Cinnamon-Pecan Coffee Cake with Strawberry-Pecan Butter

  • From Pecans: a Savor the South Cookbook

Ingredients

  • Coffee Cake
    • Nonstick cooking spray
    • 2 -1/4 cups all-purpose flour
    • 1/2 teaspoon salt
    • 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
    • 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
    • 1 cup packed light brown sugar
    • 3/4 cup granulated sugar
    • 3/4 cup vegetable or canola oil
    • 1 cup coarsely chopped pecans
    • 1 teaspoon baking powder
    • 1 teaspoon baking soda
    • 1 large egg
    • 1 cup buttermilk
  • Strawberry-Pecan Butter
    • 2 sticks unsalted butter, at room temperature
    • 8 ounces strawberry preserves (not jam)
    • 1/2-1 cup confectioners' sugar
    • 1/2 cup coarsely chopped pecans

Directions

Coffee Cake

Preheat the oven to 350 F. Spray a 13×9-inch baking pan with nonstick cooking spray.

Combine the flour, salt, cinnamon, ginger, brown sugar, and granulated sugar in a large mixing bowl. Add the oil and whisk until well mixed and a little crumbly. Place 3/4 cup of the mixture in a smaller bowl and add the pecans.

Add the baking powder, baking soda, egg, and buttermilk to the remaining flour mixture in the large bowl. Stir together quickly, but don’t overmix. (You may have a few lumps, which are fine.)

Spread the batter evenly in the prepared baking pan. Sprinkle the reserved pecan mixture evenly over the batter. Bake for about 40 minutes, until brown and the edges are coming away from the pan a little.

Strawberry-Pecan Butter

To make the Strawberry-Pecan Butter, beat the butter, strawberry preserves, and confectioners’ sugar until the mixture looks like pink frosting. Stir in the chopped pecans. Keeps refrigerated for up to 1 week.

Serve warm or at room temperature with the butter.

From Pecans: a Savor the SouthTM cookbook by Kathleen Purvis. Copyright 2012 by Kathleen Purvis. Used by permission of the University of North Carolina Press.www.uncpress.unc.edu