Butter Pecan Poke Cake

Brace yourself....

Every Friday, our little community has a cook out... So every Thursday, I bake up something I think will be scrumptious to share. It's the perfect excuse to try out a new cake or other dessert recipes without having the whole thing here for just my husband and me. Usually on Wednesdays I start looking, because Thursday is our typical shopping day. (Unfortunately due to rain, tonight's cook out was canceled... which is why I got a picture of a slice of the cake!)

On Wednesday I found this bit of drool-worthiness: Southern Pecan Praline Cake onThe Country Cook. I love just about everything Butter Pecan, so I had to check it out. When I saw that the frosting goes *into* the cake mix, and the sauce involved sweetened condensed milk, I was sold.

I had to make a few edits to fit my needs, and so I followed the recipe for the cake itself, and then made some changes when it came to the topping, and turned it into a poke cake.

Your cast of characters:

(Water and whipped topping not pictured)

Cake ingredients:
1 box Butter Pecan Cake mix
1 tub Coconut Pecan frosting
4 eggs
3/4 cup oil
1 cup water
1/2 cup chopped pecans

In the middle:
1 can (14oz.) sweetened condensed milk
2 tbsp butter

On the top:
8oz tub Whipped Topping (like Cool Whip)
1/2c chopped pecans

How to make it:

Heat oven to 350*F

Grease a 9x13 dish with cooking spray.

Mix all the ingredients for the cake together (except the pecans) in a large bowl. That includes the frosting! Once everything is well mixed, add in the pecans and give it a stir. (Batter will seem kind of thin)

Pour batter into prepared 9x13 dish, and bake at 350*F for 38-42 minutes. (Mine was done at 39 minutes, this takes a while to bake up because of all the liquid ingredients).

While your cake is baking, you have time to do silly things. Like take pictures of your pets with random things on their heads.

Back to the cake... it's done when a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean.

This is where I differ from the original recipe. She suggest mixing up the sauce, and serving it over individual slices, but I had to prepare this for a gathering, and that wasn't going to work.

Because I love poke cakes, and wanted each slice to get some of the yummy topping, I poked holes in the cake, and poured the sauce (minus the pecans) over it like a poke cake.

To do this: poke holes in the cake with the handle of a wooden spoon, then melt the butter in the microwave and mix with the sweetened condensed milk and pour over the cake, trying to get it mostly into the holes.

Once the cake cools completely, spread the whipped topping over it (I do this in 2 steps - first a thin layer to fill in the holes, then a 2nd layer to pretty it up).. and sprinkle the top with 1/2 cup chopped pecans.

Cut and serve! This cake is incredibly moist and rich. And SO VERY yummy.

Don't you just want to steal the fork and take a bite?

I hope you enjoy!

And stay tuned, coming up is my recipe/method for making brown sugar pulled pork!

~Mandy

Honey Pecan Chicken Breasts

Back in my early 20s, I was lucky to be able to boil water for Ramen, scramble eggs without them turning into a charred pile of yuck or a soggy nasty mess, or make a grilled cheese without burning the house down. I had labeled myself a microwave aficionado. I was excellent at popping stuff in the microwave. I was semi-okay at sticking a frozen pizza in the oven. I ate a lot of cereal.

Then, when I was 25, I met this guy who was even more hopeless in the kitchen than I was. I decided that at least one of us should know how to cook so I picked up a Taste of Home cook book and taught myself how to cook (which was good, because we ended up getting married). I now have a collection of cook books that rivals my collection of fiction (and I am an avid reader).

One of my favorite finds was in an all-chicken cook book released by Taste of Home. It's' got a small ingredient list, and was easy enough for me to prepare without too much stress. Honey Pecan Chicken is a very pretty dish that combines the sweetness of honey, the spice of cayenne, and the crunch of pecans to really turn up the flavor on a plain old chicken breast. It's great with some steamed veggies to make a nice, fairly healthy meal that is quick and easy to put together. It's easy to modify/multiply to fit your family's taste buds and needs, and has become a staple in my weekly meal plans.

I've only changed this recipe very slightly (garlic powder instead of minced garlic, adding cinnamon to the pecans, browning in olive oil instead of butter), and it's a hit every time.

Your cast of characters:

Not pictured: garlic powder

2 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves, pounded flat
Salt
Pepper
Ground cayenne 
Garlic powder
Cinnamon
Finely chopped pecans
Honey
Olive oil (or butter), for browning

Season the chicken breasts with a little salt, pepper, garlic powder, and ground cayenne. Cook in olive oil until juices run clear.

While the chicken is cooking mix a little cinnamon and ground cayenne to the chopped pecans, and set them aside.

Once the chicken is done, remove from heat and drizzle with honey then sprinkle the pecans over the top. I usually put a little more honey over top of the pecans, but that's optional. Then you're done, and you get this:

With a side of zucchini and onions.

That's all. Quick and easy and delicious.

Enjoy!
~Mandy