Cinnamon Sticky Bun Cake

Both my grands have gone home and I'm lost without them...especially in the kitchen.  I flew Maddie home yesterday and returned last night with a strange quietness in the house.  Oh, how I miss those laughs and the constant call of "Mimi!"

I'm exhausted and the temperatures actually reached 91F-degrees (33C) here today, but baking helps me to remember good times, especially these last two weeks, and this recipe has been bouncing around in my head begging to be tried.  I thought, "how could I make a cake that resembled one of my favorite breakfast treats--cinnamon sticky buns?" Those warm gooey buns, loaded with pecans appear to be of German origin from the 18th century.  Schnecken is leavened dough that has been rolled, then spread with butter, sprinkled with a cinnamon~brown sugar mixture and topped with pecans onto the surface before rolling them up and cutting into buns.   The cake I made is sponge cake, much like my mother made for jelly-roll cakes, but the buttercream icing is loaded with cinnamon and homemade caramel, not to mention toasted pecans to create this memorable cake.

Cinnamon Sticky Bun Cake
1 cup Queen Guinevere Cake Flour
1 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. fine Sea Salt
3/4 cup granulated sugar + 1/4 cup for the egg whites
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1/4 cup water
4 large eggs (separated)
1/4 tsp. cream of tartar
2 Tahitian Vanilla beans, split and scraped

Preheat oven to 325F-degrees.  Spray a 12" x 16" baking pan with a baking spray.  Line with parchment paper and spray again.  Dust surface with flour or use a baking spray that contains flour.

Sift the dry ingredients and place in a large bowl.  In a measuring cup, add the eggs, oil and water and stir into the dry ingredients, using a spatula, briskly.

Add the vanilla beans and stir to combine.

In a stand mixer, using the whisk attachment, beat the eggs whites until frothy, then, add the cream of tartar and beat until slightly stiff. White the mixer is running, slowly add the remaining 1/4-cup of granulated sugar.  Beat until the egg whites are stiff and shiny.

Stir one-third of the stiff egg whites into the batter and then, proceed to gently fold the rest in, about 1/3 at a time--try not to deflate the mixture.

Spread the batter onto the prepared baking sheet and place in the oven.  Cook 16 to 20 minutes until cake is golden brown and fully cooked.

Let cake cool completely before assembly.

Make Homemade Caramel or use store-bought.

Cinnamon Butter Cream w/Toasted Pecans
1 1/4 cups (2 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
5 cups confectioners' sugar
2 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/2 cup caramel

1 1/2 cups toasted pecans

Preheat oven to 350F-degrees.  Toast pecans for 7 to 9 minutes.  Remove from the oven and rough chop them.  Set aside.

In a stand mixer, using the paddle attachment, cream the butter thoroughly.  Add the confectioners' sugar and continue to beat, scraping the sides of the bowl as needed.  Add the cinnamon and the caramel and beat to combine.

Spread the buttercream on the cake and sprinkle with the toasted pecans.

Divide the cake into thirds.

Roll up the first section and stand it up on the serving dish. 

Continue with the second, then the third strip to complete the "roll."

Use the buttercream to icing the entire outside of the cake.  Sprinkle with additional pecans.

The cake is light and the icing is so amazing.  It may not be as good as a hot sticky bun from the oven, but it's pretty darn close:-) Enjoy!