We’re entering the eleventh hour of menu planning for Thanksgiving and I have the perfect cake to round out the meal for gluten free guests or when you want the gloriousness of a deeply nutty pecan dessert without the sweetness overload. These mini flourless pecan cakes aka pecan pie cakes are supremely nutty, light in texture, and drizzled with a gooey maple brown sugar glaze. It has the subtle bourbon notes, nuttiness, and maple flavor of a great pecan pie without all of the effort or corn syrup.
This flourless cake was inspired by Klancy Miller’s Parisian chestnut mini-cake recipe. Something about a such a simple cake with such delightful, comforting flavors sounded incredibly appealing, but in the U.S. finding creme de marron, or chestnut spread, is not so easy. I decided to attempt to capture the classic flavors of a pecan pie in a similar type of cake. In developing the recipe, I came across a pecan cake by Food 52, which I riffed off of for this pecan pie version.
You can make these as single serving mini cakes for a small gathering or as a full-sized cake. And you can easily whip it up in just a few minutes and with only a handful of ingredients. This cake is a perfect solution for any pecan craving and for those who don’t eat gluten but love the comforting flavors of pecan pie.
Mini flourless pecan cake with sticky maple glaze
Course: Cakes and custardsDifficulty: Quick bake4
mini cakes15
minutes25
minutesThese flourless pecan mini-cakes are loaded with ground toasted pecans, have a beautifully airy texture, and are covered in a gooey maple glaze and extra toasted pecans to capture all the nostalgic flavors of a pecan pie. Perfect after a Thanksgiving meal, in the afternoon with a cup of tea, or for a dinner party dessert. If you’d like even smaller cakes, these can be baked in muffin tins too—-just decrease the cooking time and watch them closely. A dollop of unsweetened whipped cream on top and you have achieved true perfection. This recipe was adapted from Food 52.
Ingredients
- For the cake
170g (about 1 1/3 cup) pecans, toasted plus another 1/4 cup for sprinkling on top
2 large eggs, room temperature
1/2 cup (96g) loosely packed light brown sugar
1/2 tsp kosher salt
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 Tbsp bourbon (optional)
- For the sticky maple glaze
1/8 cup (26g) brown sugar
1 Tbsp unsalted butter
1/8 cup dark amber maple syrup
1/8 tsp salt
1 Tbsp heavy cream
1/2 tsp apple cider vinegar (optional)
Instructions
- Place all of the pecans (halves or pieces are fine) in a large saucepan over medium low heat. Toss occasionally until the pecans are fragrant and toasted. Let cool. Once cool, place 170g of pecans (about 1 1/3 cup) in a food processor and pulse a few times until ground. Pecans easily start turning into pecan butter so be careful not to overgrind. It’s okay if the size is still a little bit course.
- Thoroughly butter the inside of 4 3-inch ramekins. Preheat the oven to 350F.
- Separate the two eggs, placing the egg yolks in one large mixing bowl and the egg whites in another. Add the brown sugar to the egg yolks and whisk vigorously for about 1-2 minutes until the egg yolks have lightened in color and the mixture has gained a little bit of volume. Whisk in the salt, vanilla, and bourbon. Set aside.
- Using an electric mixer, beat the egg whites until they form stiff peaks. Take one large dollop of egg whites and, using a spatula, fold into the pecan mixture gently. Then fold in the remaining egg whites in another three batches. This will allow the mixture to gradually become less dense so that when you’re adding the last couple of baches of egg whites, they can be more easily incorporated without losing too much air.
- Pour the mixture evenly into the four ramekins. Place on a baking sheet and bake for about 25-30 minutes, until the cake is set and you don’t observe any wobble in the center. Let cool for about 10 minutes.
- While the mixture is baking, make the glaze. In a small saucepan, melt the butter and stir in the brown sugar until dissolved. Remove from the heat and stir in the maple syrup, salt, heavy cream, and apple cider vinegar. Let cool.
- After the cakes have cooled 10 minutes, you can either unmold and serve warm, with the sauce and a sprinkle of pecans on top, or you can keep them in the molds, let cool completely and then cover with plastic wrap and place in the refrigerator overnight. They can be served cold, or set out to come to room temperature before serving.
Notes
- This recipe can be doubled and made in a 9-inch cake pan. For cleaner slices that don’t crumble too much, I recommend refrigerating the cake overnight before serving.
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