day?
 
While working on Pecan Praline recipes I made a few mistakes. Some of my best recipes came out of goofs. I first made this cake while chopping pecans and not watching was in the oven. I had been working on a walnut and brandy cake that had the most engaging flavor. It got away from me, but since I had a lot of chopped Pecans, I tried this simple recipe, so all was not lost.
 
It’s another one of my magical recipes that only required eggs, ground Georgia pecans and sugar to make this delicate and delicious cake. I’ll admit I was skeptical as I mixed the simple batter, but when I felt the knife slice into the crackled crust and moist center, I knew this recipe was special.
 
This remains one of my favorite cake recipes. It's great for beginner bakers and though simple, it’s elegant. Try it once and you'll keep returning to it, like I did.
 
Here are the ingredients you’ll need for one of the most magical cakes you’ll ever make—sugar, pecans and eggs
 
Ingredients 
12 ounces pecans (or blanched almonds work as well)
4 large eggs
1 cup granulated sugar
Confectioner’s sugar for serving
 
Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 350°F.
2. Line an 8 X 8-inch baking pan with parchment paper, letting some of it hang over two sides so that you can use it to lift the cake out of the pan after it's baked.
3. Process the pecans in a food processor until they’re coarsely ground and set them aside.
4. Separate the egg whites and yolks.
5. Add about half the sugar (1/2 cup) to the egg whites and beat to stiff peaks with an electric mixer. Set aside.
6. In a separate bowl, add the remaining sugar (1/2 cup) to the yolks and use the same electric mixer to beat until pale and doubled in size. When you lift the beaters, the mixture should drizzle down slowly and hold its shape for a few seconds.
7. Using a rubber spatula, gently fold the ground nuts into the egg yolk mixture until fully combined.
8. Then gently fold in half the egg whites until you can't see any white streaks.
9. Gently fold in the remaining egg whites. Try not to mix it for too long—just until you no longer see the egg whites.
10. Transfer the batter to the prepared baking pan and bake for 35 minutes, until a knife inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean.
11. Let the cake cool for 15 minutes before running a knife around the edges to release it from the pan.
12. Use the parchment to lift the cake out of the pan and onto a wire rack.
13. Let the cake cool completely before dusting it with powdered sugar to serve.
14.  Wrapped tightly in plastic wrap, this cake will keep at room temperature for up to five days.

ChefSecret:  This is a simple cake recipe, but it’s not necessarily easy. Here are some tips that will help you get the perfect cake you deserve:

• Use blanched nuts—without their peel. The skin tends to get bitter when exposed to heat. I’ve made this recipe with unblanched, unpeeled nuts, and sometimes you can taste some bitterness in the cake.
• Don’t overprocess the nuts. They should not start to form a paste but be ground just long enough to produce a coarse texture—this only takes about 10 seconds.
• Make the batter airy. The air that's whipped into the egg whites and yolks is the key to getting a light cake. The egg whites are beaten until stiff—they should hold their shape when you lift the mixture up with the mixer. And the egg yolks should be thick, glossy, yet airy.

Quip of the Day:  A Blonde was down on her luck. In order to raise some money, she decided to kidnap a kid and hold him for ransom. She went to the playground, grabbed a kid, took him behind a tree, and told him, "I've kidnapped you."

She then wrote a note saying, "I've kidnapped your kid. Tomorrow morning put $10,000 in a paper bag and put it under the pecan tree next to the slide on the Northside of the playground. Signed, A Blonde."

The Blonde then pinned the note to the kid's shirt and sent him home to show it to his parents.
The next morning the blonde checked, and sure enough, a paper bag was sitting beneath the pecan tree.
The Blonde opened up the bag and found the $10,000 with a note that said, "How could you do this to a fellow Blonde?"
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Do you have a question or comment? Send your thoughts to [email protected]. All recipes and cooking tips are posted on our website https://www.perspectives-la.com/perspectives-on-food
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To you and everyone dear to you, be strong, positive, stay well, stay safe and be kind. Take a breath and count your blessings, and if you have a little extra to share with others, please consider donating to  Feeding America, Tunnel to Towers, Union Rescue Mission and/or American Red Cross.

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