Brown Sugar, Maple & Pecan Pound Cake

The funny thing about this recipe is that both my husband and teenage son, both notorious cake haters, said "this is the only kind of cake I like". It's not an overly sweet cake, and in fact, I felt it might need more sugar, but on 'day three' after making this, while I sit on the deck with my coffee enjoying the beautiful September morning, I think maybe, just maybe, it is perfect as it is. 

I've been trying to figure out what kind of Maple Cake recipe I should use for my neighbor's big 40th birthday party. Since she is Canadian, we really felt she needed a maple cake, and cuz' she likes maple too!

While I would make this again, I was concerned making a cake for 60 people out of it, so instead I used a more moist (lower fat) recipe for Maple Yogurt Pound Cake.  Since I've been up to my ears in maple cakes this week, I figured that I should blog about both of them.

Thanks to Martha Stewart for the inspiration, I know you won't mind that I changed some things!

Ingredients

1 cup (2 sticks) butter, room temperature
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1 cup brown sugar

1/2 cup pure maple syrup

5 large eggs, room temperature, lightly beaten

1/2 teaspoon coarse salt

1 cup pecans, lightly toasted and roughly chopped

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Lightly butter and flour a 4 1/2-by-8 1/2-inch loaf pan. In a large bowl, using an electric mixer, beat butter and brown on medium-high until very light and fluffy, 7 minutes.

Scrape down bowl and beat 1 minute more. Add maple syrup, then gradually add eggs, beating well and scraping down bowl as needed. With mixer on low, add salt, then gradually add flour, beating well to combine and scraping down bowl as needed. Fold pecans into batter.

Transfer batter to pan and bake until a toothpick inserted in center of cake comes out with a few moist crumbs attached, 65 minutes. Let cool in pan on a wire rack, 1 hour. Remove cake from pan and let cool completely on rack before slicing.

Here's some other great breads that are quick and easy!
Easy Five Minute Artisan Bread
Kauai Banana Bread
Moist Lemon Bread
Zucchini Bread