A Southern Grace: tag team thanksgiving

November 24, 2008

tag team thanksgiving

Yum

A few weeks ago, I was asked if I'd like to join some of my favorite lovely lady bloggers in a Thanksgiving blogging event.


We decided to have each person contribute a different course for Thanksgiving, making something of a complete menu for you readers. MOST unfortunately, I got stuck with dessert. (I sure hope your sarcasm detector went off; if not, get that sucker checked!)


Prah-leen, pray-leeen, peee-can, pa-cahn--regardless of how you pronounce the words, the combination of brown sugar, butter, and nuts is pretty much irresistible, especially slathered on top of a delightful sweet potater cake.

I've had this particular recipe bookmarked since the second I came across it. Sweet potatoes, bananas, and cinnamon united in cake form and topped with a thick, sweet praline frosting--you'd better believe I'd give it a shot! It was everything I hoped it would be.

I experienced multiple "OOOH ME" moments during the process. First, I chose to bake the cake in a tube pan. I would've gone with a bundt pan, but alas, I don't have one (and the Christmas list grows...). It took a lot longer than the 50-60 minutes indicated in the recipe, but I should've expected that, as that was the time for two loaf pans. Secondly, the cake itself grew into a grotesque and hideous monster rather than a nice, smooth cake. Witness Exhibit A:


Yikes. The third heart trauma occurred in the making of the praline frosting. I desperately wanted to cover the crags and crevices in the cake, so I really needed the frosting to be a good one. I let it cool and let it cool and let it cool, and it was still so runny that I was afraid to top the cake lest I end up with a praline-topped kitchen floor. I finally bit the bullet and spooned it on, and except for a few rather attractive dribbles...


...it hardened right on top. Phew.

Did I mention that it was tasty? Although the cake was good (very bread-like, with both the sweet potato and banana flavors detectable), the frosting was simply stellar. Stellar, I say. And that's coming from a person whose least favorite nut is the pecan.

So, now that your appetites are sufficiently stoked, go check out the rest of the spread:

*A masterfully-prepared turkey from Sue of Feel Good Eats.
*Fennel, Apple & Cranberry Stuffing and Brussels Sprouts with Virginia Ham a la Tiffany of The Garden Apartment.
*Two stunning dishes from Amy of Eggs on Sunday--Squash and Apple Bake and Celery Root, Parsnip and Apple Puree.
*Finally, from Kristin of The Kitchen Sink comes an Apple and Pecan Tart.


Sweet Spud Cake with Pray-leeen Pa-cahns
(based on this recipe)

1/2 cup butter, melted
1/4 cup vegetable oil
4 eggs
3 ripe bananas
2 cups sweet potatoes, cooked and mashed
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons baking soda
2 teaspoons cinnamon
1 teaspoon ginger
3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup whole wheat flour
2/3 cup buttermilk
1 1/2 cups sugar

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease up a bundt pan, 2 loaf pans, or whatever dish you desire.
Blend oil, eggs, bananas, and sweet potatoes in a large bowl. Add salt, baking soda, cinnamon, ginger, and flours; blend well. Beat in the milk and sugar. Pour into pan(s) and bake for 50-75 minutes depending on pan of choice, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

Praline Topping:
1/2 cup brown sugar
2 tablespoons butter
1 cup pecans, chopped
2 cups powered sugar
1/4 c. water

Cook butter and brown sugar over medium heat for 4-5 minutes until caramelized. Add pecans and remove to a bowl and cool slightly. Measure powdered sugar into a bowl and stir in water. Whisk until smooth. Using a fork, mix glaze into pecans, breaking up praline pieces while stirring. Spoon over cake and allow to harden and cool.



And hey--Happy Thanksgiving!

51 comments:

Lori said...

Too funny, am I the first good natured noogie? WOw!

I made your Hello Jollies. I will be posting them tomorrow. YUMMY. Now this cake sounds like a keeper too!

Anonymous said...

Oh my lordy, that looks scrumptious. Nothing beats dripping icing for food porn value!

Sandie said...

Typically I'd skip the icing and take the cake (no pun intended), but in this instance, I think it'd be the other way around---this icing is irresistible!

Anonymous said...

Gobble gobble that looks Delish! Was it really just luck of the draw that you got dessert? Hmmmm.
Have a wonderful Thanksgiving.

Bunny said...

Both sweet potatoes and bananas, this cake must have been super moist Grace, that frosting looks very finger lickin good!!

AndreaLeigh said...

Wow, that looks delicious. Can't wait to try it.

Melanie said...

What a perfect Thanksgiving dessert - yours looks lovely. And the cartoon made me laugh...out loud. Very funny.

Peabody said...

Oh that cake is over the top!

Mary said...

I love that cartoon and I have to say that the last photo had me wanting to lick the computer screen. It looks so yummy.

Y said...

Moo! Ahahaha! That cake looks.. glorious :)

Anonymous said...

This looks delicious and I would have to agree with the commenter above that the icing sends things over the top!
I am still smiling at your comic, thanks for sharing!!

Sarah said...

What a coincidence; I LOVE pray-leen pa-cahns! Have a Happy Turkey Day, Grace!

The Blonde Duck said...

