Return to Main Recipes Page/Return to Home Page

Bars, Pecan Praline (P, KLP)
Source: Patricia Connell in Bon Appetit Magazine, April, 1985
Serves: 12

Pecan Cake:
5 egg yolks, room temperature
1 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla (optional)
6 egg whites, room temperature
1/4 teaspoon salt
8 ounces pecan halves, lightly toasted and finely grated
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon

Coffee Glaze:
1/4 cup firmly packed brown sugar
1 teaspoon potato starch
1-1/2 teaspoons instant coffee powder
1 tablespoon hot water

Glazed Pecans:
1/4 cup sugar
12 pecan halves

*Grate the pecans in a rotary grater to lend the best texture to the moist cake

Make Cake:
Preheat oven to 325°F.

Grease 9"x9" baking pan. Line bottom with parchment; grease paper.

Using electric mixer, beat yolks, sugar, and vanilla until slowly dissolving ribbon forms when beaters are lifted.

Using clean, dry beaters, beat whites with salt in large bowl until stiff but not dry.

Gently fold pecans, cinnamon and 1/3 of whites into yolk mixture. Fold yolk mixture back into whites.

Turn batter into prepared pan, spreading evenly. Bake until top is brown and tester inserted in center of cake comes out clean, 35-40 minutes.

Turn oven off. Run knife around edge of cake to loosen. Let stand in turned-off oven 15 minutes, leaving door ajar. Remove from oven. Cool cake completely in pan on wire rack.

Make Glaze:
Mix sugar and potato starch in heavy small saucepan.

Dissolve coffee powder in hot water. Stir into sugar mixture.

Simmer over medium-low heat until thickened, stirring constantly, about 2 minutes. Remove from heat. Stir briskly to dissipate foam.

Glazed Pecans: Oil baking sheet. Heat sugar in heavy small skillet over low heat, stirring frequently, until sugar dissolves. Increase hear to medium-low and cook syrup until golden brown. Stir in pecans. Transfer pecans to prepared sheet. Using fork, separate nuts and arrange rounded side up. Cool completely.

Assembly:
Invert cake onto rack, discarding parchment. Reinvert cake onto platter.

Drizzle hot glaze over top, spreading evenly. Let stand until glaze is firm. To serve, cut cake into 12 pieces. Top each with glazed pecan.

Posted by Carole Walberg

Nutritional Info Per Serving: 213 Calories; 10g Fat (40.2% calories from fat); 4g Protein; 29g Carbohydrate; 1g Dietary Fiber; 89mg Cholesterol; 84mg Sodium.
Food Exchanges: 0 Grain(Starch); 1/2 Lean Meat; 2 Fat; 2 Other Carbohydrates.