Pecan Cinnamon Coffee Cake **Cake Slice Bakers**

We at the Cake Slice are starting our new book, Southern Cakes by Nancie McDermottand this cake is the first of the many from the beautiful book. Previously we had baked from Irresistible Triple Layer Cakes. And yes I just bought myself a copy of the latter on a random visit to the bookstore. With me, when I go to the bookstore with the intention of buying a particular book, it just is unavailable but I somehow always manage to find them on random visits :)

The Cinnamon Pecan Coffee Cake won the votes and was the choice this month. When you read the recipe, there is no coffee listed as an ingredient, so I wonder why the name.. Probably it is served along with coffee just like tea cakes.

We like pecans, we like cinnamon but we just don't like raisins. They are always picked out if found in anything at home. Since I had no other berries at home, I used chocolate chips instead. Bad choice or good? Good is what I would say!I was apprehensive of the amount of cinnamon and sugar called for in the filling and the batter. Trusting my instincts I reduced the amount and it was still very intense.Myy only hassle was I couldn't get a neat piece of the pan. I had to serve a crumbling cake, which was overlooked owing to the unique taste of the coffee cake. although a tad bit too sweet for our palate, this was quick to do and needed no dressing up!

For the Cake

360g plain flour
1 T baking powder
1 t vanilla extract
225 ml milk
200 g butter, softened
225g sugar
2 eggs

For the Cinnamon Raisin Filling

300g light soft brown sugar (I used 200g)
3 T plain
3 T cinnamon
225g raisins (I used chocolate chips)
175g pecans
150g butter

Combine the light brown sugar, flour and cinnamon in a bowl and stir with a fork to mix everything well. Roughly chop the pecans and mix with the raisins and pecans in another bowl. In a third bowl, melt the butter until liquid and set aside until needed along with the cinnamon mixture and nut raisin mixture for use later.

Preheat the oven to 180C. Grease and flour a 13x9 inch/32x23cm pan.

In a large bowl combine the butter and sugar and beat with a mixer on high speed until pale yellow and evenly mixed, about 2 minutes. Scrape down the bowl to ensure a good mix. Add the eggs and beat for another 2 minutes, scraping down the bowl now and then, until the mixture is smooth and light.

Combine the flour and baking powder in a bowl. Stir the vanilla into the milk.

Add about a third of the flour mixture to the butter mixture and stir only until the flour disappears. Add a third of the milk and mix in. Repeat twice more until all the flour and milk mixtures have been incorporated. Stir just enough to keep the batter smooth.

Spread half the batter evenly into the prepared pan. Sprinkle half the cinnamon mixture over the batter followed by half the melted butter. Scatter half the raisins and nuts over the top.

Drop spoonfuls of the remaining batter carefully over the filling and use a spatula to smooth the batter all the way to the edges of the pan. Top with the leftover cinnamon, butter and nut mixture, covering the cake evenly.

Bake for 35 to 45 minutes, until the cake is golden brown, fragrant and beginning to pull away from the edges of the pan. Place the pan on a wire rack and allow to cool in the pan for 5 to 10 minutes before serving in squares right from the pan. The cake is delicious hot, warm or at room temperature.