I love the cartoon. That cake is too much. I'll take three slices.

And yes, they're all for me.

Anonymous said...

This looks delicious, Grace! Happy Thanksgiving.

Jeanne said...

LOL - I find myself reading out your phonetic rendition of Peee-cahn pray-leeeen - even that is enough to make me feel happy, although some of the Monster Gargantua Cake would make me even happier :) Great idea to do a Thanksgiving tag team - best wishes to you and yours for the big day :)

Theresa said...

I'd love to run my finger thru that icing and have some cake with my morning coffee right now!

OhioMom said...

Since pecans are my favorite nut, I will bite the bullet and volunteer to lick the bowl :)

Happy Thanksgiving!

Anonymous said...

Great comic! :)

And wonderful cake, Grace! Looks sooo luscious and I love anything 'pray-leeen!' Happy Thanksgiving!

Ramya Vijaykumar said...

Lovely thanksgiving dessert very tempting...

Jessica@Foodmayhem said...

I always love your pics Grace! That ooey gooey stuff slowly dripping down...I want to stick my finger in there.

RecipeGirl said...

Love the oozing icing dripping down the sides. That makes everything good, doesn't it?

Happy Thanksgiving!

Rachel said...

Oh yum I would like a big bowl of that icing right about now...

kat said...

Well, that cake certainly screams thanksgiving to me with the sweet potato & pecans. I think you did yourself proud despite the OH Me moments

Maria said...

The cake is splendid! Perfect for Turkey Day!

Anonymous said...

I l-o-v-e praline anything!! This sounds great and reminds me of a similar cake that they serve back home at Stossners Bakery in Greenville, SC. Except they use pumpkin instead of sweet potato.

Culinary Wannabe said...

This looks totally worth and heartache that went into it! And love the little cartoon! :)

Pam said...

YUM! Rich and delicious - I love the dripping frosting.

Anonymous said...

Wow, that topping...holy cow, you just made my morning. What a cool event and the cake ingredients too! I hope you get to go home for Thanksgiving!

Rosie said...

I just love the cartoon. WOW what a scrummy looking cake - I think I'd be happy sitting down to two slices or maybe three to eat ;)

Rosie x

Anonymous said...

Those drips down the side of the cake! Mmmm. Happy Thanksgiving!

Vera said...

Delicious looking cake, Grace! Happy Thanksgiving!

Marjie said...

So sad, being stuck with the dessert! Cinnamon included! I too (heart) your little cartoon!

Ingrid_3Bs said...

OH>MY>GOSH! Does the top of that look decadent, to die for! If your least fave nut is pecans and you loved it that really says alot about that glaze/frosting! It tells me that your kitchen floor covered in it would have been tasty!!

Thanks for sharing the recipe!
~ingrid

Heather said...

wow! that looks so good! i love potato bread, so i'm sure i'll love potato cake. and the cartoon is really cute :)

Anonymous said...

I love lumpy cake and I'm mesmerized by the beautiful drippy frosting.

Anonymous said...

I wish I was at your Thanksgiving dinner - lucky family!

That cake looks so good and sweet and perfect.

Emily said...

Holy cow! The cake sounds great.
It sounds very southern to me, with the praline frosting, sweet potato and banana.
Love it.

Hope you have a great Thanksgiving!

pam said...

Sounds delish! Yes, my Christmas list grows and grows too. I may just have to shop for myself a little ahead of time!

Valerie Harrison (bellini) said...

What decadent delight you have here....oh my. I hope you have a wonderful Thanksgiving with your family and friends...plus that cartoon is too funny!!!!!!!!Everything about this post started my day off right:D

Robin said...

I love Prayleens...So I bet I would love this frosting. I will definately bookmark this one! Have a great Thanksgiving Grace!

Abitofafoodie said...

I'm rather envious of your Thanksgiving holiday, being British. I'm wondering if I could maybe borrow it just to give me an excuse to make this divine looking dessert!

Pamela said...

Wow!! It looks just...wow! I want some of that.

Sandy said...

of course i'm drooling ...

happy TG grace!

Anonymous said...

yum, that photo reminds me of the praline frosting my mom always make for the chocolate praline cake during thanksgiving. i can't wait to dig into it tomorrow. this sounds delicious by the way. have a great holiday!

Lucy..♥ said...

Wishing you a very "Happy Thanksgiving"

Anonymous said...

What a fun gathering of bloggers! You always crack me up! Getting stuck with the desserts was such a good thing, because everything looked so good. The dripping frosting, nuts...ugh! So, so, addicting...

Happy Thanksgiving!

test it comm said...

I made that bread as well and it was so good! I would never have thought to use sweet potatoes in a bread but they worked really well.

Anonymous said...

That is one good looking cake, Grace! And you know I am a fan of sweet potatoes and praline not to mention cake. Hope you had a good Thanksgiving.

Anonymous said...

This cake looks awesome! Can't wait to try it!

Unknown said...

I just ran across this recipe and it sound and looks so good! I don't like bananas is there anything else I can replace it with or could i just leave out the bananas

grace said...

@Precious Johnson: You really can't taste the bananas at all, but if you want to avoid them anyway, I'd suggest adding another cup of mashed sweet potatoes!