Caramel Pecan Cake Recipe

• 2 cups Ganulated Sugar
• 2 sticks Unsalted Butter, softened
• 1 cup Sour Cream
• 6 large Eggs, separated (at room temperature)
• 2½ cups Sifted Cake Flour
• 1 tsp Baking Soda
• 1 tsp Pure Vanilla Extract
• ¾ cup Buttermilk
• 2 cups Light Brown Sugar
• 1/3 cup Water
• 1¼ cup Heavy Cream
• 4 tbsp Salted Butter
• ½ tsp Pure Vanilla
• 1 cup Chopped Pecans

• Preheat the oven to 350°F. Lightly grease and flour three 8-inch round cake pans or two 9-inch round cake pans.
• In a large mixing bowl, with an electric mixer, cream together butter and sugar. With the mixer still running, add each egg yolk one at a time, beating well between each addition. Add the sour cream and mix well.
• Sift together flour and baking soda. Alternately add flour and buttermilk to the batter, mixing well.
• In a separate bowl, whip egg whites into stiff peaks. Make sure bowl and beaters are thoroughly clean, are the egg whites will not whip.
• Fold egg whites into cake batter. Add a teaspoon of vanilla and mix. (Batter will be thick.)
• Pour the batter into prepared pans and bake until the center springs back when touched. Approximately 25 to 30 minutes. Remove from oven and cool on wire racks. Make sure cakes are completely cooled before inverting and frosting.
• CARAMEL PECAN ICING
• As the cake is baking, mix sugar and water into a heavy-bottom sauce pan, until sugar is dissolved. Cook over low heat for 5-10 minutes. Do not stir.
• After 10 minutes, increase heat to medium and boil mixture for about 5-7 minutes until it is a chestnut brown color. (Be careful, it is a very hot mixture.)
• Use a wooden spoon to stir, or gently swirl the pan to mix if you do not have a wooden spoon.
• Be sure to watch the caramel mixture, as it can burn quickly.
• Turn the heat off, and stand back as you add the heavy cream, as it will violently boil. The caramel will get hard.