Pecan toffee cake

Pecan toffee cake

Indulge in this gorgeously nutty cake for dessert, then serve the leftovers as you would Christmas cake to whoever pops by

Difficulty and servings

Easy

Serves 8

Preparation and cooking times

Preparation time

Prep 15 mins

Cook time

Cook 40 mins

Freezable

Method

  1. Tip 100g pecans into a processor and whizz until fine, then tip into a bowl. Put the dates into a small pan with enough water to cover, boil for 5 mins until very soft. Drain, discarding the liquid, then whizz in the processor until smooth. Leave to cool.
  2. Heat oven to 180C/fan 160C/gas 4. Butter and line the base of a 23cm cake tin. Beat the butter, sugar and spice together until lighter and creamy, then tip in the dates, ground pecans, eggs and a pinch of salt and beat briefly until smooth.
  3. Fold in the flour with a metal spoon, then spoon into the tin and level the top. Sprinkle the remaining nuts over the top (don't press them in), then bake for 40 mins or until risen and golden and a skewer comes out clean. Serve warm, with generous drizzles of maple syrup and scoops of Maple crunch ice cream (see 'goes well with').

Per serving (8)

692 kcalories, protein 10.0g, carbohydrate 53.0g, fat 51.0 g, saturated fat 16.0g, fibre 3.0g, sugar 39.0g, salt 0.68 g

Recipe from Good Food magazine, December 2008.

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Latest comments and suggestions

Results 1-20

  • 14 November 2008

    Mark rated and commented on this recipe

    5 stars

    This was just gorgeous. I had a generous* portion but it was the perfect balance of sweetness and nuttiness: the toffee element not at all sickly and the pecans not drying. Yum. *for 'generous' read 'gluttonously large'. Well it's Christmas (sort of).

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  • 14 November 2008

    sally rated and commented on this recipe

    5 stars

    The flavours in this cake are lovely, really good.

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  • 17 November 2008

    Andrea rated this recipe

    5 stars

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  • 19 November 2008

    Claire commented on this recipe

    Absolutely gorgeous, and was a huge success with the whole family from grandparents to children. It would be a wonderful Christmas Day dessert - definitely special enough. Keep up the good work!

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  • 20 November 2008

    Belkey commented on this recipe

    Could I use anything else in place of dates as I really can't stand them? (or any other of the dried fruits such as prunes, figs etc!)

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  • 20 November 2008

    Peter rated and commented on this recipe

    5 stars

    You could probably use cherries instead, if you like those

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  • 20 November 2008

    Cucina Italiana rated and commented on this recipe

    5 stars

    Absolutely fabulous and really easy to make...

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  • 21 November 2008

    Jane commented on this recipe

    Hi everyone, glad you're enjoying my cake! Belkey, you really can't tell that the mix has dates in it - it's dates that give classic sticky toffee puddings (and this cake) their toffee flavour. However, if I really can't convince you, then I wouldn't go for cherries as Peter suggests- wrong texture really. You could use ready to eat prunes or apricots, but they will give the cake a fruity flavour. Do you like banana? I have to stress that I haven't tried it with this recipe, but you may be able to add a ripe mashed banana instead of the dates. It would certainly go well with the pecans and maple syrup! Let me know how you get on... x Jane

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  • 23 November 2008

    saiqa rated and commented on this recipe

    4 stars

    Made this yersterday, had a slightly smaller tin so the centre was a tiny bit raw after an hours cooking. Was delicious, rich & moist, I used half figs as I didn't have enough dates, was lovely.

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  • 24 November 2008

    Geordie Tyke rated and commented on this recipe

    5 stars

    Absolutely lush!! I hadn't tried dates before and still not sure what they taste like but I urge anyone who say they hate them to still add them to this recipe. The overall flavours in this cake blended so well, it was almost like a sticky toffee pudding with pecans! I only used 1 pack of pecans on top and I found that to be enough. I might add a dollop of clotted cream with my maple syrup next time (yes, may as well be a total pig...)

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  • 22 December 2008

    Sajan commented on this recipe

    I made this on Sunday and it was delicious but it needed nearly an hour before it was cooked. it was however worth waiting for.

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  • 30 December 2008

    cathgoodwin commented on this recipe

    I made this for Christmas day dessert, along with homemade toffee sauce, it went down a treat though needed a lot longer baking than stated - around an hour. x

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  • 30 December 2008

    cathgoodwin rated and commented on this recipe

    5 stars

    Forgot to rate!

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  • 30 December 2008

    Lilly commented on this recipe

    Can I use walnuts instead of pecans for this recipe?

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  • 02 January 2009

    lulurose rated and commented on this recipe

    5 stars

    This was a big success. I made the cake and froze it for Boxing Day. We had it slightly warm minus the icecream and syrup but it was great just on its own.

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  • 11 January 2009

    Kate Squires rated and commented on this recipe

    5 stars

    Delicious! A must! Lovely with ice cream which cuts through the richness.

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  • 14 January 2009

    Brown rated and commented on this recipe

    5 stars

    Fabulous, my son and 2 friends polished it off, asked me to make another one to take bake to Uni!

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  • 14 January 2009

    Brown commented on this recipe

    Made this as the desertfor a small dinner my son was cooking for his best friend and girlfriend. I didn't make the ice cream as we had an unexpected guests, served with maple syrup and vanilla ice cream still very yummy. I had to cover the top to save the nuts getting burned did no one else have to do this!

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  • 15 January 2009

    Nix198 rated and commented on this recipe

    4 stars

    I made this for my Mum's birthday and it was a great success. As other people have said, it does need to be cooked for longer than 40 mins (mine took 1hr5mins) but its really tasty. I served it cold with whipped cream and maple syrup - yum yum! The recipe says it serves 2 but we had it between six of us, with at least two slices left over for the next day. It's easy to make (I am a cake-making novice) and delicious.

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  • 21 January 2009

    Travis rated this recipe

    5 stars

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Difficulty and servings

Easy

Serves 8

Preparation and cooking times

Preparation time

Prep 15 mins

Cook time

Cook 40 mins

Freezable

Ingredients

  • 300g pecans halves
  • 140g stoned dates
  • 200g butter , softened, plus extra for greasing
  • 200g light muscovado sugar
  • 1 tsp mixed spice
  • 4 eggs , beaten
  • 140g self-raising flour
  • maple syrup , to serve
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Per serving (8)

692 kcalories, protein 10.0g, carbohydrate 53.0g, fat 51.0 g, saturated fat 16.0g, fibre 3.0g, sugar 39.0g, salt 0.68 g

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