Shirley's Recipes

1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 cup firmly packed brown sugar\\

Name: Pumpkin-Praline Cake
Key Ingredient: canned pumpkin
Preparation: bake
Cuisine: American
Source: Newspaper
Food Group: sugar
Meals: lunch, snack
Courses: dessert
Temperature: cold
Effort: average
Prep. Time: 1:00
Elapsed Time: 1:40
Occasion: fall
Servings: 12

1 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 cup margarine or butter
1/4 cup whipping cream
3/4 cup chopped pecans
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1-2/3 cups granulated sugar
1 cup cooking oil
4 eggs
2 cups canned pumpkin
1/4 teaspoon black walnut flavoring (optional)

Whipped Cream Topping
1-3/4 cups whipping cream
1/4 cup sifted powdered sugar
1/4 teaspoon vanilla

Preheat oven to 350F. Combine brown sugar, margarine or butter and cream in a heavy saucepan. Cook and stir over low heat just until sugar dissolves. Pour into two 9 x 1-1/2-inch round baking pans. Sprinkle with pecans. Cool.
Stir together flour, baking powder, pumpkin pie spice, soda and salt. In a large bowl, beat together granulated sugar, oil and eggs. Add pumpkin and flour mixture alternately to sugar mixture, beating just until combined. If desired, stir in walnut flavoring.
Carefully spoon batter over the pecan layer. Place pans on baking sheets. Bake in a 350F. oven for 35 to 40 minutes or until a toothpick inserted near center comes out clean. Cool on racks for 5 minutes. Invert onto wire racks, scraping out and replacing any pecan mixture that remains in pan. Cool completely.
Place one cake layer on a plate, praline side up. Spread with half of the Whipped Cream Topping. Top with second layer, praline side up. Dollop with the remaining topping. Chill cake until serving time.

Whipped Cream Topping: In a bowl, beat whipping cream until soft peaks form (tips curl). Add powdered sugar and vanilla. Beat until stiff peaks form (tips stand straight).