Southern Praline Pecan Cake

"Let me start off by saying if you are a cake mix snob, and even more importantly a canned frosting snob, as I am, do not turn your nose up on this recipe! It does not taste like it came from a box of..." See more cake mix nor a can of pre-made frosting. I have served this cake to dozens of people, all of who beg me for the recipe and then mouths hit the ground when I tell them what's in it. I just make a few minor changes from the original recipe, which is still great as-is. I use buttermilk in place of water which makes the cake super moist and rich, as if it needs more of that! And since I'm using buttermilk, which is heavier than water, I cut the oil back to 2/3 cup. I also omit the pecans that go in the cake pan as I dress this cake up later with butter-rum glaze and a spiced cream cheese frosting, garnished with lots of extra pecans. I also add a tsp. of rum flavoring into the cake batter. Yummy!"

"Tasty and so very easy to make! It took longer to bake in my oven -- a little over an hour for a toothpick inserted in center to come out clean. I would definitely recommend allowing the cake to coo..." See morel for quite a while (if not completely) in the pan. It's very moist and may fall apart if you turn it out of the pan while it's still warm. As suggested by other reviewers, I believe the oil and/or water could be cut just slightly to make for more manageable slicing without compromising the soft, moist texture of the cake. Will try that next time. Thank you -- we really enjoyed this one! :) **Update** March '08 -- I've made this again and am bumping my rating from 4 to 5 stars. I based 4 stars on my personal tastes. I thought it was really good, but not quite 5-star; however, everyone else who has tried it thinks it's top shelf, especially with the caramel glaze I added. So, I'm going with the consensus -- 5 stars! I definitely would recommend dropping the oil and water back by a couple of tablespoons each. Still turns out extremely moist and the texture seems a bit more amenable to slicing. One point to emphasize (again) -- let the cake cool in the pan! It's so nice to find recipes that are not only delicious but ridiculously easy to make. Thanks again!"

"I made this as a b-day cake and people were coming back for 2nd and 3rd helpings. As recommended cut the oil down to 2/3 and the water to 3/4. I also made a citrus glaze for it (thought the carmel wou..." See moreld make the cake too sweet). Citrus Glaze was 1/2 cup of powdered sugar, 1 teaspoon grated orange peel, & 1 1/2 to 2 teaspoons of orange juice. Perfect complement to a perfect cake!"